viking fridays – fate of norns.

Thence come the maidens
mighty in wisdom,
Three from the dwelling
down ‘neath the tree;
Urth is one named,
Verthandi the next,
On the wood they scored,
and Skuld the third.
Laws they made there,
and life allotted
To the sons of men,
and set their fates.
From the Völuspá

The Völuspá is a Norse poem which tells the story of the creation of the world and its coming end.  In it, the Norns spin the threads of fate at the foot of Yggdrasil, the tree of the world.

The length of each thread corresponds to the length of a person’s life.  The Norns decide each person’s fate in advance, and no one knows how long his or her thread shall be.

re·gret
–verb (used with object)
1.     to feel sorrow or remorse for (an act, fault, disappointment, etc.): He no sooner spoke than he regretted it.
2.     to think of with a sense of loss: to regret one’s vanished youth.

There is a person I barely know, who is approaching the end of her thread, and she recently expressed regret that she had not taken an opportunity a decade ago to move closer to her family.

Sadly, though she would very much like to be nearer her loved ones, her health is such that she would not likely survive the journey.

I am saddened by this, because she is half a world away from those who would comfort her – her thread was long, yet, coming to the end of it, she has this one regret.  At the same time, I am filled with fire, to not let that be me one day.

And there is another person I barely knew, who was the other day struck down in the prime of her life.  How I came to know her was humorous and almost embarrassing at first, yet I do not regret it one bit.  I am happy to have known her.  A truly beautiful individual who would have given so much, her thread cut very short.

I know only this.

I know not the length of my own thread.

Live without fear.  Die without fear.  Without regret.

The fate of Norns awaits all of us.

(Image credit: Arthur Rackham)

week 2 – check up.

Another week has passed since I started playing the game, and it’s time to report back on how I did.

Last week I gave myself a B- and I think I’m going to have to grade myself the same way again this week.  While I think I did a lot more, I still missed a few things.

Let’s start with the good stuff first.

I exercised every single day except for Sunday.  As per Genesis 2:2-3:

“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.  And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”

Well, I can hardly argue with that… this week, I will continue that habit.

On the blogging front, I put up a simple Hire Me page as my landing zone.  Right now, it is pretty basic but it will be a living page, so if there is something of interest for you there, let me know and don’t be afraid to check back from time to time, as it will grow.

Now that the page is up, I will be registering as a solution provider for Ubuntu Linux.  One potential income stream – not a lot of call for it in Splat Creek, but you never know.

I am also going to try and figure out how to get a second blog set up on my hosting service, for a niche blog.  Once it is ready to go, I will let you know what it is all about – I think it will be fun.

I sent out a book proposal to an agent and we will see what that brings.  I’ll be sending it to some others this week, because I can’t put all of my eggs in one basket.  If it works out, and I am fortunate enough to get an advance, maybe I’ll be here full-time writing for a while.

Can’t forget last Thursday night at Friar’s!  You can see some of the fruits of our labour here, but in a nutshell, expect to see a lot more of this from the two of us in future.  We’ve got something in the wings that will be interesting, to say the least.

Finally, I started working on articles and posts for the online magazine.  I’m going to have to put a push on it this week, as we will be going “live” in 9 days, and I need to write a lot more for that.

Now – it can’t all be rosy, can it.

I did not send out any job applications last week, so I must move that up in priority slightly this week, as it is something that I believe might be critical in the not too distant future.  It is far too easy to become comfortable and complacent when things are tolerable.

And back to my online writing team, I goofed and forgot about a conference call – dang.  Oh well, fail early, fail often – time to tweak my scheduling tools a bit.  Obviously I didn’t capture that piece of information quite right.

So – I didn’t hit everything, and I thus give myself another B- this week.

For the coming week:

• Lots of writing work on my own projects and for the online magazine – daily
• Reconnect with my employment consultant in NZ Monday night
• Send out job applications through the week
• Exercise! Exercise! Exercise! daily
• Learn how to set up second blog on hosting service and upload theme by the weekend
• Read to my kids every day (already did it Monday), and spend time with my lovely wife
• Send out my book proposal to more literary agents by Friday
• Thinkfest at Friar’s on Thursday
• And, if I can fit it in – a blog post here that isn’t Viking Fridays or a report card!

I think I can get it to a B+ this week.

Thanks again to everyone for your support.

I couldn’t do this without you.

viking fridays – burn the cheese.

Change is inevitable.

How we react to the change is what makes or breaks us.

So, what are some of the options?

1. Do nothing, and let the changes guide you.

2. Work with the changes to get ahead as best you can, within the bounds of your current situation.

3. Say to hell with the changes, and chart your own course.

Chart your own course.

To hell with the changes, make your own changes.

Go forth like a Viking and pillage the next town, or do something really crazy and sail to Vinland.

If someone moves your cheese, the next time you find the cheese, burn it.

(Mice don’t eat cheese anyway, most of the time.  If you want to catch a mouse, use peanut butter.  So what’s up with this book?!?)

Or set the building on fire, like Milton in Office Space.

(Disclaimer: don’t set your office building on fire today.  Or if you do, don’t say I told you to do it…)

There it is.

So much of this life change stuff is blindingly simple, that it is easy to forget what to do – easy to drift, when we want to chart our own course.

I know I do – so here’s a reminder for all of us, including me.

Burn the cheese.

–

Friar and I are working on a “sekret projekt” in our laboratories (also known as Thursday nights), and what you see is a small sample.

(Click HERE for the full-sized image.)

In spite of how busy the two of us are, Thursdays for us will be transforming from a “drinkfest” to a “thinkfest” (although beer is likely to still be involved), and when it is closer to bearing fruit, we’ll let you know.  Something “wicked” this way comes!

week 1 – report card.

Last week I decided to play a game, to see how many ways I could generate alternative sources of income.

As I mentioned, I will be writing for an online magazine (it is to go “live” in December), and since I last reported to you on this, I’ve taken on another assignment with a sister magazine – I will be writing a longer regular column, as well as blog posts.

I expect that the work will bring in a few thousand dollars per year, which I can use to finance other ventures.

I emailed my contact again with regards to the shoes for charity (huaraches, actually) – he’s been very busy, so I’ll be making contact again this week.

I have almost completed the text for the “Hire Me” page – it will range from the huaraches, to computer hardware and software, to business productivity consulting.  Part of the reason for this is to advertise some of my services as an Ubuntu Linux solution provider on their Partner page.  And that is just the start, there will be other things there.

I tweaked my resume and expect to be sending out applications starting Monday.  I will be targeting nuclear companies in my own country, in the USA, and as far away as Australia.  I actually have a good shot at one in Australia because I have specific experience that they require.

While I was doing all of this, I finalized a piece of the puzzle I needed for a move to New Zealand, and I completed a book proposal that I will be sending to literary agents this week.

(A side note, Steph suggested I blog about progress towards the New Zealand move – so I’ll post updates here from time to time.  My job search will soon expand to include that country, though from a non-nuclear angle as they don’t have that there.)

I’ve also been toying with the idea of a few niche blogging sites.  I narrowed it down to two topics for a start, and then picked the one that has the fewest competitors.  I was able to pick a good domain name that is catchy and descriptive, while also remaining available (yay!) – it also helps that it is something that is of great personal interest to me.

I have not forgotten about my volunteer work, either – no luck yet with one person I contacted at Engineers Without Borders, but there is a local chapter meeting coming up soon and I plan to attend.

Finally – I kept on the exercise wagon, sort of.  I did some form of exercise every day, but not exactly what I’d planned each time.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

So…

I went out with Friar on Thursday (which might explain the headache I had on Friday!), and I played with my kids in the snow Sunday.  So that was my down time…

(But that reminds me, there’s something Friar and I want to work on together, and I keep dropping the ball at my end – so I must pick it up.)

All in all, I give myself a B- this week.  (I wonder if Wendi would give me the same mark!)

Why?

Well, I honestly think I overbooked myself, and I will leave a bit of wiggle room in the schedule this week.  I don’t plan to add anything more than what I’ve listed here, so to recap:

• Online Writing – nothing to see until December, so I won’t be doing much this week other than a conference call with the team
• Hire Me page – target to have it up by next weekend
• Submit resumes – to nuclear firms in Canada, USA, Australia
• Niche Blogging – can’t say too much yet but domain name is mine, I’ve picked some good free themes, and target to have the test page up in two weeks
• Exercise – what can I say, I’m going to do something each day

So there you have it.

I just wanted to say “thank you” to each and every one of you for your support and encouragement this past week.

A perfect example of how we can accomplish great things when we work together.  I couldn’t do this without all of you.

I hope that everyone had a great week and weekend, and may the coming week bring you good things.

–

(Image by Mark A. Hicks)

viking fridays – unscathed.

Today I want to give all of you a simple gift – a blessing, perhaps.

We all have battles to fight, of some kind.  Though they may not be physical, we all have various trials to face in our day-to-day life.

Perhaps it is a job we don’t particularly like, perhaps we face financial hardship, or we’ve started a new exercise program, or maybe like many we are trying to start something new – a business, whatever.

It doesn’t really matter – because we all face our own challenges, and though they may be different, we will overcome them and win, because we are strong.  We have each other to lend a hand when needed.

All of you have been here for me, as I face my battles, and that means so much to me.

So thank you, everyone, and may I offer these words in return, the eleventh charm of The Hávamál.

When I lead to battle old comrades in-arms,
I have only to chant it behind my shield,
And unwounded they go to war,
Unwounded they come from war,
Unscathed wherever they are.

Go forth today, and fight the good fight, as hard as you can, for you cannot lose – these words shall protect you.

You will remain unscathed, wherever you are.

the game.

Things can be a lot more fun if we approach them with the intent to enjoy them.

Such is the game of life.

Today, I will begin such a game, to be played out over 6 weeks.

In a virtual sense, Tyler Durden is holding a gun to my head.  He has just told me that he will be watching me, and if I’m not on my way to becoming what I want to be within 6 weeks, he will kill me.

Now of course, I don’t really have a gun to my head, but I cannot predict the future.  If I could, I’d have won the lottery already and all of you would be enjoying dinner with me in a warmer place!

As I cannot predict the future, at any time I could be gone, or my current source of income could be gone.

So today, the game I will play is one to see how many ways I can generate alternative sources of income, other than my current day job.

I will be looking for work that is meaningful to me and creates value somehow – rather than just pushing papers that will likely end up in a box in a basement in a dusty old building.

I actually have some of these underway already.

In the near future, I will be writing articles for an online magazine (I will announce the location shortly), and I have signed the required contracts.

I have approached someone with an offer to sell a product I make (shoes) and donate part of the profits to a charity on their behalf, to support their cause.  I will provide updates here as it unfolds – wish me luck.

I will also be adding a page here shortly called “Stuff I Do” or “Hire Me”, because there are a few things I can do that don’t really fit into the theme of my blog, but I need a landing spot before I consider branching off to other blogs or web sites.  There will be a lot of stuff there eventually, because my mind is a fusion-powered idea generator and on a normal day is totally out of control.  This page will contain some of the things I have already talked about previously at this space, but it is important to pull it all together.  My writing, for instance, and the various technical services I can perform.

And finally, I will see if I can find full time employment somewhere else in my current field.  Because, you just never know when the good old Factory might put up a big “For Sale” sign on the front lawn.  You just can’t trust those zombies.  If they aren’t trying to eat your brains, they’re off brainwashing the world.

The game is to see how much of a difference I can make to my current situation – obviously, to see how much of an impact it can make on my potential for income – but more importantly, my outlook towards “what I do”.  If I really focus on the truly important for a while, I just might be able to make some significant progress towards my goals.  And if I really work at this, my “current line of work” may become less important in the overall scheme.

I will report back here each week on the progress.  So, look for updates on a search for traditional employment, as well as some paid writing work I’ll be doing, a shoe making business, and a page that will list other things I can do.

For while it is true that your life isn’t your work – if we are going to spend a good chunk of our lives doing work, I believe that it should count for something, and that we should enjoy doing that work.

PS – if the picture doesn’t make sense, go back and click on the first link at the top (“game of life”) – it’s geek stuff but it is pretty cool, I think.

viking fridays – victorious march.

Today I received an email message from a friend.  He was telling me that he was stuck, and didn’t feel like doing much of anything.  He is known as a man of action and he has done so many things to further his dreams – things that I will do, too – yet like all of us, human.

I knew exactly where he was coming from, because I have been like that for a little while.  I know what I want to do, what I *must* do, and yet, I have just been doing “busy work”.  I am by nature a dreamer, I can brainstorm anything, which is good usually, but when I need to work on things that are really important, it can often get in the way.

I sometimes spend my time dreaming up other things rather than working on the two or three things that matter most to me, that run through me to the core.

In a sense, I have been waiting for my someday ship to come in, as Alex would say.

Luckily for me, I have had some help from a couple of other friends – Steph and Wendi.

Steph has been giving me pep talks by email and Wendi is now my accountability partner.

One thing Steph said was to imagine myself already there, where I want to be, and then work backwards to see what I must do to get there.  We were both surprised to see how much I have already done, and how much I know about what I have to do to get there.

Wendi has been great as she encouraged me to get out of my dream mode and concentrate on the things that really matter.  This may mean putting aside the “nice to have” things that won’t really matter to me in a few years.  So I worked at this, and I have a list that I am sharing with her right now.

It still needs work.  This is okay, though, because it is going to get better.  Tonight I’ll be formalizing all of it in a little program I use to track tasks and progress on projects (I started this already, actually, but I need a bit more time to finish it – and a glass of red wine!)

So back to what Steph said – imagine yourself already there.  What will it be like?

Well, I’ve been doing that.  It looks pretty awesome to me.  I feel like jumping around when I think about it.

So what the heck does this post have to do with Vikings today?  Well, no quote from the Hávamál, as you can see.

No, today I have a link to a video called Victorious March.

(*WARNING* – Metal Song Ahead!)

This is the song I play when I need to get pumped up, and throw heavy objects around and generally do amazing things.  It is a bunch of hairy smelly loud guys making noise and “singing” (ha!) about Vikings returning back to their village after laying waste to some other village and so forth.

I love it.

This is the song I will play when I get to where I want to be.  Not that I am unhappy with my life as it is right here and now.

I just know I belong somewhere else, and in fact, my heart is already there.

Tomorrow I’m going to play a game – a 6 week game.  Tyler’s been talking to me, and I haven’t been listening.

Well, I’m listening now, Mr. Durden.

I think it will be fun, and I hope that you will enjoy it too.

I am going to dedicate it to anyone who has ever been stuck.  Together, we will get unstuck, and then we will march victorious.

summer’s end.

Samhain.

The word is derived from Old Irish, sam for summer, and fuin for sunset (or end).

The last harvest, the blood harvest, the feast of the dead, beginning on November Eve, at midnight October 31st.

The Celtic New Year.

It was time when the world of the living and the world of the dead were closest, a time to remember ancestors long gone, perhaps by setting an extra place at the dinner table.

It was also traditionally a time to take stock of the herds, and decide which animals would be slaughtered for the winter.

People celebrated the last harvest with purifying bonfires.  A time to remember that all things pass away in time.

And a time to let go of the past, to look forward to new growth.

Today many people celebrate it as Halloween, and it has mostly lost the meaning it once had, now just a commercialized event that brings in a lot of money for Hallmark and Cadbury.

Children dress up as all kinds of themed characters from the latest movies, not knowing why they do it.  Adults carve increasingly intricate jack-o-lanterns with stencils and power tools, trying to outdo each other.

I carved traditional lanterns, with eight equally spaced holes, out of small pumpkins, as I waited for my friend Friar to arrive, and then we sat outside by the fire, late into the night, talking about the good things in life, marvelling at the beauty of the stars.

Most of the people in our little town had long since retired inside, another mostly meaningless day over.

But some of us know differently, and treat it as a time for celebration with friends and family, for remembrance of those no longer with us, and for looking forward to a new beginning.

For the end of each night ushers in a new day, another opportunity to do great things in the world.

In the dark silence comes whisperings of new beginnings.

–

(Best laid plans… I had attempted to post this live last night around 12:30 after Friar went home, but I had some issues with my hosting service, as it was not very responsive.)