Life – Jake W. Powell

Once Upon a Time, I Broke the Law

Have you ever unintentionally broken the law?

Yes. I cut off a police officer’s vehicle while driving. It was an unfortunate incident, one of those galling moments that ambushes and commandeers an otherwise perfectly fine day.

I was driving home from dinner with some friends. So far, so good. It was after dark, and I was driving back from a part of town I hadn’t been to before, so navigation was a touch difficult. And, since I know some of you are already thinking it, no, I wasn’t drunk. I don’t drink. Anyway, I missed a turn and my sense of direction went topsy-turvy. I pulled into a parking lot to get my bearings, realized I was only a mile from home, and, in my eagerness to reach said home, quickly turned left out into the street.

As these things tend to go, that was the same moment a police officer was driving along. I didn’t see her, and I cut her off. I’ll never know how close it actually was because I didn’t spot her car, but I did spot the flashing lights and pulled over.

The officer also thought I might be drunk. I replied in the negative, she wrote out my ticket, and then, since this was the first (and so far only) driving infraction I had received, she very generously informed me that I could go to the county courthouse and pay to have the ticket removed from my record. And because I am not in the habit of desiring bad things to show on my permanent record, I did so ASAP.

…

What? Were you expecting explosions and gunfire? I broke the law, I never said it was a scene out of John Wick. I cut off a police officer, got a ticket, paid the ticket off. The end. Always remember to pay attention when you’re driving.

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Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?

Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“

Smartphones

The most important invention in your lifetime is…

The smartphone. Not the cellular phone in general, but specifically the smartphone with its advanced computing capabilities, online access and instant information retrieval.

Cell phones have been around a long time, before I was born, but the smartphone came into its own during my lifetime. Funny how science fiction seems to predict these things. Star Trek had those little handheld doodads that could scan anything and tell you if somebody was sick or healthy or mindmelded by Vulcans or whatever, and nowadays we have near-identical gadgets that can scan, measure distances, forecast the weather, monitor health, take pictures, and far too many other things.

Smartphones are interesting devices because few of their features are truly new, but they are devices that can do everything at once. That’s their significance – the number of features contained within one item. All that plus instant communication via phone call, text or email. That sort of versatility and the speed with which one can look up info and immediately apply it to the situation at hand make smartphones into what I consider the most important invention developed during my lifetime.

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Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

Lifetime Plans Within My Lifespan

Do you spend more time thinking about the future or the past? Why?

Time speeds up as we get older. As a kid, I could never understand how short our lives truly are. But that’s a kid’s pleasure and privilege – his whole life is spread out before him. Now, as I reach middle age, I find myself thinking more and more about the future, about the things I want to do, the things I can do and the things I might not be able to do.

Life is many things. You can’t sum it up in a sentence, but here’s one that at least defines one of its many facets: Life is something we must try to manage wisely. Time is a pesky resource that defies attempts to buy it back, reinvest or hoard. It scoffs at being treated like gold or oil. You can’t get more of it, ever.

So, when I think about my life, I think about the future. I think about my plans. I work toward accomplishing my goals. And yet …

I’m also learning to hold my plans loosely. Things change for both the better and the worse. Life is dynamic, and if we can’t be flexible, we’ll break under the stress. So, I plan, but I don’t keep those plans set in stone. Sometimes, I have to adjust or make sacrifices. The future is an unknown, and thinking I know what I will do tomorrow is self-deception. I don’t know. I can plan ahead, but I can’t ever be sure that tomorrow will turn out how I think it will.

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Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

Thoughts on Living a Long Life

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t care if I live a long life so long as it was a “meaningful” or “productive” one. The survival instinct is strong. I want to live as long as I am able to because I value my life, I don’t want to sadden my friends and family, and I enjoy life. And even if life were miserable and burdensome, I would still want to live on, if not for my own sake, then for the sake of others.

And yet, the issue is more complex than that, because I also believe that better a short and healthy life than a long and poor one. To live 90 years and have half those years be spent in perpetual sickness brought on by poor life choices or chronic illness would be a terrible thing. Would I rather I spent my days in and out of the hospital like a revolving door?

It’s easy to be glib with phrases like “I would rather die” when battered by life, but the reality is that the vast majority of humanity wants to keep living regardless of quality of life. Life in and of itself matters.

To the extent upon which it depends on my choices, I want to live a long life. I want to live healthily and happily. And ultimately, I want to live, period. In suffering and in happiness, I want to live.

Life is a chain reaction. Our lives create ripples that touch others and, to perhaps an even greater degree, so do our deaths. Life is lived not only for myself, but for those around me. Even strangers are affected by my life, and mine by theirs. Not something to take lightly.

Ultimately, the concept of a long life is one of ups and downs, struggles and victories, joys and sorrows. Life is meant to be lived, for however long we are on this Earth.

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Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

Echoes of the Past: Cities I Want to Visit

What cities do you want to visit?

I would travel everywhere in the world if I could. I love to travel and see new places and meet new people. Some call it “expanding your horizons,” but for me, it’s not as much a matter of pursuing personal growth as it is the fact I’m just curious. I want to know things. I want to see new things.

What cities do I want to visit?

Kyoto. One of Japan’s most ancient cities. Medieval Japanese architecture is beautiful and fluid, like water frozen in time. I want to visit its oldest sites, the temples and castles, and proudly say that I have visited this gorgeous city.
Vienna. I’ve heard good things about Vienna. I greatly desire to see its palaces and cathedrals and drink in the city’s memories. I’ve never been to Austria, and the chance to visit is one that I wouldn’t pass up.
Paris. Of course, everyone wants to visit Paris. Not the Eiffel Tower, though. I’ve been to plenty of tall places and am not interested in Paris’s biggest cliche. The City of Lights has plenty else to explore. I’d love to see it all.

Looking at this list, I suppose what I’m most interested in when visiting any city is its history. The oldest buildings, the most revered places. Older districts always seem to retain a city’s original identity, what makes it different from the others. Echoes of the past. That’s what I want to see.

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Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

Life is Lived Once

Is there an age or year of your life you would re-live?

I’ve often daydreamed about being able to rewind time and go back to college or childhood, when life was simpler and I didn’t have bills to pay. But after giving it some serious thought, I realize that there is no point in my life I truly want to re-live.

We only live life once, so I think I should focus on what I’m doing now and prepare for the future. Going back to the past would be great – it’s easier (or so nostalgia tells me) and I have fond memories of parts of my life. But …

Would those memories be the same if we went back and re-lived them? Or would I be overwriting those memories with new ones, and perhaps even tainting that which made those times so sweet? Every experience is once-in-a-lifetime. I don’t want to cheapen any of them with a do-over.

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Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

To Be Childlike, Not Childish

What does it mean to be a kid at heart?

Have you ever met someone who was not only physically old, but acted old? “Woe is me, I’m so aged. I can’t do anything anymore, and I must spend my days lamenting my remaining existence.” They’re not exactly fun to be around.

They’re kind of like Charlie’s parents from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, having given up and lying in bed all day.

Of course, then Grandpa Joe actually stands up, and this happens.

Being a kid at heart means never losing the spark of hope, creativity and optimism that permeates childhood. Everything is new, everything is exciting, and everything is worth running towards.

To be childlike, not childish. Anyone of any age can be childish. That’s the dark side of childhood: the whining, the screaming, the self-pity, the selfish delusion that everything exists to serve and coddle you.

To be childlike, though, encompasses the positives of childhood: an enjoyment of life, able to see the good and the fun in it, to charge into any situation and give it your all while laughing and smiling. Honest laughter. Sincere smiles. That strange concept of unironic, sarcasm-free fun that we seem to lose as adults. Adults like to analyze their existence. Kids just are.

In short, to be a kid at heart means to sincerely enjoy life, with all its ups and downs. To live life and embrace its challenges, its triumphs and all the people in it. To not lie in bed all day, but get out and breathe the fresh air.

Even those who have been hampered by age and injury can soak in the sun, if they so choose, rather than grumbling in the dark.

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Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

Success Takes Time

What’s something you believe that everyone should know?

Success takes time.

However you measure success – whether through contentment, accomplishing certain tasks, reaching certain milestones, or even just getting through the week – it takes time. Nothing comes instantly, especially nothing worthwhile.

When I say “time,” I don’t mean, “A few minutes” or even “A couple hours.” Days. Weeks. Sometimes, even years.

Cooking a good meal takes time. Reading (or writing!) a book takes time. Building your dream house takes time. Working up to your dream job takes time. Becoming a billionaire takes time. Building an intergalactic empire takes time.

Well, maybe don’t hold high expectations for that last one …

Anyway, if you have a goal and want to achieve it, expect to put in the hours. Nothing comes instantly or for free. Whatever you do, know that you will be putting in the hours and the sweat and maybe a few tears, as well.

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Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

The Moment I Knew I Had Grown Up Whether I Wanted to or Not

When was the first time you really felt like a grown-up?

Growing up is a tough thing. We don’t leave childhood behind. It simply skips away, leaving us behind. And we find ourselves in the world of grown-ups. We certainly do gain quite a few things as adults, though: Responsibilities, duties, jobs, bills …

But at what point does it hit home that we’ve grown up? Is it a slow, dawning realization, or a thunderbolt to the head?

I first felt the pangs of adulthood when I moved to college. I had never lived apart from my parents before. Well, there was that one week in summer school, but that didn’t really count. Now, I was in the car with my parents going to a campus miles away from home and with the full knowledge that I wouldn’t be coming back with them.

The moment I made that realization was the moment that I knew things were Different™. There was no going back to childhood ways. I was an adult. I would be living as an adult. That made me a little excited, a lot nervous, and very, very giddy.

You ever have that dream where you’re in freefall? And your whole body tingles with such severe giddiness that you feel like it will overwhelm you? That’s how I felt when I arrived at my college. I was falling, falling, falling, all the way down. The only thing keeping me from curling up into a ball of panic was the certainty that the fall would end with me hitting the ground standing upright. Everything was in order, my room was rented, my classes were scheduled, and my parents were still just a phone call away. I wasn’t going to fall forever.

And so I grew up. No more childhood games, just the memories of them. Big adult games, like Studying for the Test, Learning to Budget and Managing My Own Bedtime. Adulthood was upon me.

Of course, once I graduated and entered the Real World, I realized that college wasn’t a very grown-up place after all, but that’s a story for another time.

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Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

Out of Place, Out of Whack

Tell about a time when you felt out of place.

When I hear the phrase “out of place,” it makes me think that I have somehow misplaced myself or stumbled into something that is not meant for me. It implies being in the wrong place, not merely an awkward or unfitting one. And without a doubt, if I entered someone else’s home without their permission, I’d be very much out of place and rightfully kicked out.

Feeling out of place, though, is something different. That implies a sense of wrongness regardless of the reality. My position and my feelings on that position are at odds with each other. Things feel out of whack, not matching up, but I could very well still be exactly where I’m supposed to be.

I’ve felt out of place plenty of times, in places where I belong: at an employee staff meeting, hanging out with friends, and sometimes, even when writing my book. Sometimes it’s a brief flash of discomfort, sometimes it’s a persistent nagging in the back of my head.

Truth be told, I generally try to ignore it. We all end up somewhere in life, and if we feel out of place, it may well be because we took a wrong turn, but more often than not it’s because it takes time to settle into a new lifestyle, a new routine, a new step in our lives.

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Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.

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