I've been struggling with a motivation problem. I work from home as a writer and a lot of times it's easy to fall into a pattern of getting nothing done. When I get into those habits, I have a problem pulling myself out from under them, and end up often times spending weeks with no motivation and no progress of any kind.
Because I'm aware that I have this problem, I have motivation boards and goals sitting right in front of me on white boards and peg boards and multiple calendars. These are helpful, but I still get in modes where I feel if I'm not working on my "big project" (aka my book) that I'm not doing anything. So today, I wiped all my goals from my white board and wrote out the current projects I'm working on. As it turns out, I currently have nine things in progress. Whoa. I had no idea. Seeing these things written out makes me feel a lot better and I think will keep me motivated to keep working on them every day. I even wrote out plans for each project on how to proceed to the next level through daily goals. My biggest goal? To make this summer my most productive ever. I want to feel busy from the moment I wake up until I fall into my pillow at night/early morning. I think it's only fair to myself and to the beautiful projects I've currently got on my plate.
What about you? What do you do to stay motivated or get yourself back on track?
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Ali Spagnola barred from performing in Michigan college community
Updated 5/4/2013: Ali Spagnola, a musician best known for
performing a 60 minute power hour, was barred from performing a
concert in Houghton and Hancock, Mich. on May 2 due to issues possibly
involving Michigan Technological University and the The Houghton
County Liquor Control Board.
The concert was to be held as part of
Spagnola's Epic Power Hour College contest in which the college with the most votes received a concert at their school. Michigan
Tech won the contest with 650 votes.
A “power hour” consists of 60
different one minute songs. At the beginning of each song, Spagnola and her
audience take a one ounce shot of beer. The controversial show is likely what caused the initial problems.
Spagnola has played these concerts before without incident. Last year, she toured the United States, performing about 15 shows.
Spagnola has played these concerts before without incident. Last year, she toured the United States, performing about 15 shows.
The event was originally scheduled for
May 2 at the Continental Fire Company, a nightclub in Houghton, but they canceled
on May 1 with a statement.
“We've received notification that MTU is quite upset with the idea of CFCo hosting your concert. We've hosted various MTU department events over the year and have begun to build our relationship with one of the MTU student groups such that we could serve as the venue for some student events. We were told that MTU would likely cut ties with us if we were to host your concert and I'm afraid we can't risk our long-term relationship with the university for the opportunity to host your concert.”Michigan Technological University President Glen Mroz was surprised at the statement and denied this is the case.
"This is the first I've seen this statement," said Mroz. "I don't know who wrote it, but I can say that no one was ever threatened with any reprisals...This is an issue between the organizers and vendors they have under contract. They need to sort it out."
Spagnola confirms that the university initially had no problem with her performing in Houghton, as long it was clear the concert was not affiliated with MTU. "The only communication I received from the university was an email asking me to clarify on my Facebook event that it was unaffiliated with the university and that I shouldn't use their logo," said Spagnola. "I immediately did as they asked, and they thanked me for my very prompt compliance. At that point I assumed they were happy with me. I heard nothing else from them though all of this."
The event was moved to the Orpheum
theater in neighboring Hancock, but because they do not have a liquor
license, issues with attendees bringing their own beverages forced
them to move it to The Uphill, a nightclub in Hancock.
"Someone alerted the authorities about the show and I heard through word of mouth that what we were doing wasn't allowed and they were going to shut it down," Spagnola said. "Once I found that out, I again began scrambling for another option."
"Someone alerted the authorities about the show and I heard through word of mouth that what we were doing wasn't allowed and they were going to shut it down," Spagnola said. "Once I found that out, I again began scrambling for another option."
The concert then caught the attention of the Houghton County Liquor
Control Board, who instructed The Uphill to shut it down, leaving
Spagnola and her opening act, Professor Shyguy, with no place to go.
The reason for the cancellation, as explained to Spagnola, was three-fold.
"They said the event could not be advertised with a $5 cover. It's illegal to advertise the cost of something at a bar. The fact that the description of my event on Facebook had the word 'game' is also not allowed. The third problem is that I'm not allowed to sell my merchandise. They said it's illegal to sell things that aren't food or alcohol in a bar," Spagnola said.
MTU Alum Adrian Hannah was baffled by this reasoning. "It just feels like whoever contacted The Uphill was grasping at straws to try and do whatever they could to shut it down," Hannah said. "All of the elements of this whole situation put together feels like a concerted effort from one party to keep Ali out of Houghton."
The reason for the cancellation, as explained to Spagnola, was three-fold.
"They said the event could not be advertised with a $5 cover. It's illegal to advertise the cost of something at a bar. The fact that the description of my event on Facebook had the word 'game' is also not allowed. The third problem is that I'm not allowed to sell my merchandise. They said it's illegal to sell things that aren't food or alcohol in a bar," Spagnola said.
MTU Alum Adrian Hannah was baffled by this reasoning. "It just feels like whoever contacted The Uphill was grasping at straws to try and do whatever they could to shut it down," Hannah said. "All of the elements of this whole situation put together feels like a concerted effort from one party to keep Ali out of Houghton."
The students who voted for the
concert were quite shocked and angered by the cancellation. Suggestions began pouring in encouraging Spagnola to come to the
city anyway. A gofundme.com event was created to help cover Spagnola
and Shyguy's expenses, and within two hours they were covered. Spagnola was thrilled by the support.
"Never has it been so awesome that so many people were upset. The students and alumni were really supportive of me through all of this and it was amazing to have them so excited for my show. I was absolutely flattered by the fact that there was such an uproar when it didn't work out," said Spagnola.
"Never has it been so awesome that so many people were upset. The students and alumni were really supportive of me through all of this and it was amazing to have them so excited for my show. I was absolutely flattered by the fact that there was such an uproar when it didn't work out," said Spagnola.
Even after the concert was canceled, however, it seems someone was still out to keep Spagnola and Professor Shyguy out of Houghton. A local establishment, The Downtowner, offered a room for a Power Hour-less party, but was contacted by the State Police and told they could not comply. Spagnola was also initially unable to find a room in the city.
"MTU even went so far as to try to stop me from having a place to stay. They told students not to let me stay with them. They tried to stop me from sleeping in the city of Houghton! On top of scrambling to find venues, I was scrambling to find somewhere to stay because people had canceled after MTU told them they should. I didn't know that was why at the time. I just thought I was having really bad luck with everything all at once."
While it's possible that someone at the university acted against Spagnola, President Mroz insists the school had no part in keeping Spagnola from performing.
"This is not a university function, nor is it sponsored by any university organization. So Michigan Tech has no say in it," said Mroz.
In the end, Spagnola is disappointed that those who wanted her out of the city didn't contact her in a reasonable manner.
"I really wish whomever was behind all of this would have just came to me in the first place. I was fighting a battle that I couldn't possibly win but I thought I was just fighting against bad luck and circumstances. This whole thing cost me a lot of time, money, hard work and stress," she said. "When I realized I was caused all these troubles not by bad luck but by a specific person or people that were out to thwart my every effort, it felt absolutely awful. I could have been saved all this strain, worry, effort and disappointment if they would have just been straightforward with me instead of silently following my every move and attacking once I'd gotten things set up again and again.
"Despite the fact that my marketing makes what I do seem like all fun and games, this is my livelihood. This is my business and my passion. I lost a huge amount of time and money that could have been spent on things that could have taken my business forward but instead, I was spinning my wheels and getting nowhere after days and days of effort because the people that were out to get me would not speak to me personally."
As of this time, none of the state agencies could be reached for comment.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Why does being gay have to come with an announcement?
Yesterday all my feeds blew up with the announcement that NBA player Jason Collins is gay. After the third or so post, I was already sick of it. The truth is, I cannot wait until someone's sexual orientation stops being a headline.
Don't get me wrong, I understand the importance of being the first openly gay current professional athlete. The fact that he's also black does not escape my notice. I'm incredibly happy for this man for being so honest when the blow back is going to be, and probably already has been, difficult. I guess the question I have is, why does it matter? It always shocks me when it shocks others that someone is gay. People are gay. Everywhere. In every culture, every profession, every place in the world. So the next question I ask is something I wonder every time a person being gay makes headlines - why, oh why does someone's sex life have anything to do with any other aspect of their life? If I don't have to proclaim myself as straight - an important part of who I sleep with and decide to have a family with - why the hell should my gay friends? It just seems invasive to me.
Why does being gay have to come with an announcement? Why should we force people to proclaim such a private thing? Why can't Jason Collins live his life openly without feeling shame for not telling everyone about it first? We live in a world that feels like it's everyone's business to know everything. We over share and don't understand when someone doesn't do the same. We also live in a world that shames people for who they are if we don't agree with the things they feel, say, or do. It's incredibly frustrating.
Why can't we just accept people for who they are, not worry about what they do in the privacy of their own home, and not be surprised/revolted/angered/cruel when who they are means bringing someone of the same sex to dinner?
I think Salt 'n Pepa said it best:
Don't get me wrong, I understand the importance of being the first openly gay current professional athlete. The fact that he's also black does not escape my notice. I'm incredibly happy for this man for being so honest when the blow back is going to be, and probably already has been, difficult. I guess the question I have is, why does it matter? It always shocks me when it shocks others that someone is gay. People are gay. Everywhere. In every culture, every profession, every place in the world. So the next question I ask is something I wonder every time a person being gay makes headlines - why, oh why does someone's sex life have anything to do with any other aspect of their life? If I don't have to proclaim myself as straight - an important part of who I sleep with and decide to have a family with - why the hell should my gay friends? It just seems invasive to me.
Why does being gay have to come with an announcement? Why should we force people to proclaim such a private thing? Why can't Jason Collins live his life openly without feeling shame for not telling everyone about it first? We live in a world that feels like it's everyone's business to know everything. We over share and don't understand when someone doesn't do the same. We also live in a world that shames people for who they are if we don't agree with the things they feel, say, or do. It's incredibly frustrating.
Why can't we just accept people for who they are, not worry about what they do in the privacy of their own home, and not be surprised/revolted/angered/cruel when who they are means bringing someone of the same sex to dinner?
I think Salt 'n Pepa said it best:
Monday, March 18, 2013
To post or not to post
The last couple of weeks I have been killing it with my writing. I've written about 30 pages in my novel and I started a new story that I think is going to be really great. However, you may have noticed that I have not written anything publicly. I've also not written any letters. So what's been going on?
First off, I've been busy. I really have been writing a lot of project stuff, so writing updates on my life that consists of only writing feels pointless if I have to stop my writing to do it, especially when I've been on this roll!
Secondly, I haven't had anything to write. I haven't written any letters or been thinking about anything in particular. I also haven't taken any really good pictures, except for this one.
Thirdly, a lot of what I'm writing for my projects is rough draft stuff. It's not brilliant, most of it probably isn't even good, and it doesn't have to be. It is, after all, a rough draft. When I write for you, however, I want it to be something more polished. (I'm sure there's some of you out there who scoff at this and say that nothing on this blog is "polished" but you haven't read some of my rough draft stuff, and also, suck it.) So I spend awhile trying to write for you, and then end up not writing anything because what's on the screen isn't how I want to come across. Sometimes I'm quite cranky, and sometimes very sappy, sometimes the subject just isn't right, and sometimes my writing is bad. Because like everyone else, I have bad days, bad weeks, bad months.
And now, honestly, I don't think I'll be posting this one either. I've been quite shy about my public self lately, and I hope I can get over it soon, but for now, I guess I'll just keep writing my book.
First off, I've been busy. I really have been writing a lot of project stuff, so writing updates on my life that consists of only writing feels pointless if I have to stop my writing to do it, especially when I've been on this roll!
Secondly, I haven't had anything to write. I haven't written any letters or been thinking about anything in particular. I also haven't taken any really good pictures, except for this one.
 |
| Adrian says he looks like Ted Mosby in college. |
And now, honestly, I don't think I'll be posting this one either. I've been quite shy about my public self lately, and I hope I can get over it soon, but for now, I guess I'll just keep writing my book.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
52 Letters: Writing letters is hard
Since the last time I updated you, I've written four letters, but I have to admit, it's been tough to find reasons to write people. I shouldn't complain - Kara has written 80+ letters and is still going strong, and I'm complaining about a measly ten.
I've found that if I write a letter when I'm feeling especially fond of someone that it helps. My friend Paula, for instance. She and I have gone back and forth in closeness over the years, and I've done a lot of disappointing. So I wrote her a nice letter, which, I hadn't realized, was sent out the week of her birthday. I hope she enjoyed getting a real letter for her birthday.
I also wrote a letter to my eldest sister, Steph, and my good friend, Sam, because one day they both made me so proud to know them that I couldn't contain my sappiness for one second. They should be getting their letters today. I hope they love them.
My final letter from the last two batches was a letter to our friends Javier and Sarah who found out recently that they're having a baby. It's exciting for me, because I've never met two people more suited to be parents, and probably more exciting for Adrian, who knew them both before they were dating and after, and also lived with them for most of his college years. The letter was terribly written and way too short, but I wanted to congratulate them, and so I did.
I've got a very long list of people to write to, and still haven't written to any true strangers (I'm at least familiar with The Bloggess), but I have a few things in the works. Despite the difficulty in the act of letter writing itself, I'm really enjoying the thrill of knowing that people are receiving something heartfelt in the mail.
If you'd like a letter from me, or know someone who might need one, let me know in the comments or email me at jessicaspengler@gmail.com. If you'd like to join Kara and me in writing letters, just do it! It's absolutely worth it.
I've found that if I write a letter when I'm feeling especially fond of someone that it helps. My friend Paula, for instance. She and I have gone back and forth in closeness over the years, and I've done a lot of disappointing. So I wrote her a nice letter, which, I hadn't realized, was sent out the week of her birthday. I hope she enjoyed getting a real letter for her birthday.
I also wrote a letter to my eldest sister, Steph, and my good friend, Sam, because one day they both made me so proud to know them that I couldn't contain my sappiness for one second. They should be getting their letters today. I hope they love them.
My final letter from the last two batches was a letter to our friends Javier and Sarah who found out recently that they're having a baby. It's exciting for me, because I've never met two people more suited to be parents, and probably more exciting for Adrian, who knew them both before they were dating and after, and also lived with them for most of his college years. The letter was terribly written and way too short, but I wanted to congratulate them, and so I did.
I've got a very long list of people to write to, and still haven't written to any true strangers (I'm at least familiar with The Bloggess), but I have a few things in the works. Despite the difficulty in the act of letter writing itself, I'm really enjoying the thrill of knowing that people are receiving something heartfelt in the mail.
If you'd like a letter from me, or know someone who might need one, let me know in the comments or email me at jessicaspengler@gmail.com. If you'd like to join Kara and me in writing letters, just do it! It's absolutely worth it.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Snowy Rant
As a former midwesterner who moved to New York City, I laugh a little bit when there's a snow storm on the horizon and people start to panic. Predictions like 10 inches or two feet overnight are pretty commonplace where I come from, and I don't understand why people worry it might be the end of the world.
I do understand, however, that I live in a city of millions of people, and because of that there needs to be precautions taken for a worst case scenario. I appreciate that, and I agree when Mayor Bloomberg suggests leaving work early, staying off the roads, and having a night in and watching a movie. These are rational precautions to take, and it makes me happy that the storm is taken seriously by the city without really causing people any need to freak out.
But just when my midwestern mind has accepted my new reality, Governor Cuomo declares a state of emergency on a storm that's barely even begun and which the prediction of snowfall is only 10 inches. What? I cannot even begin to tell you how much this enrages me. Update: I have learned that this is also a precautionary measure in order to ensure that organizations will have the flexibility they need to address the situation in case the storm becomes more serious. I am no longer enraged. However...the classification of this storm as a blizzard? I've driven in worse storms than what we had last night and made it home for dinner, and never once did anyone classify it as a "blizzard." I am so entirely sick of media making weather seem unnatural and reason to panic. This is not new. Unless one is a small child or just moved from a place that's never had snow before, the people who live here have been through this before. Why does media insist we panic? It's February in the northern region of the northern hemisphere of the planet Earth. Snowstorms happen.
I do not want to discount the damage that was done by the storm. Some places got up to 40 inches. That is insane. I hope everyone is okay, and I really hope that everyone, especially the worst hit and those who were displaced by Sandy, made it through the night safely and warmly. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
For the rest of you - knock it off. That goes for you too, Indiana.
I do understand, however, that I live in a city of millions of people, and because of that there needs to be precautions taken for a worst case scenario. I appreciate that, and I agree when Mayor Bloomberg suggests leaving work early, staying off the roads, and having a night in and watching a movie. These are rational precautions to take, and it makes me happy that the storm is taken seriously by the city without really causing people any need to freak out.
But just when my midwestern mind has accepted my new reality, Governor Cuomo declares a state of emergency on a storm that's barely even begun and which the prediction of snowfall is only 10 inches. What? I cannot even begin to tell you how much this enrages me. Update: I have learned that this is also a precautionary measure in order to ensure that organizations will have the flexibility they need to address the situation in case the storm becomes more serious. I am no longer enraged. However...the classification of this storm as a blizzard? I've driven in worse storms than what we had last night and made it home for dinner, and never once did anyone classify it as a "blizzard." I am so entirely sick of media making weather seem unnatural and reason to panic. This is not new. Unless one is a small child or just moved from a place that's never had snow before, the people who live here have been through this before. Why does media insist we panic? It's February in the northern region of the northern hemisphere of the planet Earth. Snowstorms happen.
I do not want to discount the damage that was done by the storm. Some places got up to 40 inches. That is insane. I hope everyone is okay, and I really hope that everyone, especially the worst hit and those who were displaced by Sandy, made it through the night safely and warmly. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
For the rest of you - knock it off. That goes for you too, Indiana.
Friday, February 8, 2013
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