Constraint Breeds Creativity

I've been reflecting on a phrase my sweetheart often says. Not sure where he got it from, but it's a good one. He often says that constraint is what breeds creativity.

I think a lot of people get this hippy-dippy idea that creativity comes when one is faced with loads of free time to slowly sip your coffee, enjoy a warm muffin and sit in a quiet, relaxing environment with no interruptions, no obligations, and a full day to spend immersed in the art of painting, writing, composing, etc.

Now, before I proceed to crush these notions, let me first say that hey, who doesn't want to enjoy a nice day immersed in art and enjoying warm muffins? Go for it. Those can be refreshing moments.

There you go, a relaxing moment for you. NOW GET WRITING!

Just don't expect anything truly creative, or really any good, to come out of  it.

Creativity doesn't come from comfortable, obligation-free living or from other's "understanding" you. These are just lame excuses wanna-be writers make for themselves when they are unsuccessful in a goal.

What makes good writing is the stress, the time crunch...it's the chase of finding that idea and sweating to develop it. It's what makes NaNoWriMo so great. You've got the constraint...a novel, written in a mere 30 days. Brilliant!

Don't wait for the perfect circumstances to write. Don't sit around expecting writing to feel good, or for the inspiration to just "come to you". Take breaks as needed. Have some R and R time, but if you really care about your craft and your goals, you're going spend a lot of time with your head against wall trying to bang ideas out of it. You want to be the proud author of a brilliant novel, you've got to make it happen.

That's my plan anyway. Make. It. Happen. I write everyday now. Sometimes only a little. Sometimes it's a lot. The habit is growing though. My creativity is coming back. This recovering Finance major is going to write an awesome little book. I'm getting really excited.

I want to hear, what's your excuse you make that you need to let go? A recurring one for me is that the room isn't clean enough for me to think. It's like dirty socks make too much noise for me to think. Isn't that ridiculous? I'm learning to write through that. I clear a space for my notebook or laptop and light a candle and move on.

When You Go To Mexico

I spent a lovely week on my first ever cruise a few weeks ago. It was really a fantastic trip, with so many new things to see and experiences. THAT is a good trip.

Cruises are interesting things. I was on a Carnival cruise, and I have to be perfectly honest with you...cruises are not my favorite mode of vacationing. Mostly, it was the food. Food is a big deal to me. I love good food. Cruise food, well, you can't blame them for not having fresh food because they pack up all the food and it sits there all week while you float in a boat for a week. The food will only be so good.

They sell you on the fact you can eat whatever you want, all that you want, but the fact is (at least for me) you won't want to eat much of it. It's much like a college cafeteria, but the food gets served to you on fancy china with sprigs of cilantro or parsley for garnish. Presentation is a great way to fool people in to thinking that the meat wasn't overcooked and the veggies weren't steamed for long enough.

In short, the cruise reminded me of how awesome of a cook I am. So both my sweetheart and I missed my cooking while I was away.

However, we got off in Cozumel, Mexico and I had THE best taco of my life. I could have eaten 20 of them. Cozumel is paradise. It's the most beautiful place in the world I have ever been. It was a majestic day on that island. We rented mopeds...while I feared for my life riding those beasties, it was a delight. I loved being out in the sun, zipping along the coast with the sweetest scent in the air.

There was a cheap little "resort" that I got to go try snorkeling in. It was INCREDIBLE! After I got past the I am going to suffocate to death and be eaten by fish fear, it was nice. The ocean around Cozumel is...get this...WARM! In California, I usually enjoy observing the ocean and maybe dipping my foot in. Cozumel, it's like jumping into a nice warm tub.

I'm moving to Mexico, guys. I wish.

Here we all are! I'm the shorty on the far right.

Next day was Mayan ruins. I saw the ruins in Chichen Itza! How cool is that! Now. I could write an entire blog post on all the neat little facts on Mayan culture and architecture, but I don't know how many of my dear readers are as big of dweebs as I am. So I'll simply share some photos with you and tell you that ancient Mayans were some dang smart people.

It was an incredible society with some weird stuff going on.(Okay, one weird fact and I'll be done: They had a sport they played and at the end of the game, one person was sacrificed. Guess who it was? Ready? Winning. Team. Captain. My sweetheart jokes that this might be why they were able to become such an advanced society, they simply killed off the jocks. Ha!) 


I guess I should also mention I saw New Orleans. Now. True to my nature, the highlight of New Orleans was this old coffee stand. I fell head over heals in love with Cafe Du Monde.

Beignets are simply the bomb. You eat them, and after you finish you have like a quarter pound of powdered sugar leftover. Deep fried. Done right.

Now did I try out some Southern food? Well...let's put it this way.

But in short, New Orleans is exactly how you would picture it. A little French influence. A lot of cheap plastic beads (New Orleans is the land of the cheap plastic bead necklaces). Jazz music is always playing somewhere, everywhere. You'll probably even see strange voodoo priestesses wandering around now and again. We're not in Utah anymore...

This is a VooDoo Priestess's crypt. Freaky, deaky, eh?

Yes, I took this trip without my sweetheart. That in and of itself was an experience. In the two years we've known each other, I think the longest we've gone without seeing each other since our first date was two days. I totally didn't even realize that until I thought about it the week before this trip.

My family has a saying, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder, but usually that fondness for someone else."  But I can tell you, that trip just made me appreciate what I have at home with my sweetheart all the more. After all, it's incredibly awkward cracking jokes in an elevator and no one laughs, and you still have three more floors to go. That's where my sweetheart comes in.

The charmer that he is, I came home to not one, not two but THREE bouquets of flowers and a lovely candle when I walked in around midnight at the conclusion of my journey. I feel so blessed to not only have the opportunity to have seen more of the world, but to have a wonderful home to come to with him. I am living the dream.

Ode to the Internet

I LOVE THE INTERNET SO MUCH!

Whew, okay, that is out of the way.

Two weeks after moving, we finally have Internet. From now on...next time we move I am going to insist on having Internet on right along with water, electricity and gas before I set foot in my abode. It has been a rough two weeks, no music, no blogging, no reading endless and mindless articles, YouTube, Netflix...can you see how sad I've been? Going camping for a few days, I can handle roughing it without Internet...beyond that all bets are off.

We're loving our new apartment. My favorite feature? Windows. Our last apartment didn't have a window anywhere, or at least a window respectable enough to call a window. This is what basement apartment living is all about. That's before we get to the made in the 1970's carpet.

Yes, we love our new apartment. It's taken a lot of getting used to...before I could be in the kitchen, my sweetheart could be in any given room in the apartment and we could carry on a conversation. This apartment is a little too big for us to be wandering around in and have nice continuous conversations. So we're learning to sit still and complete conversations before exiting the room.

Also...we've never needed furniture up until this point. Last apartment was too small for furniture. Now we have a big vacant room that I believe people call a "living room". It's a bit echo-y, and it turns out (as we learned from our prior apartments) American visitors (well, come to think of it even our international visitors...) find it a bit odd to be invited to take a seat on the floor. Couches, dinner table seating are apparently big things in our culture. (I sincerely hope you caught my sarcasm through all of that.)

I'm incredibly happy right now. I'm so happy to be moved out of Utah County, so not my kind of town. I've gotten comments from Salt Lakers about how "rough" a transition it must be working in Salt Lake City and moving here after growing up in and living in Happy Valley for so long...but honestly, it just feels like coming home. People are so nice in Salt Lake. Everyone's a little "weird", and it makes it so we can all get along and be genuine. I love it.

Years ago, when I first moved to Salt Lake City, people must have thought I was so strange being so quiet, shy and downright fearful of speaking. I got over that fast once I saw that Salt Lake City really is a place you can be open and honest about who and what you are. As long as you don't shame others for being different, others won't shame you for being your brand of different.

I definitely feel like my sweetheart and I are moving towards a brilliant new era in our lives. I'm excited about all the opportunities we're being presented with and blessings we're receiving from God everyday. Every time I get alone with my thoughts, I feel as if I'm bursting with joy. I'm so grateful my little heart can't quite contain it. I can't believe I wake up every morning with my sweetheart right beside me. I spend each day working on various creative projects for my JOB. I've put a great distance between me and my hometown. I can't believe this is my real life.

I feel like I should use that last paragraph for an acceptance speech or something. I am pretty sure a few of you readers are laughing and saying something like, "Sheesh, Annalisa...don't get so excited you're STILL in Utah and that's not very exciting." and "Whoop-dee-do, you have a decent job out of college...chill out."

But I will not "chill out", I am celebrating this victory with full gusto.

Peace!