I don’t feel like writing now but I need to. That is because the best time to write is when you don’t want to. It is a chance to work on discipline and to teach yourself how to make the words flow from the pen to paper under any situation.
What I probably should do is start by responding to the comments that people left on the previous post but I am not in the mood to do that either. I am restless, cranky and irritable- but this time I can attribute it to a lack of sleep.
Little sister is improving but they haven’t figured out what happened yet. It is part of the joy of medical science. It is imperfect and at times based upon guessing and intuition. Not so different from picking a horse in a horse race or buying stocks.
Except the mistakes made in medicine tend to have more serious consequences than the other two examples. At least they should be less dire, except when you borrow money from Guido the killer pimp and then fail to pay him back. That is considered bad form.
Of course you could send him my way because I am in no mood for any of Guido’s shenanigans. Might have to do a little dance with old Guido, won’t be pretty and not because I don’t have any rhythm.
Join TheJackB Fan Page
If you haven’t joined my Facebook fan page I would like to invite you to do so. I am approximately 4,300 fans short of 5,000. In case you are wondering I want to do better than 5,000. Not that there is anything wrong with 5,000 but it is a far cry short of Jill.
Mind you I am not competing with Jill, she just provides a mark to try to hit and then exceed. Why? Because it provides more opportunities and opportunity is the name of my game. Or maybe it is better to say that I am trying to create as many opportunities as possible so that I can pick and choose among the best of them.
My children and I talk about the importance of providing options and opportunities quite frequently. I think that grades are virtually useless and I look upon them with a scornful eye. Yet I know from experience that grades have some influence on what we do in life so I encourage these munchkins to do the best they can.
Don’t settle for good enough. Push a bit harder. Reach for the next rung. Yet at the same time I don’t want to kill their love of learning. I want them to learn because learning is important not because a grade is contingent upon their cramming their skulls full of crap.
Music
Here is what has been playing on iTunes:
- Set Fire To The Rain– Adele
- The Promise– When In Rome
- I Have Been Everywhere- Johnny Cash and Lynn Anderson
- How To Save A Life– The Fray
- I‘m Gonna Miss Her-Â Brad Paisley
- Hallelujah– Leonard Cohen
- I’m So Happy I Cant Stop Crying (LIVE)– Â Sting/Toby Keith
There is a line in that last song that goes something, “Can you please forgive me, I hope you are happy.” That always sounds disingenuous to me. It reminds me of when someone talks about something they don’t like and finishes it with, “no offense.”
That is often the kiss of death, no offense my ass. You don’t like XYZ and tried to cover it with “no offense.” Just say that you hate cleveland, the celtics or whatever and be done with it.
 More Later
Got to run take care of a few things but I promise to respond to comments ASAP. Be good.
Jens P. Berget says
Hi Jack,
Writing when i don’t feel like writing is probably the hardest part of work for me. Whenever I don’t feel like doing it, I always end up watching a movie or a tv show. I’ve been thinking of setting a word count each day, and that I should force writing until I reach the limit.
Do you have a word count that you use on a daily basis?
Jack says
Hi Jens,
I don’t use a word count as a benchmark or any sort of measurement. When I feel lackadaisical I just make time to write for however long it takes me to feel like I accomplished something.
But I almost always make a point to read and or watch something because it always gets the creative juices flowing.
Betsy Cross ( says
About grades..my oldest daughter’s 5th grade teacher (this was 12 years ago) was telling me how proud she was of her doing so well, getting straight A’s. I told the teacher that to me that meant she wasn’t being challenged enough. Once in a while she should be getting B’s or C’s. If not, then where was the fun?
Have a great weekend. Hope your sister improves! We’re all rooting for you guys!
Jack says
A good challenge makes a huge difference. Thank you for the kind words. Have a great weekend and a good holiday.
Jared Karol says
No offense, but I like this post. 🙂 I’ve been trying to write whenever I don’t feel like writing. Sometimes it turns out sucky, but usually it inspires to write more, and to write better. Thanks for the reminder.
Jack says
Some of my best posts have been written when I didn’t want to write. Never know what will happen, but to paraphrase Gretzky you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.