The new year has started off in many fantastic ways, but for two and a half months, I've not read a book for leisure, done any work on any of my short stories, or begun any serious editing on my book. This is a problem.
But it's a good problem. Kind of. That which I am most passionate about has fallen to the wayside in favor of finally working a job that I'm not only trained for, but well educated to do. I work with good people in a hyper-positive environment where my ideas or criticisms are taken seriously and then, unbelievably, actually put into effect more often than not. Higher positions within the company open up and my coworkers and I are actively encouraged to apply for them by our boss despite the fact that we may not be the right people for the positions. It's a little disarming, but it is all to the good. All of it.
Currently, I'm editing out-sourced articles written by contracted writers. I tell my friends that the content is typically the kind of stuff your mom would google. Furnace repair, taking care of your pool, how best to rid your home of pests, that kind of thing. I edit, on average, anywhere from 25-45 articles a day, most topping out at about 600 words a piece. On the low end, this averages out to about 15,000 words (or roughly 60 pages in Word). On the high end, this averages out to about 27,000 words (or roughly 108 pages in Word).
Summation: I'm doing a lot of reading and I'm doing a lot of editing during the course of the day. By the time I get home, my brain is fried, but I feel good about the work. Some of the writing is good, some of it not so good. Some articles are edited faster than others and I've been able to pretty easily identify the "good" writers from the "bad" ones.
Once I'm off work, the desire to read more has diminished, which is disappointing as my entire apartment (which I moved into at the start of the year) is completely covered in books. And art. And all the minute detritus that I have collected from years of living. It is a good space, one that I'm incredibly happy and comfortable in. It is my own; the messes are mine, the decor is, in total, the essence of me. After three months, it finally feels like home.
The start of April brings a few new things, the first of which is my team being completely caught up on all our work. I'll be reading less during the course of the day and working more on special projects around the office and with other various teams under the Social Media umbrella. I've also taken off the entire month of April (from Facebook and all but one dj-ing gig) to focus entirely on editing and revising my novel. It will take much longer than a single month, but I hope that this new shift in work duties will allow for more concentration outside of work, thus fomenting some much needed editing habits on my own writing. I also have several books I'd like to read, both for the first time and for the second, third, or fourth time.
In music news, I've been dj-ing a great deal since being home. These have mostly been weekly or monthly gigs playing 80's and retro, but it's been good to play entire nights with my homegirl WestEndGrl (formerly cQuence). In between gigs, I've made a couple new recordings as well, which you can find at the very bottom of the post.
All in all, many of the things I have sought after and struggled to achieve are finally coming to fruition. Like any good thing in life, some sacrifices have occurred, but that's too be expected. Now I've just got to find my footing again and figure out how to balance it all appropriately so that I can have my cake and eat it too. I've worked too hard not to enjoy the cake that I've been baking for nearly 10 years. Never believe your own hard work is all for nought - it may just take a while for the results to appear and there's nothing wrong with that by any means.
New Mixes (since November of 2015):
From my first gig back in Kansas City. I'm on for the first hour or so, followed up by Elle Vulf and then Oj Shrink.
Disclosure - "Holding On ft. Gregory Porter"
Fouk - "Kill Frenzy"
Teenage Mutants - "Elle (Original Mix)"
Rene Amesz - "Big (Original Mix)"
Dusky - "Dummy (Original Mix)"
Danny Serrano - "Osaka (Original Mix)"
Dj Dep - "Get It (Original Mix)"
Joyce Muniz - "You Always Get Me High"
Miguel Migs - "Little Star"
Rene Amesz - "Like It Deep"
Enzo Siffredi - "Sometimes"
Submantra - "Lilly (Original Mix)"
Spiritchaser - "Ride (Earnshaw's Ride)"
Joeski - "Monkey Funk (Original Mix)"
Sergio Fernandez - "Stone Age (Original Mix)"
Spencer K - "Pandole (Original Mix)"
Harry Romero - "Puma (Original Mix)"
Jay Lumen - "Roots 88 (Original Mix)"
Julian Jeweil - "Meteorite"
Beastie Boys - Shambala
4 Hero - Conceptions
Alina Baraz & Galimatias - Show Me
Alina Baraz & Galimatias - Make You Feel
XXYYXX - About You
Cinematic Orchestra - All Things To All Men
Dj Cam - Underground Vibes
Sir Sly - You Haunt Me (AMTRAC Remix)
Nalepa - Flatlands
George Palikaris - Woman
Yasume - Sing the Noises
Skalpel - Sculpture
Dj Cam - Mad Blunted Jazz
Bliss - Reveal ft. Lisbeth Scott
Rae & Christian - Bring the Drama
Slowdive - J's Heaven
Lapalux - Without You
Eric Del Mar - Mykonos Sundown Feelings
Gerd - Seduce Me
MOODORAMA - Behind the Scenes
Eluvium - All the Sails
Tennyson - Lay-By
Dj Cam - Return of the Jedi
XXYYXX - DMT
Nujabes & Fat Jon - Ole
Simon Burnett - Theme for A New Day
Sigur Ros - Svefn-G-Englar
Gino G - Insidious Soul (D Unity Remix)
Banda Sonora - Guitarra G (Warren Clarke Dub Mix)
Stanny Abram - Shine On (Miki Mad Remix)
VIP Room - Late Night (Original Mix)
Carlo Cavalli & Eros Locatelli - Mexico (Massimo Russo Remix)
Massimo Russo - Gladiola (Dj Troby Remix)
Doomwork - Life Element (Original Mix)
Carlo Cavalli - Welo (Tech House Mix)
Carlo Cavalli - Tanzmania
Fabio Montana & Freiboitar - Bring the Funk (Teenage Mutants Remix)
Rafa Barrios - Daledalehey
David Vasquez - Baila Con Miego (Johnny Fiasco's Unreleased Remix)
Ken Ishii - Traffic
Tyree Cooper - On Tha Floor (Live Element Remix)
Mario Ochoa - Burning (Original Remix)
LxS - Can U
Dj Navigare - Piter Pen
Arda Gencer - Zero (Harun Karabulut Remix)
Rodrigo Risso - In The Forest (Original Mix)
Matals - Tester (Original Mix)
The Bounce Kitchen, Vol. V
Maax 52 - Just Away
Maax 52 - Sidespin
Chus & Ceballos, Dj Chus - Mamasitas (Original Mix)
Detroit Swindle - Figure of Speech
Dj E-Clyps - So Gone
Secondcity, Kydus - The Light (Original Mix)
Jetro - Why I Lose Control (Davydov Deep Mix 2)
Miguel Migs - Heartbeat
Maax 52 - Seehunger Love
Umek & Mike Vale - All I Want (Dosem Remix)
Fifth Avenue Ensemble - Lightness of Living (Fashion Mix)
Martin Villenueve - Uhuru Sunset (Deep Mix)
Detroit Swindle - Ballin'
Luke Hassan - Everything I Need
Le'Funnk - Insane
Michael J. Matthews - Memories
Rene Amesz - Like It Deep (Original Mix)
Dario D'Attis, Yvan Genkins - Afro Call (Original Mix)
South of Roosevelt - This Is How It Is (Deeper Dubstrumental)
Nero - The Thrill (TCTS Remix)
Joeski - Monkey Funk (Original Mix)
Camilo Diaz - XYZ123
Fred Everything - Come On Everybody
Joe Silva - Spam
Tom Lown - And Again (Original Mix)
The Bounce Kitchen, Vol. VI
Homework - Pleister
Diem & Romano Arcaini - Time (South of Roosevelt Mix)
Wehbba - Common Ground (Original Mix)
Dj Max Mad - Tek My House (Tribal Version)
Sebb Aston - Hold Me Down
Fabio Bacchini - Funk Player (Homero Espinosa & Cubase Dan Remix)
Alex Morgan - El Aquelarre (Original Mix)
Cavalier - Lipizzan
Nigel Hayes - Moving On (Fred Everything Movin' Dub)
Roberto Rodriguez (Manolo) - Giving It All (Original Mix)
Miguel Migs - Runnin' Away
Mettle Music Collective - Glider
Sigother - Natural Tone
Escape - Just Escape (Justin Martin Remix)
Ahautzab - Last Pretty
C'est Moi - This Song (Dario D'Attis Remix)
Danny Cruz - Time to Go Back
Jimmy Chronic - Beans (Swirl Peepz Mix)
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