Routine and Habits

I didn't draw for this one. I just felt it was relevant and I wanted to write about it.

For the past week I've had a pretty solid morning routine that I would like to keep going. I get up before 11, Drink my coffee and visit the Jon immediately after, walk to the library while playing Pokemon Go, write in this blog, then walk home. That's a good habit to get into, it gets my blood moving, it gets me writing, and the library is right on top of a Pokestop (Pause to collect). If I do this every day for the rest of my life then I think I'd be able to make it as a writer, I really do. It makes me think about the rest of my day and how I can improve it, also.

Melee, as I've said, is an important part of my life. It's such a hard game though, both physically and mentally, that it requires some strenuous training in order to become the best. About 2 weeks ago I made a Facebook post challenging smashers to join me in two hours a day of training, and non smashers to two hours a day of practicing their passion. I don't want to brag, but it got a shitload of likes. I was raking them in, man.

Since then, I havn't practiced every day. I have had some days with more than two hours, though, so I think it's averaged out, but it's been hard sometimes to find the drive to practice. The game is fun, but training all of the maneuvers requires focus and patience through any failure. This passed Monday I did poorly at a tournament, and when I sat down to practice the next day I got so frustrated that I punched my controller and hurt my hand. It wasn't serious, but it was enough to stop playing for the day. That's a habit I wish not to get into.

I train more days than I don't, and that's something I should be proud of. I write most days, too. With both of these challenges I've put on myself I find there's possibility for failure and frustration. Writer's block is a real thing and it sucks. Playing on tilt in smash could ruin the game for somebody. As much as I would like to find an easy path to success, I'm starting to realize that easy paths just don't exist. A relationship is going to have fights, a comedian is going to bomb. Athletes have slumps and anyone in any profession makes mistakes that could cost them their job. Humans kind of suck, and that's terrifying.

Whenever I look back at my childhood and think of my 'career' as a baseball player, I wish that I did a bunch of things different. I wish that I truly cared to get better. I wish I ran and swung on the tee and had a catch every day. I imagine how good I could have been if I worked just an hour a day at becoming a better athlete. I don't think I would have been a professional baseball player, but that work ethic would definitely have spilled into other aspects of my day. A couple of homework assignments would have been cake compared to the three miles I ran in the morning. Practicing smash for two hours? At least my arms would be sore afterwards. I didn't try as a kid and teen, so now I'm working on developing habits.

If my father ever reads this he's gonna laugh. He's been saying this shit to me for a long time.  I didn't listen, of course, and here I am, writing about my regrets. Thanks dad, at least I realized eventually.

 So where do we go from here? There are so many things I want to be better at, so do I just make my day revolve around practicing everything I like to do? Honestly, that doesn't sound so bad. If I write every day(comedy, rap, and this blog), practice smash, work out, and get through my obligations then there's no way I can end up with a bad life. I guess the question then is, can I make money off doing any of these things so I don't need to spend 8 hours a day not improving.

Right now, my dream job is to be a comedy writer, so the first step is to be an intern I guess. It would lead me to making connections in the business where I can work on scripts or other significant pieces of work. It would lead me to a job where I don't feel like I'm working. Most importantly, it would force me to get into a routine of writing. Every day I would need to show up and start grinding, doing my best to come up with material and search through my head for the good stuff. God damn, that would be so great. I just gotta land that internship!

So this was another train of thought post, and again, I'm happy I wrote it. I know nobody is going to read this for a long time, and that gives me a sense of peace. I'm still a long ways away from a full month of entries, but at least I made it through a week and change.

How ironic would it be if this were my last post?

See you all tomorrow, nobody.


First Try: Maneuvers