I'm chugging along with "Eddie K" #05. I've recorded all of
Scene 1, and much of Scene 2 now, and I've got about ten minutes
of assembled voice for the first scene, now, as well. I count
that as progress. Granted, though, it's not fast. The question
of the moment is, does it need to be quicker? Well NEED is a
strong word. If you (Or the objective me) need to use it, then
the answer is clearly no. There's no hard deadline. And, most
of the time, I tend to think that if I work on an extended
project every day -- at least a little bit -- everything is
copacetic.
The issue, I'm convinced, is a matter attention and opportunity.
Having the energy and focus to accomplish meaningful work, and
having the time to do it when I do have those things.
Still, it would be nice to spend four or five hours a day doing
this stuff. I'd be able to really bang it out then. But I think
that's called "a job". Can't confuse my hobby with my life,
right?
And yet, what's the point of it, otherwise? This is what I
choose to do with my free hours; this is what happens, in this
pursuit, when I steal away time that I've perhaps committed to
other things. A sneak-thief at the core of my heart. This is what
anyone committed to their avocation ends up being, I believe. At
it's best, I see this as a question of priorities and scheduling;
at its worst, it's selfishness. Most days, it's somewhere in
between.
But, without these same pursuits, what are we left with? I've
known people who retired from work, and dropped dead within a
year. They died, I believe, because their work defined them, so
without it, they were lost. This is the danger of a life of pure
practicality: the act of stopping your professional labors
becomes an act of self-destruction. I'm not in that position
myself, but in another world, maybe I could have been. To
identify so completely with your survival efforts that you miss
your life entirely.
This philosophy rejects the triviality of the hobbies, and places
them in the forefront of life. I mean, if you don't do what you
love, at least sometimes, then what are you left with? There's
nothing new here to consider, but it is for this reason that I do
what I do. It's a matter of survival.
