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Thursday November 1st, 2012 – Fox Lake, IL

   Sometimes it feels like I’m running a race all by myself in life. I’m not sure if it’s good or bad, but it does make it hard to keep my bearings straight. I don’t know with whom I could compare a journey’s path, and I’m not sure if I’m where I’m supposed to be or not. All I can do is press on.

   I had a major breakthrough today, or at least I think I did. I’ve been meaning to organize all of my computer files and back myself up to prevent losing everything, and I got it done. I have felt the sickening sting of losing all my hard work too many times before, and I wanted to make sure I didn’t feel it again. I’d been putting it off far too long, and knocking it out made me feel great.

   I went through all my files, which is no small task. I’ve got bits and pieces and scraps of ideas from years ago and I consolidated everything into as logical an order as I could while deleting as much as I could that I didn’t think I needed to save anymore. It took most of the day, but I felt an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment when I finished and I knew I had used my time wisely.

   It totally shook the dust and cobwebs from my whole life, and I revisited everything with fresh perspective of where I am now. I looked over comedy notes from years ago, and found all kinds of stuff I forgot I had. Thankfully I’ve been pretty good at saving my notes through the years and now I have a heaping pile of fresh ‘new’ old ideas I can choose from to punch up all my projects.

   I’ve also got a staggering accumulation of physical handwritten notes I’ve had scattered around in various boxes as I’ve moved and I put all those in a single place as well. I’ve been meaning to do that for years also, and today was the day. I bought some plastic stackable tubs and used them to sort everything into categories. Why I didn’t do this years ago is beyond me, but I did it today.

   While I was at it, I also rearranged my entire workspace to make it much more organized to get things done. I had my computer and printer on one little table that was cramped and cluttered and littered with outdated paperwork. Again, I don’t have an answer as to why I didn’t do this before.

   Maybe I’ve been too busy with ‘other things’, but that’s no excuse. Everyone can use that as an easy cop out but this is a priority I should have handled a long time ago. First things weren’t first and it was a source of pain and inconvenience. I can already tell this was the right move. I feel it.

   I’m keeping up with my tax situation too. For the first time I can ever remember, I’ve added up my business mileage before the end of the year and know exactly what the total is. Adding it on a monthly basis is MUCH easier than doing it all at once. I have all my receipts sorted out as well.

   It feels like I’m getting my second wind late in the race, but I know doing all these things right offstage will translate to my onstage work and I’ll be a much better person all around. It took me years to be able to get all this together, and I wish I knew why. But I don’t. I’m just thrilled I am.

   I’ve been making a habit of making good solid choices lately, and it has a ripple effect. I feel a definite momentum building, and I can see great things on the horizon if I stay with it. I plan to.