DAY SIX (Tuesday 11/20/12)

Happy Turkey Tuesday!!


1 - Wake Up @ 6:00am

     This challenge is getting a little easier.  However, I am still tempted to say nuts to this every morning.  Five minutes later, I usually talk myself out of going back to bed.  Honestly, is that extra one hour of sleep going to matter in an hour?  At Noon?  After work?  Probably not.  I am just really bad at waking up when I don't HAVE TO.  Currently my morning routine is wake up, work out, cold shower, coffee, breakfast, a chore or two, off to work.  I like it, but I don't want any of this to become routine quite yet.  Routines are boring; mornings shouldn't be.

2 - Scottish Shower

     I'm wondering if any of you have tried this.  You should.  If nothing else, the next time you're in the shower...step back, turn the knob all the way cold and put your hand under the water.  What you're feeling is awareness.  You are now conscious of your hand.  The way it feels, the way it moves under the water, how it feels so much colder than the rest of your body.  Your hand has always existed.  Your brain and body are in constant communication with it, but your mind isn't.  Through pain comes awareness.  How often do you think about your big toe?  Never.  Then you stub your toe on the couch.  Suddenly the world doesn't matter.  It all becomes a blur.  The only thing on your mind is your appendage.  A direct link from your toe to your conscious mind.  You are reminded, "Holy shit!!  I've got a friggin' toe!!"  This is how I feel when I shower.  I don't sit in there fretting about the day's workload, contemplating whether or not I should buy a powerball ticket or figuring out what time I should start standing in line to get a big screen TV at Best Buy at 3:00am on Black Friday.  I am aware of my Self.  I am alive.

3 - No Television

Whether or not I'm rubbing off on Rachel with this whole "Challenge" deal, last night she decided to memorize a stack of vocab notecards the size of a Dagwood sandwich.  She also decided to watch the Chopped marathon on FoodNetwork (one of our favorite shows).  I would stop by every once and a while to find out why she was groaning at the TV set and it was very difficult resisting the old 'park my ass on the couch with snacks' scenario, but I ultimately avoided the marathon of "___ was undercooked; ___ tastes like total crap.  You've been chopped".

4 - Clean My Room

There's nothing like walking into a clean room after an ice-cold shower.  Pure bliss!

5 - Write A Song Every Day

I wrote DAY SIX on my lunch break while downing a Turkey Melt.  I produced it this evening.  Rachel's critical evaluation: "This one's my favorite.  I like the birdies."  I dubbed two single crow caws from the internet and remixed-remixed-remixed to create a flock of 'birdies'.  I am really bad at up-down picking, so this one took a lot of time and frustration to lay down.  The clamor from my room probably sounded similar to my first cold shower.  Here's the link: DAY SIX

6 - 30 Minute Workout

Waking up at 6:00am + Immediately working out = Success.
**Thanks again for all of the feedback.  These challenges mean spending A LOT of time alone...writing, recording and mixing...working out...cleaning my room.  The feedback connects me socially even though I'm in a silent room with my headphones on all day.