A Blog Interrupted

It's strangely wonderful how the mind works when it conjures up old memories on its own. Sometimes you hear a song and you are immediately transported back to a specific place in time while sharing a fond moment with a favorite person. You smile and with a simple closing of the eyes and a twist of the volume knob, you relive what was previously left for dead in the infinitesimal recesses of your brain. This unexpected sprouting of emotions creates a self-referential pathway, a subtle way to connect with the events that shaped you into the person you are today. Anything can flip the switch: an obscure movie that gave you nightmares, an intersection in a familiar city, an article of clothing that found its way back to you. It's quite cyclical in that respect. Everything we witness on a daily basis holds the potential to unlock forgotten memories if we allow our minds to wander far enough. Anything significant enough to be remembered, even the seemingly insignificant, will eventually be remembered if we wish them to be.

I thought about this as I watched the Bulls play the Heat yesterday in the first round of the NBA playoffs. I thought about my childhood and the intensity with which my love burned for this team. I thought about how I squeezed my Dad tight when he informed me that my grade school graduation present was going to Game One of the 1996 Finals against the Sonics with him. I thought about how my boiling contempt for Isaiah Thomas and John Starks sometimes made it difficult to breathe. I thought about watching Game Six of the 1993 Finals during a thunderstorm in rural Virginia, reception fading in and out, losing my mind as Johnny Paxson stroked the three-peat clinching shot. I thought about 72 wins and how impossible that seemed even as it was happening.

As the game went on, I thought about the last two seasons with the "Baby Bulls". Two years ago to the week is when they played the Wizards in their first playoff appearance since MJ graced the halls of the United Center. I was just arriving in San Francisco and settling in at this time and I remember the excitement I felt. I remember watching a Saturday game with Kane and Steveo (two gents I consider dearest of friends) and polishing off a case before the final buzzer. The Bulls ended up losing out, but I was just happy to be there. On the West Coast. On my own. Less than a year out of college. Life looming as this complete uncertainty over me.

A year later, when the Bulls were battling the Heat in the first round, I was preparing for a cross-country move from SF back to Chicago with my entire life meticulously stacked inside my Volvo. I also started writing this blog right around this time (I reference it in the earliest post). So, once again, a Bulls playoff run is neatly coinciding with more transition in my life. Well, it only seems appropriate that, with another Bulls playoff, comes more change...

As some of you may or may not know, I've made some big changes in my life recently. Some lifestyle decisions as well as some overall life direction choices. I just started a writing project within the past two weeks which will involve a tremendous amount of dedication. I would just say, "I'm writing a book," but that usually only earns incredulous tilts of the head and sarcastic pats on the back, so let's just call it a "year-long writing project" and leave it at that. I'm also enrolling in summer workshops to attack the entire writing process a little more wholeheartedly. I'm interested in elevating my writing from casual pastime to substantive pursuit, in whatever form that takes. Considering this new aim of mine, I've decided to put this blog on hiatus until future notice so as to dedicate the proper time needed to achieve my goals. I've really enjoyed the exercise of writing this blog as it has kept me always aware, always concerned with the world around me. I've been constantly interested in the content of my fleeting thoughts, from things that get scribbled on napkins in smokey bars to ideas that get dreamed up in the small hours of the morning. It's been a wonderful opportunity to express myself and I hope, for you, it provided some quality distraction. Thanks for looking out, I'll catch you guys on down the road...

In addition to my writing project, I also plan on submitting articles to webzines and other online literary journals as the summer goes on. I'll make sure to link to those on this blog once that happens so please check back every once in a while.

Mahalo,

Donny