Reboot

 

When I was 16 my dad made me quit my burger job because of my grades. In his mind, Rob's flippin'  time was better spent passing chemistry.  I didn't fight him. I was working too hard to think about priorities. Sure, I was disappointed; I'm Rob. I don't quit. But at 16, Dad's house was Dad's rules, and Dad had prioritized not failing over not quitting.

I made sure this was just a temporary setback. At the end of the quarter, my grades had returned to normal and I was allowed to return to my polyester uniform and plastic smile.

"Welcome to Generic Burger Emporium! May I help you?"

In college, the supervisor for my on-campus job sat me down.  

"Rob, I notice that you're arriving late to the mail room. What's going on?"

"Great question!" I wanted to reply, "Have you ever carried 3 jobs, 20 units and maintained a 3.8 GPA? Do you think Football Bob is worried about waiting 15 more minutes for his black-plastic wrapped magazine? How about I show you where to punch in your 15 minutes?"

After a breath, my lips edited the words worthy of publication: "Nothing," they said.

It was the right choice. My boss Howard had priorities. Getting the mail out on time was key to achieving them. Three months later, I adjusted my priorities and quit the mail room. 

If my dad had been in charge, he'd have made me quit a lot sooner.  That's the problem: I'm not a quitter. I'll dig my hole until I can't climb out. That said, I have created some amazing holes.

I've learned a lot since then. I still dig holes, but I also have better command over what's important. I've learned to climb out when it's time. I've got three dead blogs that could attest to that, if I were still writing them.

Right now, my priority is Steamtopia. My underground empire requires razing with some bulldozer quality editing. To accomplish this, I'm refortifying the literary foundation using Stuart Horwitz's Book Architecture method. That process requires a lot of reading and writing and reevaluation.

Unfortunately, my presence here has suffered. And that's not fair, because this is neither the Generic Burger Emporium or the College of BS mail room. This is my window to the world.

"Hi!"

I think this is important place, but if I don't want to turn it to a subterranean abyss with fancy furnishings, I need to realistically prioritize it. So, to that endeavor, I promise to show up. But you won't see me here every day. And that's why the reboot. Rather than me not showing up daily, let's make sure I arrive once a week, okay?

My dad would be so proud.