Day 55 Of Delusional Optimist's Guide To Achieving The I'mPossible

Day 55

Yesterday I worked, went to a show, and spent some time next to Lake Washington. After work, I went to see some of my favorite Minneapolis people at Barboza and got to hang out with one of my favorite rap friends. The best part about being around underground rappers (or any artist really) is that they can totally relate to the post-tour depression and the emotional wear-and-tear of putting your art into the world. Dessa was at the show too because she had her sold out book release event for “My Own Devices” at Third Place Books earlier in the day. So happy to know that woman! Her new book is amazing and it’s extremely helpful to hear/read stories about women that have worked towards their dreams and made them a reality. I have so much love for everyone I’ve been on tour with.

My favorite thing about this job is that it is the easiest possible version of all the driving jobs I’ve had in the past… and I make more money doing it. The customer interaction of a pizza delivery is usually less than one minute and it’s awesome seeing how fast the tips add up. The fact that I don’t have to learn a new skill to be good at this job will help keep my brain open for all the video projects I’ll be kicking off soon but am still procrastinating for some reason. Still haven’t heard back about the dog walking job but it’ll be nice to have time to go on photo walks and make stuff before AND after I go to work. This one job will earn me more than enough money to pay my bills, live in a place with roommates, and to save some money… in only 4-5 hours a day. Triple bonus, I don’t have to serve drunk people!

Tomorrow I’m going to pilgrimage to the ocean. It always helps me to focus my ideas and another plus is that it gives me time to catch up on the podcasts of my favorite people. It’ll be a day in which I eat all my favorite foods and test drive the September playlist before I release it. All of my playlists are road trip tested before I post them; if a song comes on and I’m like, “what the fuck is this,” I know it’s gotta be deleted. That’s usually when it becomes obvious that I’ve added the song just because I like the person and/or they are from Seattle. That Alt-J/Goldlink song I posted yesterday really does it for me. As I write this my Hip Hop playlist has 96 followers. Most of them are due to a Reddit win; but I think the rad playlist image I made with a photo of Outkast from an old Fader magazine is part of the reason it’s kicking ass. I have a bunch of new Underground Hip Hop mixed in with the classics and now has over 670 songs and growing almost every day. Here’s hoping some of the underground artists actually get to see some fundage from the list.

The thing about quitting coffee is that it helps me to realize where my energy is coming from. When I drink coffee I have a ton of energy, when I don’t I seek that fuel from the actual nutrients I need to survive. I haven’t had any caffeine withdrawal headaches and it has been a week since I quit. Usually by the time I finish my blog, I’m no longer sitting but instead poised as if I’m ready to start a race at the edge of my seat because my coffee has kicked in and I’m ready to fly. Now I feel more like I’m ready to take a nap. The thing about the giant can of coffee I had been working on for the last two months is that I never measured the coffee, I just put a bunch in there and poured water over it; recipe for jet fueled panic attacks. I have quit coffee at least four times over the last five years and it gets easier to quit with every relapse because it makes me feel so crazy inside that I must quit. Time to finish the writing portion of the day and move on to the next…

TODAY’S GOALS

1.     Drink 64 oz. water (I’m crushing this goal already)

2.     Eat three meals

3.     Stretch at least 10 minutes

4.     Finish this blog

5.     2-3 Instagram Posts Per Account @206liz @TheRingOfDOOM @MyDefOfCool

6.     Add 20+ more songs to September playlist so I can test drive it tomorrow and delete the weakest links to get the playlist to 111 songs.

7.     Pack bag to bring to the ocean. Supplies for photo shoot etc.

8.     Go get a new Discover Pass so I’m ready to roll tomorrow.

SONG OF THE DAY

Gavlyn “Already Know” feat. Dizzy Wright & Jarren Benton (Prod. By DJ Hoppa) 2018

Day 20 Of Delusional Optimist’s Guide To Achieving The I’mPossible

Day 20

The only goal I did not reach yesterday was to put any items for sale on ebay. My weak excuse is that most of the items I have at this time have failed to sell on ebay multiple times and that my attempts to flip stuff online ended up as a plastic tub of shit no one wants… like an R. Kelly cassette, or an Alaska commemorative spoon, or an eight headed mink stole. It should come to no surprise to me that I choose things (music, thrift store items) that do not make a profit but are awesome (Underground Hip Hop). Example, not a fan of Bieber or Grande but I love Taylar Elizza Beth and 10.4 Rog. Instead of eBaying, I spent time at the Laundromat and under Bezos’ Balls with @TheRingOfDOOM’s cardboard box apartment.

The sunset collage I almost didn't finish because I don't love the colors turned into one of my favorite pieces. I plan on turning it into a Spotifly playlist image so I can see it often.

As I reach the end of all my big collage projects without any more large frames in my possession, I’m reminded that I still have around 50 small and imperfect thrifted frames leftover from #100DaysOfTheRingOfDOOMcollages. I much prefer making large pieces but as I say to myself all the time, I must use what I have. There’s lots of things I prefer to do, like eating at delicious restaurants and spacecruising to the ocean whenever, but if we always did what we prefer to do, we’d just be laying on the couch watching Netflix in a diabetic coma from too much ice cream and chocolate. I still would prefer to take photos of Street Art (and everything) in Paris than building a solid foundation out of hourly wages but if I don’t take actions towards large sums of money, they will not arrive.

Over the next few months, I hope to become as addicted to finishing stuff as I am to coffee. Sometimes when I find myself leisurely gluing tiny pieces of water, I think about the sense of urgency that kicks in when I’m working for others and I start gluing faster. I currently have 201 drafted blog posts on my old blogger site, a fully drafted Hip Hop Crossword/Activity Book, way too many hours of @TheRingOfDOOM footage, 80 belt buckle blanks, 50+ tiny frames, 20 blank reusable bags, 800 button blanks, 147 uncompleted To Do lists, thousands of photos to sort into books/zines, and more than one storyboarded iphone movie (among other projects). When I finish all this stuff, I get to see what I’ll do next but the procrastinator in me wonders if all these projects should be finished. For someone who got many A’s on papers written the night before they were due, it is way too easy to put things off when there is no deadline. The time frame created by my plane ticket to Europe (I still have it) on September 17 may have been permanently replaced with an 18 month timeline (at least) so the sense of urgency/panic has turned into a marathon instead of a sprint. I keep thinking about where I should be as a forty year old but then I remember that I must not give a fuck about shoulds; I must fine tune my goals so I can work my way through them.

TODAY’S GOALS

1.     Drink 64 oz. water

2.     30 Minute Yoga YouTube Video

3.     Go For A Walk

4.     Two Posts On Website… Shared (post on all blogs on Medium also) – 2-3 blocks

5.     2-3 Instagram Posts Per Account @206liz @TheRingOfDOOM @MyDefOfCool

6.     Pour resin on current projects.

7.     Make at least one small framed collage and start next coaster set.

8.    Clean Cheeto rain out of cardboard box movie set and gather props needed for rest of the             scenes.

9.    Make tiny bowl of ramen out of polymer clay, resin, and actual ramen.

10.   Spotify work block

11.    90 Minute block sorting photos by city/artist for books/zines

SONG OF THE DAY

Seinabo Sey – “Younger” 2014 Until Death Becomes Her turns into our reality, none of us are getting any younger so we may as well just DOOM it.

DID YOU KNOW

Did you know I have a YouTube playlist with almost 100 animated videos on it? I’ve had Animated Videos Part VII drafted since mid 2017 so it’s no longer fresh but like I’ve said before, one of the best things about music is that the first time you hear it, it is new to you. I will be finalizing a new post of more current animated videos soon. Here’s one of my favorites from the playlist that is best consumed on SmartTV or whatever device you have close to you.

Day 13 Of Delusional Optimist's Guide To Achieving The I'mPossible

Day 13

While I did get a lot done yesterday in six 90 minute work blocks, I was all over the place with the goals. Failed on the water goal but I did have tea and juice (lame). No actual walk or ten minute block of stretching; I prefer two minutes at a time in between work blocks but my body would likely prefer more. Completed all the website and Instagram posts and shared on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Medium, Pinterest, and Vero (not sure if Vero is working out for anyone). I spent more time than I thought I would working on an upcoming music post; once I start down the rabbithole of internet digging for music, I seem to find better stuff the longer I look. Still trying to figure out how to package 40+ music videos for easy consumption but they’re all too good not to share. It may or may not be The New Hotness Vol. 13 as a continuation from my old website; time will tell. I did not pour resin yesterday because I spent two 90 minute work blocks gluing water on the big collage instead. While it would be nice if it was already done, if I pour the resin earlier in the day, I get more done on the next set of collages (sunset) while it is drying. I’m in full procrastination mode on filming the series pilot. I prefer to work on video projects when I don’t have the option to make resin art. Since I have a little over a month until I leave, collage time is precious… <--- Excuses. No official Spotify work block but I was able to add some songs to the new playlist that I discovered via YouTube. My food situation is currently on point though (brushes shoulder).

@TheRingOfDOOM shortly after surgery; scarred but recovering nicely in his cardboard box apartment.

So far this month I’ve completed 67 ninety minute work blocks. That is 100 and a half hours of work towards my biggest life goals in twelve days. That works out to be only 8.375 hours per day. It may seem like a lot or a little, depending on who you are, but I know how much time was wasted in between work blocks so I plan on doing even better this week. Still not officially hustling. I made a few potential daily timelines to see how short my breaks would have to be to fit in more work blocks. I’m shooting for 8 work blocks (a new personal record) today so I will try skipping the walk and actually doing a short yoga video instead. My food restock yesterday has made it so there really isn’t anywhere I need to go today... unless of course I get crazy and leave to make the video.

As of today, I’ve only sold two pieces of my own art. Both were zines and one was sold to my sister and the other to a friend. I’ve got a long way to go if I hope to have a sustainable art career but I know I’m on the right path… just gotta keep creating and sharing. Finishing stuff and putting it out into the world feels more awesome than procrastinating; must cement this into my brain.

Today’s Goals

1.     Drink 64 oz. water

2.     Stretch at least 10 minutes

3.     Two Posts On Website… Shared (post on all blogs on Medium also) – 2-3 blocks

4.     2-3 Instagram Posts Per Account @206liz @TheRingOfDOOM @MyDefOfCool

5.    Pour resin on all projects and work on sunset piece -1-2 blocks

6.     Add more items to website store – 1 block

7.     One work block organizing studio to make room to stretch

8.     One 90 minute clay work block to make props/new character etc.

SONG OF THE DAY

Snoh Aalegra – “Sometimes” 2017  She released a video for the track a couple weeks back but the song originally appeared on her album FEELS last year.

DID YOU KNOW

Did you know that this show with Astro King Phoenix, ZZ Top’s Drummer’s Drum Machines Manager’s Band, and Dex Dynamite Saga (Dex Amora, J’Von, & Zuke Saga) is one of the achievements I am most proud? It was one of the first shows I booked for The Crocodile Back Bar in 2014. The large version of Mad Max’s poster was stolen out of the light box, it was that dope. While small shows are fun and a great way for artists to work on their live performances, I don’t want to book shows until I can offer the musicians large amounts of money.