Hello friend, it’s been a while since we had the time to talk and “chew the fat”, how have you been-Well, sit down and relax, I will tell you a story of my life, as it is, and what I have been doing for the past few months. I may sound a bit down, but life has its ups and downs and it is very cathartic to just let it all go. So, if you don’t mind, I will use this moment to do a bit of self-therapy.
This year, so far has been very exciting. I have been working very hard on several projects and things are going very well, so far. My day job, as it were, has been ok, but the hours have been dropped down, the company felt that, rather than lay people off, they just cut hours – having some work is better that not having a job. So I find myself writing more and doing the odd jobs around the house. I am going to be building a studio in my garage, for painting and working on some furniture projects I want to do, as well as organizing all of my stuff. It is amazing how one can collect so much stuff over the course of the years. Some of it is important and cannot be replaced, but I will admit – some is just pure junk I cannot seem to part with. I guess I am the “pack rat” my mother said I was.
I have been working on my writing and painting… well more writing than painting actually. I am getting more time to go out and writing on location, like café’s and public places, watching life stride by, and getting some photography work done, it’s not so bad having some time to write or just do something for myself. It gives me a chance to be more introspective, work on the “me-projects” that I don’t always get to complete.
I have been hired by Blog Critics (http://www.blogcritics.org) to write for them, their online news source is very popular and it gives me an opportunity to get my work seen by more people. My blog RantBabble (http://www.rantbabble.wordpress.com) has started getting some popular feedback and is getting more readers – I find that writing for 4 different web sites is allot of work but it is also many different outlets, so what may not work well for one site may be great for the other ones. I am going to the Paso Robles Wine Festival in May to do some review work for my food and wine columns and I may have a chance at getting some connections there to get material for my magazine Groove Studio One.
My Online Style and Entertainment Magazine, Groove Studio One is doing very well, the site http://www.yourgrooveonline is in “beta” and I am working out the bugs that come with web page design, but the blog side http://www.groovestudio1.blogspot.com is getting multiple hits per day, sometimes in the thousands, this gives me a way to get involved with writing about fashion, food, wine and style – one would not know it, looking at me, but I am very interested in the elements of personal style, and I like writing about it. I have been able to meet many interesting people and I was even invited to take my wife with me to be on an episode of Hell’s Kitchen with Gordon Ramsay.
My book “Rants and Ravings of a Modern Day Cave Dweller” was officially published this year on http://www.lulu.com, it is a self-publishing site, but they work like the normal publishers, you have to submit material, go through the process and if they like it, they publish your book and market it for you. I look forward to it doing well, the publisher said it was “unique” and had potential, so we will see what come of it.
I have put together a concept for a Television Show, and I am working with local cable TV and public access television to get it put together. I have not come up with a title yet, but it will be connected with my magazine, I will do live interviews, “news” style coverage of local events. I have asked my longtime friend David Jay to help me on this project, he is a producer and a very popular “on air” personality in local radio. I have so great friends who are willing to help me achieve my goals, get some friends, I know you’ll like it.
I have made the acquaintance of a very famous artist, John Landon who lives here in the Central Coast; he has worldwide appreciation of his work and he said he thought my paintings were good, so I take the compliments where I can, and if he likes my painting, well I guess that means it is worth looking at. I also met another very talented artist, Neal Breton, whom owns San Luis Art Supply in San Luis Obispo; he is both a business owner and an artist, so he never gets to sleep, but there is hope.
The wife and kids are fine, my wife has been working on her stitchery and has a shop on Etsy, where she has been growing in popularity and making sales. My littlest one, Vera, was recently in a musical pageant where she sang in the final act; I don’t know who was more excited, her or myself. I felt so nervous with her on stage, I was hoping that she would not get stage fright, but she was wonderful, I felt so proud. My daughter Rita has won awards at school just before this spring break and she is turning into quite a little actress, she is working on jokes and impersonating TV stars, she wants to be an actress when she grows up, she does a great job at making her mother laugh.
All of my life I have wanted to be something special, not so much as “famous” or “rich” but to be someone remembered, and I have never seemed to find it. I now find that I have been memorable for some time now, I have a great family, I am a writer and an artist, I have great friends and my blogs get readers, like you, who come back from time to time so see what I am up to.
So if you get a chance, stop by my blogs, my Online Magazine and if you see me in person, try not to run me down with your car, I’ll buy you a cup of Java and we can talk a while, I got time.
Hi Joseph,
ReplyDeleteCongrats on all the accomplishments this year (and it's only April-).
And glad to here you are getting started on a art studio in your garage.
In the Light,
Daniel