EricNentrup.com

Yes, I’m still alive. I haven’t written this past month and now that it’s August, it’s time to make an effort. July is an odd month. Last year, I was in Alaska for a week, Myrtle Beach for a week, and still managed to shoot a political campaign for the mayor, vet a few meetings with other clients, and visit my good friend Schuyler who was recovering from a freakish pulmonary infection. The latter of this list is the hinge-pin for this year.

While visiting Schuyler in the hospital, he introduced me to the Tour De France. This year, I was ADDICTED to it. I mean, it controlled me this year. I LOVED every minute of it I could squeeze out of OLN’s broadcast or one of several websites. It was a thrill to follow Lance Armstrong to his record 6th win. Earlier this year, I read his book “Every Second Counts,” and became very interested in him as a person and a cyclist. So, starting in Denver for the prologue, and concluding in Dauphin Island, Alabama, I followed the Tour religiously.

All this momentum has shifted my interest in riding for myself. This month, I started taking my mountain bike on road. I’ve done a couple of 20-milers already and LOVE it. I’m much more inclined to ride on the road for mileage than I ever was off road. Of course, I’m obsessed now with the idea of getting a road bike and have my eye on one. I of course want to see if I can work out a deal with a local bike shop again, but don’t know if I can get the deal done. We’ll see.

So, starting in Denver for the prologue, and concluding in Dauphin Island, Alabama, I followed the Tour religiously. Yes, another busy July. And now that it’s August, I am pressed to boost my work load, get some projects finished, some other projects started, and look towards fall.

The other day we had an amazing sunset. We drove down to the end of our neighborhood to watch it set over a recently harvested wheatfield. We get lots of beautiful sunsets in Indiana, but this one was beyond description. We were so calmed by the immensity of it.

The night before last, I talked with my sister for a while and am amazed by her wisdom. She’s 20, and was offering me some very wise counsel. The conversation was about a forthcoming vacation that my side of the family has thrown together in the past couple of months. I’ve had reservations about it in a seriously negative manner, and have been trying to balance that out with the need to do constructive things with my parents and siblings. It’s been easy for me to be stubborn about the whole thing, thinking I know better in many instances, and I’m trying hard to just set that aside. As I told Jenny, once I get down there, I’ll be fine, but it’s every little news bulletin leading up to the trip that makes me want to run for the hills. She was urging me to do some serious introspection about the deeper issues that cause me to NOT want to participate. I don’t know what they are. I don’t know that there ARE deeper issues. I simply don’t like the choices my family makes on the whole. They are not the choices I would make. And that’s perfectly fine. Neither I nor they need to change. But she is right about our methods of communicating to each other and that we do have a responsibility to improve in those areas. Nonetheless, I plan on going and having a great time even if all I do is get a bunch of reading and writing accomplished. That’s the worst case scenario for me.

In other news, I’ve been offered a local teaching job for the coming school year. It seems simultaneously a big commitment and a huge blessing. The pay isn’t the blessing, but the further development of local opportunities is. It will be the third different teaching position I’ve filled in the past few months. Crazy how that has just taken off. And I think it’ll only be on the increase. Hey, I think I could stand doing more teaching and have summers off. We’ll see what becomes of that.

I’ve been doing some bathroom reading about David Selznick, the famed Producer behind such cinematic classics as “Gone With The Wind” and a whole pile of Hitchcock films. It’s funny to read about how the movie industry was quite the manufacturing boon back in the early 1900’s. I’m sure it’s not much different in biz model’s from today’s studios, but it feels like “film as art” wasn’t even a topic. Not that Selznick wasn’t well read–he was. He was also quite the artist, poet, writer. But I don’t think I’m going to read any further. I’d like to pick up my copy of “Hitchcock’s Notebooks” and read about Selznick and Hitch’s tumultuous relationship from the famed director’s perspective. I’ve not yet become a Hitch fan, as I’ve only seen a relative few amount of his flix. Nonetheless, I’d love to do a more intentional approach to them and watch his library.

Well, I’m feeling somewhat warmed up. I’ll either jump into writing now, or pick up a screenplay to ready. I should do the latter. I need to have some reference in my head refreshed.

This is an obligatory blog about a variety of things. No particular theme.

It’s just been nearly a week, and I wanted to make sure I kept writing. Not for my “faithful readers,” but for me. Writing is something that I’ve learned is part of who I am. I don’t know if I’ll ever get paid to be a writer exclusively, but I know I need to write. Lately, I’ve been finally making progress on my screenwriting. I think disciplines like my handy iBlog, my Morning Pages, and continual reading about the craft are what fuels that. I’m feeling the need to pace myself on the screenwriting, though. I’ve had more and more days where I’m feeling fairly sullen, and I’m curious about if it’s happening after I spend the morning writing. Don’t know yet.

So, the race was great. I think I could get into Grand Prix. I might have to have Pap tape the Magny-Cours race for me in a couple of weeks. It was a wild race, and I’d like to get back to it next year, I think.

Well…I guess I’ll add more later.

Eric…In the Pits…on the infamous “Yard of Bricks”

Sunday, I’m going to 5th running of the US Grand Prix courtesy of my good friend Dan Mustard. But today I got a preview, as our tickets allowed us entrance into the Pits for a walkabout. There wasn’t much excitement (no engines being fired up, no driver practice, etc.) but it was a great primer for me, a relative newbie to the whole Formula One game. It’s pretty neat how ecstatic our European and South American friends become over this sport. I saw quite a few folks with their faces painted, Prancing Pony flags a-flying, and a whole bunch of nationalities being celebrated even yet today, 3 days before the race. The sad thing is, most of the American population is pretty well “spent” after the Indy 500 JUST 3 1/2 weeks ago! The move of the race from a fall running to the beginning of summer seems to have an anti-climactic effect, as far as the media’s concerned. But since so many travelers are here from abroad, who really cares if the Wal-Mart crowd doesn’t appreciate the obvious superiority of this race.

So, I’ll take my IMPORTED BEER, my snobby attitude, and look forward to the big race.

Breaking Cabin Fever with a visit to Johnny Carino’s

I’m bridging the gap between the lunch and dinner crowds at Columbus’ most recent pseudo-Italian Restaurant. It’s got a warm atmosphere, and the sodas are great. Kim discovered them first. But I discovered their Jalapeno Tilapia our first dinner here. Their bar is quite well-stocked, though I haven’t come over just for a beer yet. Some night I shall.

Sunday, Kim and I picked up a paper for the real estate section (which we learned comes in SATURDAY’s edition) and on the front page, right under Survivor, Rupert Boneham’s pictorial, was an article that cited city officials in business and tourism as exploring the marketing of Columbus as a RETIREMENT COMMUNITY! And this pissed me off. For some reason that really has NO bearing on my day to day life, I take offense that my town would become a pleated-khaki’s and pastel wearing, condo-dweller’s paradise. I guess after wanting for an eternity to feel as though I and other twenty/thirty-somethings mattered, I heard this as a bold-faced, “NOT REALLY.”

And this comes up because I’m the only person sitting in this restaurant clicking away on their notebook. And I feel as though I’m the only person in this town who even know’s what a “blog” is. There are TWO weak-ass attempts at a coffee shop in this town, both of which are closed by 7pm, and the bars are inhabited by folks my age but who actually WANT to drink Coors Light with the country music blaring.

Yes, I know I’m selfish and picky. But I can’t believe I’m the only person in this town with my desires. Certainly there are others out their who like their coffee AND their beer on the strong side, and want to just hang out in a nice pub or coffeeshop or deli or eatery of some sort.

Rant over.

So, I’ll enjoy my Vanilla & Cherry Creme Sodas and perhaps if I start coming here with my notebook, they’ll throw up a wifi connection and make this place a hotspot. I guess somebody has to lead the charge.

A Beautiful Morning…

It’s only 7:30am and I’m up and at ‘em today. My Friday night/Saturday morning productivity is frightening. I can’t explain it. Procrastinated Productivity? Who knows. I think I’m just getting older. Or, I’m so seasonally governed (and only becoming more so) that I can’t sleep after the sun is up, regardless of how much I’ve slept. I was considering a hike today, but with the weather report being fairly touch n’ go, I think I’ll do the much more satisfying task of committing myself to working on some writing. But first, a funny story.

So, I’m watching this segment on Dateline last night about hypergraphia, the obsession to write. This gal they profiled can’t stop writing. And she’s convinced that she has to get all of her thoughts down on paper. Here’s a link to some info about hypergraphia if you’re curious. In fact, it is a wonderful excerpt from the book, “The Midnight Disease” by Alice Weaver Flaherty. Interesting stuff. Of course, I read it and think I’m screwed! I can’t figure out if I have hypergraphia or am blocked! Paranoia looms as I consider that I might have a mild bi-polar disorder. And then of course, I think, but if that’s what it takes to have success at writing, bring it on!

Of course I exaggerate. Nonetheless, it’s a fascinating topic and take on creativity. Especially after reading Julia Cameron’s work on creative writing.

Well….I’m thinking about getting a laser printer instead of forking over $65 to replace my ink cartridges AGAIN, so I’m going to stop the blog, read some reviews and then do some writing.

Yesterday was one of those days where I spend all sorts of time doing the administrative equivalent to eating my vegetables…

There were bills to be paid, credit card accounts yet to close (from rolling them into my biz loan), and there was a bunch of other piddly stuff to get done.

As I neared the bottom of my “inbox” (which is now a fairly large Rubbermaid container with a snap on lid), I came across an unfamiliar envelope and upon opening it, found a letter from our mayor, endorsing the work of a Rochester, NY based company for producing multimedia content for Columbus’ state funded website. This lit my fuse. Now, if you’re reading and need some bearings, I live in the fairly small town of Columbus, Indiana, of about 40K. I produced our mayor’s campaign ads last summer and for me to see him endorsing another producer, albeit one from bloody New York, you can imagine my anger. So I started making phone calls.

I quickly learned that this outfit is a group of wheeler-dealers who strong arm communities into buying their SHODDY work. I checked it out. And you can to by going here and watching the sample. They go by the name of CGI Communications or eLocal Link. I honestly don’t know enough about them to say much more. All I know is that they’re in MY kitchen and eating MY pie!!! That’s enough for me to say get the hell out of here. Of course, that has to be done with a Hugh Grant from Mickey Blue Eyes English cum New Yorker accent.

So, dealing with that, unbeknownst to me at the moment, put me in a foul mood for the remainder of the afternoon. When I was grumpy with my family later in the day, I felt pretty silly about it. I need to be able to put out fires, make confrontations (especially business ones) without getting as emotional about it. I need better “partitions” for my emotions so that when I finish that task and move on to my workout or creative writing, or hanging with fam/friends, I don’t drag that emotional aftershock with me and impose it on them.

Well, I’m on my way to a meeting now. It’s the 3rd meeting with this client and I’m hoping to close the deal with them. They need my services, I need their work.

Until later, make sure you watch the latest Strongbad cartoon.

I’m sitting in the downtown restaurant “Jackie Blues,” using their bandwidth and being a mobile professional this morning.

Well, PRETENDING to be one. Kim left on her trip today, and I’m batchin’ it all week. Of course, I’ve wasted NO time planning out my time-wasters…I’m heading to Indy this afternoon for a round of Disc Golf with Rob, and then on over to Shallo’s in Greenwood. They have something like over 200 beers and the best wings & rings around. But between here and there I have a workout, client meeting at the gym, and a 2-hour writing session that I’m warming up for right now.

I was thinking about my reluctance, or inability to get creative writing done–procrastination, planned negate (which is intentionally doing something else you’ve been procrastinating so you can further put off the bigger challenge), legitimate time commitments, etc. and have come to the conclusion that the psychological battle that one wages with oneself is far more difficult than the work itself. So, that said, I shouldn’t have any problem getting the work done, right? RIGHT!!?!?

I’ve got some clip on “Virgin” ear-buds that I picked up from Target for $10. They work pretty well, but I TOTALLY see why folks get noise-canceling headphones or in-ear models instead. They’re vacuuming in here as well as have the radio, tv and people to deal with. Ironically, I’m listening to the iTunes Radio broadcast of Virgin Radio UK. It’s become my fave net radio station …that is after Radioio.com started to charge. Bastards.

Oh well. we all have to make a living and most things worth having are worth paying money for. Yeah, I don’t believe that. Anyhow, I just heard an ad for UPS that had the line in it, “You can’t have everything, I mean, where would you PUT IT ALL?” It thought that was pretty funny.

Man, the Starbucks isn’t kicking in at all for me today. I so want to just go back to bed. But I will not. I won’t give in to that temptation! So, I better publish this blog entry and get my screenplay opened up so I can click away at it!