This Itch!

I’m unsettled! There isn’t really any other way to say it. I have so many ideas and no real course to get any of them done. I keep notes on my phone with these flashes of brilliance. My ideas are so detailed for the moment the inspiration hits but most simply fade away or become a note that I look at later and wonder why I even gave it the time to make a note. In some cases, however, I see the next ten to twenty years in my vision and is always successful and fulfilling. But I’m not stupid, and after the note goes into my phone, like I said, I will generally forget it ever happened. I say generally, there are two ongoing ideas in my head, and they are in constant development. One involves getting registered trademarks on the name and the packaging that is hugely representative of the name. Jen looked into the trademark thing when she opened her business a couple of years ago. She tells me it isn’t very expensive to do, which has led me to ponder about it even more. I have even gone to the lengths of finding a bulk dealer of the filler product. I would love to produce the product myself, retail it, but that defeats the purpose of semi-retirement. Only Jen and I know what the product is, and we have talked about doing the legal work and then we’ll look to sell the idea for a modest profit. The other thing that is a constant pull on my consciousness is real estate developer or investor. I think sometimes just buying properties and then reselling them for profit is an easy option for me. One in which I could map out and follow a plan. It would require discipline to stick to it, but I feel I’m pretty good at that as by nature I’m a technical minded person. I have to follow rules to stay in balance. The idea of rolling over property sales into bigger and bigger property opportunities really piques my interest. I look at speculative development too. The thought seems interesting as I could get Jen involved on the decorative side but holding her back to maintain a budget might be challenging. For us to work side by side in a working relationship might pose some risk on peace and happiness. I value her opinion and maybe that is all I need. Colors, hardware, locations of appliances, etc., she would be a huge help. The fact is, no matter what course we take, it involves both of us. The downside of the spec idea comes crashing down for me when I realize profit on investment is about the same and the real estate turnover idea is more in my timeline control. Plus, I generally am not competing against anyone but myself. I wouldn’t mind flipping properties, but I wouldn’t want to do single family residences or complete renovations. Mild upgrades, minor fixes would be fine and would keep profits more in line with the percentage made. Frankly, it shouldn’t be much of a decision since we have already started buying property. We just need to start spinning the revolving door and stop hanging on. You can hang too long which ultimately depletes profitability.

Writing for me is reliant on inspiration and I usually don’t write unless the inspiration hits me. If I have something pounding around in my head like a pinball and I just need to get it out, I write. This is truly the real reason I could never make a living at it. Although the discipline thing appeals to me or maybe a daily structure, I have at least five or six things a day I would want incorporated. However, this is something I’m actively doing. I’ve written two of my children’s books and tested on a few of my grandkids. This helps in finding the age group that appreciates the story versus the ones that are bored from the onset. I want it to be a twenty series set of which I have sixteen story titles and two written awaiting illustration. My cousin, who is a professional writer with numerous credits to her name, has been generous in providing some small guidance. She writes daily and writes under contract which would again defeat the purpose of semi-retirement. I write these blogs, but anyone that takes the interest in following me knows that I’m not a prolific writer. I feel my writing style is developing and getting better the more I write. If I take too much time in between I realize it is a skill that requires some more routine effort to allow my skill level to advance and fall behind and stagnate. Perhaps when I get my looming projects completed, I can get into a schedule that will allow me to become a better writer. What I bring up writing for is that it occasionally scratches the itch and allows me to focus on things without walking in circles trying to figure what to do next. I haven’t mentioned my father’s legacy book for my ancestral progeny. Right now, it is under my editor’s control, in other words Kate is reading it. I think there are at least four chapters with a title to the chapter, but core no info written. I would really like to get back to it and finish it for a while. Obviously, it is one of those projects that by design will never get completed, at least not by me. Maybe Kate will take the lead and get each of the kids to submit something in their words about me. That would be a nice final chapter.

And then there are the house projects, restorations, fly-tying, fly-casting practice, tinkering, and piddling. Wilson men are master piddles. We can seriously look the busiest and not get anything done. The landscaping and upkeep, two to three half days a week. Well, this is turning into a bitch session and really isn’t my intent as I love doing each of the chores and hobbies I have. I’m actually excited that I will be getting back to hobbies before the end of the year. I suppose what I’m getting to, I have so many things going on in my life, things I enjoy, but I’m either limited by time or my body. That is my other factor I’m dealing with more and more, my body revolting from years of abuse and neglect. Maybe I just need to build a calendar schedule and post it in my office. Every day is filled with outdoor and indoor projects and save fishing and boating until the weekend. Eat better, find time to walk, ride a bike, you know, work on getting back to a shape that isn’t round and big.

My itch is in serious need of scratching. Somehow, I need to find a way to plan for the things my mind is involved with while doing the more simple and mundane tasks of life. Kill two birds with one stone kind of idea. Today, I have been writing this on and off. Which also means I’ve been preoccupied with it while spending time with Jen. The very thing I’m trying to resolve and better organize against. Once we are back home, I’m going to focus on one thing at a time, build my calendar of tasks, and get a handle on things. If I don’t, I think I might go mad getting to deal with this itch. It just dawned on me that while I was working, I had a computer calendar and on each day, there was a list of things to accomplish. That’s what is missing, not work, God no, but the daily organization. Sorry for saying it twice, but I learned a long time ago that if you repeat something a couple of times it stays with you. That’s it I have a plan! Wait, what about buying a boat? Flipping mind, just like that I have lost my train of thought. What was I saying?