Originally I was going to start out with thoughts on the whole #NewYearNewYou sentiment, which our manager Phil summed up pretty well last week. Make sure to check that out if you missed it, after reading this one, of course. 😉
Like Phil, it’s not that I’m opposed to the sentiment, I just cannot identify with it. Saying “New Me” feels like discarding experiences, thoughts, and feelings that brought me to where I am now. I’m a techie, I code, so I wouldn’t just throw out the entirety of a script that was working, but with issues, and replace it whole-cloth with something new. I’d debug, comment out the parts that were problematic, write new lines to effect changes. In that light, perhaps “Patched Me” seems to be much more aligned with my philosophy?
That nuance now addressed, it’s also around this time that most of us talk about resolutions, ways we want to change our lives for the better. Maybe it’s diet or exercise, being more diligent about cleaning and organizing, avoiding procrastination.
My latest resolve began a bit before the new year, and is a continuation of the mental wellness journey I began the year prior. After receiving an official diagnosis, and taking much research and deliberation, I began a prescription to address complex ADHD. This was a step I was not resistant to, but very cautious of, mainly fueled by stories and memories of others I’d known who had been prescribed meds decades earlier with not-so-pleasant side effects.
It’s been… interesting. No serious negative effects, save that while I find focus easier, and am more resistant to distractions and overstim, these seem to apply to my more technical thinking, while leaving the creative process slightly behind. I’m not too overly concerned about it at this point, but the first time it was noticeable was when it was my turn to write a setlist for a show. (Yes, we all take turns in a rotation.) Normally I’ve got a pretty much back-burner process in my head where I just flow through, starting with newer things we’ve developed and band faves, and filling in gaps, creating a high and low tide rhythm. This time, the analytical brain was a bit too present, overthinking it. Ironically, that process needed to be patched to run with the updated drivers.
What resulted works, taking a slightly conscious effort to remember to let go of the technicals just a bit, and not get too mired in the details of more fluid creative projects. It extends to my gaming – you should see the Minecraft Realm I’m zenning in – and even this blog, which by current count I’ve misnomered as “essay” like four times,
So yeah, the year’s off to a pretty decent start for the State of Paul. Before I sign off, I wanted to take a moment to remind folks that we are still very much interested in interacting with our fans more, AMA-style. We’re eager to hear from you, so pick any of our available social media venues – the Book of Face, our Patreon (no, you don’t have to be a subscriber to message us or comment on a public post there) or comment on this blog, or Erin’s, or Phil’s, or Brian’s… yeah Brian, he loves Questions!
With that, I’m outta here for the next few days, prepping for the Wolfhound gig on Saturday, 27-Jan, and getting details put together for the whirlwind that will be the weekend of St. Patrick’s Day 2024. Just try to keep up!