The last seven months have been...a blur. Honestly. I can't remember a thing, time's gone by too quickly, I've lost touch with people I never wanted to lose touch with - including myself - and I've not accomplished a tenth of what I wanted to accomplish, neither professionally nor personally.

It's time to make amends.

With a few days off - which I desperately need - I'll try and collect my wits, contact the people I want and need to contact, and set a plan for the future. I'm not talking about boxing myself in, but rather about giving myself the kind of structured freedom that I need to function to the best of my abilities (even when that's decidedly below par).

Trust me. It's a good idea. You should try it some time. Accomplishment is 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration. There's very little magic to a craft. Writing, for example. Every writer needs routine and structure. Get up in the morning. Eat breakfast. Sit down. Write for four hours, or a thousand words, or four pages...whatever goals work for you, whatever you're aiming for. Eat lunch. Keep working. Eight-hour days aren't just for carpenters and office clerks. The more creative the job, the more important structure and routine can be. At least, it's that way for me. And for a lot of creative people I know.

Seven months. That's a pretty big chunk of time. There are no regrets, of course - lots of good stuff has happened in the past seven months - but I still would like to sit down and figure out what I want from the rest of this year. Soon, too soon, the days will start to get shorter, the nights longer, the weather colder, and we'll be making big strides towards 2003.

Also, it's my birthday in a few weeks. And that always makes me go "huh", on a lot of levels. So bear with me - there might be more philosophising ahead. But this is good. It really is.  ¶ 18:22