Everyday Must Begin Somehow
Here's what happens when I wake up...
First I make coffee. The kind isn't important, I can never much tell the difference anyway. I like Don Fransisco "Hawaiian Hazelnut" and "Butterscotch" flavors because the words "Hawaiian" and "Butterscotch" are printed on the labels. I take a shower, shave, and apply the usual cremes, oils and chemicals that make me feel I am prepared for interaction with other members of the species without any undue embarrassment. I eat some granola. At my old place, I used to live across the street from a little diner called "Nicely's" and I would walk over and have breakfast/lunch everyday. I'd bring my sketchbook and iPod, and got lots of lyric writing done over there. I like to get out in the world as soon as I can, the sound of voices and activity help me jump start.
With coffee in hand and granola in stomach, I hit the computer. After checking the email, I check my My Yahoo news page for what's happening world-wise. Then I check the RSS feeds. I have my daily diet of sites I check over and over during the day, and have recently started using an RSS news feeder to keep on top of them. I am using NetNewsWire, and it works great. Here are the sites/RSS feeds I check all the time:
Defamer / Feed
acerbic entertainment business blog
Boing Boing / Feed
a directory of wonderful things
Waxy.com Links / Feed
Good tech links
Goldenfiddle / Feed
funny celeb and music blog
The Superficial / Feed
celeb crap
We Make Money Not Art / Feed
developments in tech, art, and interface design
Stereogum / Feed
music blog
Engadget / Feed
tech stuff
The Movie Blog / Feed
you get the idea
other links:
Regnyouth
music sharing blog
The Hype Machine
Index of free mp3's being linked from top music blogs
Digg.com/spy
and my new favorite site: digg.com. Digg is doing something new with networked linking. Users submit links, then users vote on the ones they like, and those links are promoted to the homepage. The cool thing is the "spy" page: It's written with AJAX, and it is always updating showing you the latest and most popular links. I am getting a lot of good stuff from here lately. Check it out and watch it change. Most of the links are tech based, but the technology behind it is pretty cool.
After my mind has been properly marinated in more information that it possibly can do anything useful with, I wander around in my apartment, waiting for inspiration. At that point, my next activity can take one of many paths:
1. The Path of Procrastination - plopping down on the couch and checking out what's on the TiVo, or maybe playing with my cats, who seem to be really happy on their own path, the Path of Complete Inactivity.
2. The Path of Creativity - if I can feel an inspiration, I start tinkering around on the guitar, or checking out a recording of a song in the works. Maybe load up and take a lyric/inspiration walk through the city.
3. The Path of Productivity - I start some web site work, some stuff for the band, or web clients.
4. The Path of Preservation - Handle life stuff: bills, tickets, unpacking boxes, laundry, dishes, cat box etc. I check out the list of stuff I need to deal with. I have always been horrible at keeping to-do lists. The only thing I seem to do consistently is starting up new to-do lists every few months, and never really pay attention to them. Lately, I have been trying Backpack, it's a free online service that you can use as an online to-do list. So far, it's pretty helpful.
If you are interested in what links I am enjoying, feel free to check out my del.icio.us page: http://del.icio.us/steveisaacs I put a few new links there every couple days. Here is the RSS feed.
Comments
HI STEVE!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Abby | August 2, 2005 04:02 PM
Hey Steve, sounds likes things are starting to come together. Us down here in Australia can't wait for the record to come out.
Cheers
Posted by: Simon | August 2, 2005 04:09 PM
I like the "paths"... Today is my day off, and generally on my days off, I tend to go with the cats ;) But I usually end up with a little bit of everything in there as I get bored with doing nothing...I'll clean a little, pay a bill or two, might turn on the TV, but not too likely.
Posted by: Abby | August 2, 2005 04:10 PM
Hey Steve, I'm trying to find a copy of Skycycle's "ones and zeros" CD. Do you have any suggestions of where I could find one. I've looked all over the place, but haven't had much success. I found one used CD shop in El Cajon, California, but I live in Seattle and they "don't ship things."
Just looking for ideas.
Thanks!
Bekah
Posted by: Bekah | August 2, 2005 04:12 PM
Do you mind if people link to your site? (hopefully not, since i already did) i also understand the morning .com fix. i have a long list of sites i check first thing every morning when i get to work. (i have my own office)
Posted by: hank wood | August 2, 2005 04:14 PM
aww, what a cutie! :0)
Steve I hear you dude, keeping things organized takes time. For a while I used a daily planner template on Microsoft Word for what I had to do for school and all that but that didn't last long.
I'm better and organizing other people's stuff than my own!
Your days sound funner than mine at the moment. When I get up I basically have breakfast, get ready, and leave for either school or work. When I get back in the evening it's either reading and doing work for school or spending time with my boyfriend whenever our schedules allow (which is not nearly enough). I usually take a few minutes out to hop online during breaks at school or after I get home.
TV? What's TV?
The only thing I might turn the TV on to watch while I'm eating dinner is the Simpsons or Rockstar INXS.
The Path of Creativity unfortunately doesn't exist for me any more. But once I finish school and get myself settled where I want to be, it's on!
Oh, just a general note- if anyone in the LA area would like to come out to a record release party at the Key Club's Plush Lounge of a band I'm promoting Friday August 19, let me know I'll hook you up. Any support would be appreciated!
Posted by: mortisha8 | August 2, 2005 05:24 PM
I guess "A day in the life..." was too obvious for the title? Heh. I don't get where you or anyone, for that matter, can find the time or motivation to visit so many sites. It's mind-boggling. Fine choice of music there with Copper Blue, by the way. Tears fill up my eyes / I'm washed away with sorrow / And somewhere in my mind / I know there's no tomorrow... Niiiice!
Posted by: Ghost of a girl | August 2, 2005 05:47 PM
Hey Steve! Your new place sounds great... Just wondering what's the rent of an appartment in LA central area. It must be sky high... I am still on holiday, though I have to get on working with my viola after 15th of august, so I am in shape on september when my work in orchestra starts.
Haven't been much here on your site yet... Founded it from 6767, where I quite often find interesting people.
I wanted to become rock musician also, and still am but the money's tight so I was always good in violin playing before the teenage... Practiced a lot, and now playing an aristocrate role and giving the shitt in orchestras and quartetts etc... and basically I play viola, which means I basically play rhytm and try to beat everything out of solo players... so,It's fun ... not like rock... but fun.
OK. sorry about the long story just wanted to write.
Have a great sunny day, I'm off to beach today, taking bottle of wine, some tasty food and couple of good cd:s. Maybe even the Dragonfly show from 17th of May. That was the shitt man... Loving every second of it. All I can say that in "Bloody Mary" there was something happening in higher register of your voice, but it's goddamn rock'n roll, so that's it... I can easily hear that it must be the toughest bite of TPC songs. It goes pretty high in the register of your voice...
Keep on singing dude, and greetings from this cold(at winter can be -20 celsius degrees,summers +25)and lonely country of Finland... Hope you can get your record soon. I know you can challenge velvet revolver among others of being the most energetic and stylish rock group of this decade!
Peace&Love
T.M
Posted by: timothy | August 2, 2005 10:26 PM
Oh Maria...you know I love the keyclub!!
Posted by: Abby | August 2, 2005 10:47 PM
Hi Steve...Happy Hump Day!
You should add "Awful Plastic Surgery" to your list of site visits...they don't update that much but, when they do, it's fun. You really only need to peek in there once every few weeks.
I'm a little ghoulish so I also routinely take a peek at both "Find a Death" and "Find a Grave" :p
Have a fantastic day!
Posted by: Cori | August 3, 2005 09:43 AM
Hi Steve,
I'll take any Path except a beaten one!
Thank you, I've become hooked on Defamer!
Have a great day!
Elsa
Posted by: Junebug | August 3, 2005 12:23 PM
Good stuff, senor.
Posted by: Mike | August 3, 2005 01:57 PM
excuse the interruption folks...
Aaaabbyyyy!
Is it the Key Club or that cute guy that works the front entrance there that you like? ;o)
I'll save a few spots for you and guests for sure!
... we now resume our regularly scheduled programming...
Posted by: mortisha8 | August 3, 2005 02:35 PM
Hi Maria,
Include me too.
By the way love today's picture...
Posted by: wendybird | August 3, 2005 04:05 PM
"I like Don Fransisco "Hawaiian Hazelnut"....I always knew you were cool Steve. I dig that coffee as well.....
Posted by: Brett | August 4, 2005 10:07 AM