tellhimfred.com

Well, not that kind of class.

Like I said before, I’m living alone for the first time (other than when I was an R.A.). Because of that, my daily routine has changed significantly. I’m finding that I have a lot more free time, and I haven’t done a good job filling in that time yet.

That’s why I think I need some class. Classes maybe.

I’ve taken classes at the Boston Center for Adult Education before, and I think I’d like to do that again. The last class I took was a workshop with Oliver Stone, but it was more of a lecture series than an actual “workshop.” So this time around, I’m going to sign up for some classes that are more hands on.

1. Digital Photography: The Next Step
I’ve been playing around with my digital camera a lot lately, and though I love the experimenting and learning, I am beginning to get frustrated. I know exactly what I want out of a shot but can’t quite get there. I’d really like to be able to do more with the camera and less in Photoshop.

2. Gorillas Up Close
I don’t think this needs an explanation. It’s Gorillas. And they’re up close. Enough said.

3. Public Speaking
I don’t really have a fear of public speaking, and I actually enjoy it. But I haven’t done any type of public speaking in a LONG time. In January, I’ll be speaking to about 80 or so law firm administrators about Blogs. I’m really excited to do it, but at the same time a bit terrified. I only have to present for 15-20 minutes or so, but the presentation will be a panel, with experts on Employment Law, Law Firm Marketing, and Finance.
I know I won’t have any trouble talking about blogs and law firms [shameless plug: my other blog is actually called lawfirmblogging.com and it's about, well, blogs and law firms]. But it’s the initial awkwardness and nervousness that scares me. When it comes to public speaking, it really is about setting the tone. I want to seem comfortable and confident, and if I don’t come off that way in the first two minutes, it could be a trainwreck.

4. Cooking for Singles
I’m not so sure about this one. See, I love cooking. Even if it’s something I don’t like, I love the challenge of making something from individual parts. But now that I’m just cooking for myself, I either make something really simple, or end up having a ridiculous amount of leftovers that I end up throwing away. So at first glance, I thought this class might work for me……
but then……
I saw this line: “Enjoy wine with your meals, and leave with great recipes, new friends, and maybe meet that “special someone” while chopping carrots.”
Yeah. If this is a situation where people are there to hook up with the cooking part as just an excuse, I think it would be a little creepy. Maybe I’m totally off on this one, but my mental picture of what it could be isn’t something I want to be part of. Still not sure.

5. The Spirit of Getting Organized
This is probably the most important to me right now. Like I said, I have more free time now, and that means more time alone. More time alone means more thinking, and more thinking leads to more new projects. Right now I have a lot of new ideas that I want to explore, but am just not yet organized enough to execute them. Right now I’ve got the following projects on my plate:

• Book Idea- I think I have a great idea for a book. Not something I’d have to sit down and write….more of a collection things…..hard to explain unless I’m talking face to face with examples. I guess you could think of it as a coffee table book (not about coffee tables), but the subject matter is very broad, yet well-defined. Yeah, I did a great job at explaining that one, huh?

  I need to get together with a good graphic designer/photographer/editor/psychic (you know, someone that can read my mind to understand what I’m trying to say, since I’m doing such a bang-up job at describing the thought) to talk about this. Preferably someone that, like me, has the ability to completely suspend disbelief for a while, and can believe that it can happen.

• Business Idea- I am working with some people right now on an idea that has to do with online shopping. I bet you’ve had an “I should have thought of that” moment before in your life. A product or service comes out and you slap your forehead thinking you could have done that. Well, this is one of those ideas. I am 100% certain that what I’m proposing is GOING TO HAPPEN. It’s just not being developed anywhere yet. So I’m trying to develop it myself.
• Gallery Show- I really don’t have much to do for our upcoming show in October, but I will have to do some work. For those that don’t know me well, I’m one of 2 directors of the Gallery of Social and Political Art in Boston. I used to be very active in the gallery, but over the last year I’ve done nothing at all. In fact, I considered myself “retired” from it. A couple of months ago, the co-director asked if I’d be interested in putting on a show. She had been working on the gallery while I was “absent”, and managed to get a grant and two volunteers who wanted to do a huge amount of work. So I’m back in.
• Web Service/Site- I have an idea for a blog aggregation (is that a word?) service that uses XML, RSS, and JavaScript to connect blogs by relevance to topics. See, that’s better. I explained that one pretty well, right? Yeah.
  The idea is to have a site and service that is able to group blogs by topic. I also want to be able to create the equivalent of blog “teams” that can blog on a specific topic, event, product, movie, etc. I’ve been working on this for about a year now, and it’s still not entirely defined.

Okay, sorry for that long laundry list of things I have in mind or want to do. I think this post is more for me than for anything else. Now that it’s written down and online, I will be forced to look at it and actually sign up.

Time for caffeine.