The Many Adventures of Rich Inman

Happy New Year! Now that the holiday season is over I’m going to be trying to post every day again. And my first post of 2010 is going to address a subject that is very important to me: Word usage!

For those of you out there who have spent any time on the internet, (which you have done merely by reading my blog) you have probably seen what is referred to as leet speak (short for elite speak). These terms, along with many that have been made popular because of text messaging are not proper English, and they’re annoying as hell. But as writers be must be aware of these new words and – dare I say – use them in proper context. For instance, the word fail is being used like this: Epic fail, soccer coach fail, ect… Obviously the correct way to say those phrases would be: Epic Failure, a soccer coach’s failure, ect…

I wonder if our language is being molested because of people who are too ignorant to use it correctly, or are they actually just too lazy? Either way, I hope that these ‘leet speak words stay out of literature (unless of course used in dialogue) and out of the dictionary as new words.

- Rich

Leet Speak Wiki

In a world of adversity there are so many opportunities so accept the mediocre; to do what’s easy. But at what point in life do those who can make a difference stand up and make that difference? What would happen to the world if they didn’t, and do they have an obligation to just because they have the talent and ability? I think so, but the harder question… The one that everyone dreads to ask themselves is: Am I one of those people? Of course after that question follows the inevitable question: How conceited am I by just thinking that?

I’ve always thought that if you work hard and are diligent you can accomplish anything. But is that really true? I’ve always thought so, and I’ve always been able to do well at whatever I put my mind to. In all of that though, I haven’t accomplished anything. I’d like to think that that’s because I’ve never stuck with any one thing long enough. Perhaps one day, when I finally stick with something, that I’ll finally accomplish that something.

Yeah, I’m an optimist, and some people say that that just makes me delusional. Be that as it may, I would rather live in a world where anything is possible. A world where I really can accomplish anything and make a difference. Call me delusional if you want, but there isn’t a single person who has made a difference in this world that did so thinking that they couldn’t.

- Rich

For some reason, I’ve had a really hard time getting up the motivation to write, both in this blog and in my book. I think that part of that might be the fact that I’ve been perpetually behind on my school assignments until yesterday and that I haven’t really felt like I know who my character is in my wizard novel. Last night though, I got a strange burst of inspiration – at 3am no less – and began writing in my sci-fi book again. It was amazing!

The feeling that I got when I wrote before (before NaNoWriMo that is) came back to me in a rush and I remembered what it was that I loved about writing. It’s not the uphill fight to get published, or the feeling that I have to do certain things in order to better my writing, it’s the feeling of satisfaction that I get when I write something that I like; that I think other people will like.

So, for all of you out there who might be feeling frustrated because of the publishing race, take heart in the reason that you first started writing… Because you loved it!

- Rich

It’s amazing how many times in our lives we don’t help the people around us who need it. Is it because it’s too hard? Or maybe it’s because it’s inconvenient for us… Whatever the reason, it’s something that we could all stand to do a little more (okay, a lot more). Encouragement, foundation, stability; these are a few things that we all need in our lives and they are the things that we should be giving to others.

So, my challenge to anyone who happens by this blog message. Be a foundation for someone; give them encouragement; provide them some stability in their lives. Whatever it is that someone needs, help them by giving it to them. Because sometime in your life, you’ll need these things too. And when that time comes, who will you look to for them?

- Rich

I’ve realized how much I have been neglecting my family recently (and my blog apparently) because the last three days my wife has been getting me to sit and watch shows with her, but that’s not exactly why I’ve come to this conclusion. It’s because today, when I had to buckle down and catch up on school work, my wife started acting neglected. So, I’m going to take some time today – time that I should be writing – hanging out with my wife.

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So, I’ve not been able to keep up with the NaNoWriMo, which is the main reason why I’ve gotten behind on school and neglected my family. Because of this I’m going to stop writing so religiously and try again when I finish school.

- Rich

Well, it’s been a few days since I’ve posted anything and that’s both because I didn’t have anything to post about and that I did have something to post about, but that thing kept me from posting. You see, some things have happened in my family that have caused me to think a lot about my marriage and what kind of husband I am. I’ve been married for six years now, and we’ve gone through some tough financial times and some tough marriage times but have always come through them. I would like to think that it’s because I talk to my wife about things, and she talks to me. I’ve never felt like I couldn’t talked to her about something, and I’ve never gone to someone else to talk about our problems before I talked to her about them. But what do you do when the other person’s been saying all the right things to you but thinking all the wrong things?

I don’t know the answer to that and it’s made me think about what kind of husband I am. I grew up being taught that you can’t change other people, you can only change yourself. That’s good advice because any time I’ve tried to change other people, they always fight against it. Let’s now go into whether I had the right to try and change someone, or whether I even know whats best for them, because I don’t and that’s another post on another day. Today I’m talking about me and contemplating what things that I can do to be a better husband.

Usually I’m thinking about this a lot. I mean, I’m always trying to be a better person; stronger, smarter, wiser, have more integrity… You know, better. I guess I hope that, in my efforts to better myself, I haven’t neglected becoming a better husband and father.

Well, I don’t have any answers right now, but if I find some, I’ll let you know.

-Rich

Since I’ve been watching Glee, I’ve been thinking about how people beg for the arts and yet, look down on them. As a writer it’s extremely common for people to look down on what I’m doing. Maybe they don’t think that I could possibly be any good, or maybe they think that artists are fools who don’t have real jobs. No matter what, they always come back for more, begging for it and criticizing it when it’s not to their liking. So, I decided to do something different and write a haiku about it.

-Rich

I’m sitting in the break room at work right now, waiting for my shift to start, thinking about the weather. You see, in Spokane, Washington the temperature is currently, cold. Of course Weather.com shows the temperature as 35 degrees, but when there’s snow and ice firmly set to the ground, it’s much colder than that.

This makes me think of the rumors that were going around about how Washington State wasn’t going to get any snow this winter, nor would the temperature get below 40 degrees. Well, after the last two years of snowmaggedon, I only wished that this was true. Alas, global warming has not reached Spokane Washington as of yet.

-Rich

Alright, time to admit that it’s currently 6:35 am and I still haven’t slept. It amazes me that even after years of working a normal 9-5 work day, I still revert back to night owl status when my schedule frees up. I suppose that I’ll always be a night person, exactly why that is though I can’t really put my finger on. Tonight I spent a lot of time trying to write, a even more time not writing, so all that late night oil I burnt seemed to be for nothing. I guess that I’ll have to wake up earlier than I really want to so that I give myself ample time for writing later on today. So, until later…

-Rich

Recently I’ve been thinking about, well… The past. About all those people who underestimated me, who said that I wouldn’t amount to anything. We all have had people like that in our lives. Like my fifth grade teacher who told my parents that I was slow and needed to be put on the short bus if you know what I mean. Thinking back at my time in Marion Military Institute, from where I graduated with several honors (it’d be far too self serving to mention them individually here, but you get the point), I wish I could go back and shove all that back in her face. But I suppose that even if I could do that it wouldn’t make me feel any better (mainly because I don’t really care all that much anymore) and that teacher probably doesn’t even remember me anyway. Over the years there have been many more people who have thought little of me, mainly – I think – because people feel as though tearing other people down builds themselves up.

In the last few years I’ve tried to be a person that can recognize the strengths in others and compliment them on those strengths, even encourage them. In doing so I have felt far more satisfied in the kind of person I am when I see the light in others’ eyes when I build them up. It’s amazing to see the look on their faces when they see that I truly mean it. At first it was strange, because I felt like I was tearing myself down. But the more that I continued looking for the good in people, the more I found people looking for the good in me. Granted, it takes a lot of confidence in the person that you are to be able to give that away, because I still get it thrown in my face a lot.

It’s kind of like paying it forward, even though I don’t like the idea of paying it forward. Why should I wait for someone to do something good for me before I do something good for someone else? So, instead I think I’ll try to do good for people around me, regardless of how they repay that goodness. And, I’ll do it because of who I am, not who anyone else is, or what they think of me.

-Rich