Thursday, October 2, 2014

Don't Change Your Mind About Me

Hey, gang!
It's been awhile, due to life.
But I started a new BOOK REVIEW BLOG! YAY!
Check it out and gimme some feedback!
I promise to be back with more musings once I make time to muse.

Lates,
Tyler

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Necessity

Check out my newest video for SpiceCo Productions, where I sing like a broken cat and pound on an utterly out-of-tune piano!



Dream

There are many things in life that I'm uncertain about.
But the only constant thing that has remained true in my life, 
the one thing that I've known for certain, is set design.
It's my calling.
It gives me purpose.
I feel it down to my bones, and I know that theatre is where I belong. 




I like to think that I've, in a sense, shown stereotypical signs for this my entire life.
My predisposition to LEGO's as a child.
My name, Tyler, meaning "builder" (I use "meaning" very loosely, I think Tyler actually means tile-er, as in someone who tiles things. Shut up, I'm counting it.)
Maybe it's genetic. My grandfather was highly into woodworking.
My great uncle built sets for Saturday Night Live.
But when it comes down to it, at the end of a long, incredible day of building sets, I feel absolutely unstoppable. 
It fills me with the most intense joy and satisfaction.
There's something so solidly serene about building sets.
Something about working with my hands,
building something from the ground up,
something from a different world,
but made from material that I get,
and material that gets me,
something that challenges me to be both strong and creative,
                                                                      to look past the norm and be impossible.

It's my paradise.
I'll share my passion with the world, and inspire others.

Friday, June 13, 2014

Dear Heart

Everyone should have their own personal manifesto. A gathering of words that, when uttered, strikes a chord in you. Calls you to action and lifts you back up. Points out your weaknesses and gives you the strength to face them head on. This is the the Manifesto de Tyler:


Go get lost.
Embrace the vulnerabilities that truly make us human.
Be there for family.
Never take friends for granted.
Don’t be afraid to experience life on your own.
Discipline yourself.
Ask the Big Questions.
Do as much as you read.
Be confident in any situation.
Remain strong.
Have control.
It will get better.
Live instead of going through the motions.
Authentically.
Shamelessly.
Without abandon.
Meet people and create with them.
Appreciate every bite.
Try more.
Suck less.
Be a beautiful mess.
Be alive.

Monday, June 2, 2014

Do I Worry?

The future holds unknowable tales, both fantastic and terrible.

One of the several consequences garnered from my ever-persistent anxiety is this sort of unrelenting scenario-creator. 
Where will I be in five years? 
In ten years? 
What kind of man will I become? 
What am I going to do for a living? 
Who am I going to marry?
Which career pathway should I take? 
The one that sets me up for a stable financial future or the one that makes me happy?

I'm constantly shoved forward by these thoughts. Forward forward forward. 
There are Forwards that harangue my mind, never ceasing to doubt every step I take. These are the Forwards that appear most prominently on a day-to-day basis.
But there are pleasing Forwards as well. Forwards that I envision fondly and make my mind race with serotonin and other happy chemicals.
I look forward to finding the perfect gal.
I look forward to bonding with my grandchildren.
I look forward to opening my theatre one day.
I look forward to the success of SpiceCo. Enterprises Inc.
But most shockingly (upon reflection on my morning coffee walk) I both look forward to and don't look forward to Change.
Change in myself, and my environment.
Change used to terrify me. I abhorred anything that made me uncomfortable or vulnerable.
PROGRESS, FRIENDS! PROGRESS!
(I'm sorry, I'm just really excited about this personal success. It's big for me, okay?)

Flip your perspective. 
Change is only a beast if you give it teeth and claws.
Lates,
Tyler

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Why Am I Still Dreaming?

This past November, I boldly took on the challenge of writing my own novel. I did not preface this journey with any sort of preparation or forethought, only the desire to one day publish a novel. I was driven with the knowledge that if I didn't just stop saying I'd write one and just write one, that I'd never actually do it. A sentiment I still wholeheartedly believe in.

So I bravely (*cough* foolishly *cough*) signed up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), an event held each November in which aspiring writers take on the goal of completing 50,000 words in one month.

To say it was difficult would be a complete and total understatement.
It was, without a doubt, one of the toughest things I've ever done.
It was also one of the most rewarding experiences of my entire life.

There were times when it was painful, trudging through a broken landscape of charred words and lazily-assembled characters. Watching the grammatical mistakes fly through your fingers without stopping to change it, because doing so would set you back that many more seconds. Every second counted, and the pressure mounted with every day that you passed up on a chance to write.

Reading it would have been akin to squirting lemon juice straight into those corneas.
And yet, as ugly as it is, I still love it like my tiny, deformed child with a speech impediment. It came from my mind, heart and soul. It's a part of me unlike any physical limb or spiritual state of mind.

Admittedly, I have yet to pick it up or edit since I finished it. I'm not lazy, but I think taking that much out of myself and putting it in another place took a toll on me. Gonna take some time to relive that story line, but I dearly look forward to doing so. The sense of accomplishment after having written a (short) novel was unlike anything I'd ever experienced.

We humans are quite notorious for creating things. Succeeding at bettering each other each and every day. Making something easier or building something taller. Making someone smile or putting food on the table after a hard day's work. Human history is riddled with successes big and small, and I gotta say, when I met that 50,000 word count limit, I felt like I was Rocky on the top steps of the goddamn world. I wouldn't trade it for anything. So for any future writers out there, I offer these words of advice:

1) Stop dreaming. Do it.

2) Write a check to an organization, association or individual you greatly despise to be mailed out to said organization, association or individual if you do not meet your deadline.

3) Oh yeah, have a deadline! Motivation, motivation, motivation!

4) Write like the crashing waves in an ocean swell. Do not look back, only look forward. Type first, edit later. Every second counts, and the more you look back, the quicker you'll lose sight of the future.

5) Do NOT skip a day. Who gives a flying f*** if you're sleepy? Soldiers you're age are out there putting their lives on the line every single day to give you the right to have electricity, not have a curfew, and write opinions about whatever the hell you want. And you're too sleepy to better yourself and feel accomplished? Boo freaking hoo. What were we talking about again?

Lates,
Tyler

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Fools Rush In

Hey there, folks!
Here are a smattering of my other non-vlog YouTube creations and collaborations. Enjoy!
Lates,
Tyler







Saturday, May 17, 2014

Drinking Again

Drunk Tyler reporting for duty.
I'd like to preface this blog by stating that I am inebriated. And and and and wine. :)
I stand before you today to address a very pressing issue: the useless existence of pennies.
What the hell, right?
I had to count down the register at work today, and you know what I realized?
Pennies suck donkey dick.
We don't use them anymore, they're useless, an STD on the giant cock of the American economy.
You can't buy jack with a penny.
You can't even buy a PENNY with a penny.
It costs more to make them than they're worth!
And some people are all "oh, but they're part of American history, we need to keep them for the sake of sentimentality!"
F*** YOU!
That's right, I censored myself!
That's how angry I am with pennies!
I digress.

Lates,
Tyler

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

All I Do Is Dream Of You

Been awhile since I've last blogged (I mean, previous to the one I posted earlier this morning. I'm not that clingy, don't flatter yourself), and it's only now that I appreciate the art (if you can call it that) of documenting and writing your thoughts as I do here.
I didn't particularly accomplish a lot today. I reluctantly crawled out of bed, ate a couple burritos topped with dangerous amounts of sour cream, watched a video of a zookeeper rough housing with an adorable lion cub. But I also blogged, and that blog made me feel as if I'd accomplished a week's worth of errands. It relieved so much mental stress that I'd (apparently) been stocking up and wasn't aware of until I hit that "Publish" button this morning. 
It's easy to write off or take for granted our minds. We're constantly doing, thinking, planning, daydreaming, actualdreaming, and stimulating that after awhile, we just expect our minds to suck it up and carry on. But like a broken leg needs a doctor, so too does our mind need therapy. Of one form or another. Whether it be a professional you're paying, or alcohol with a bath, or pounding out of few sentences for your ever-expanding fan base (looking at you 21 people in America and 1 guy in Germany). It's my hope to keep you both entertained and in a constant state of worry for my mental well-being, the latter being entirely unintentional. Thank you, more than you know.

Lates,
Tyler

I'm Beginning To See The Light

21 Lessons After 21 Years
  1. Take your time making life-changing decisions. Don’t let anyone guilt you into something.
  2. Workout regularly, you will feel better.
  3. When you move out, do not stop visiting your parents.
  4. Try to read a little bit every day. If you’re not going to school, this is the perfect way to keep your mind active and constantly growing.
  5. Get lost as much as possible. It will help you find yourself.
  6. Become a regular somewhere. A cafe, a bar, the ice cream shop. Doesn't matter. There’s a certain satisfaction in asking "for the usual."
  7. Don't rely on other people to go out and do things. People are flaky sometimes. Don't be afraid to experience life on your own.
  8. When the going gets tough, understand that it will get better. Maybe not right now. But it will.
  9. I love you is a phrase that gets thrown around a lot. Only say it when you truly mean it.
  10. Appreciate every bite of your food.
  11. You choose your friends. Never settle for them. But remember that nobody is perfect.
  12. Have pride in your environment. Keep it clean.
  13. Cell Phones are a double-edged sword. Don’t ever let it consume you. You miss important moments in life when all you do is mess with your phone. When you see your life flash before your eyes, try to avoid it being just visions of you staring at a screen.
  14. It's an unbelievably small world.
  15. Learning is genderless. Don’t not learn something just because you think it’s too feminine or too masculine. Car repairs, knitting, shooting, cooking. These are all just skills.
  16. It’s perfectly okay to be single. Embrace it when it’s there.
  17. Time that you enjoyed is not time wasted. Don’t stress out about being one hundred percent maximum production 24/7.
  18. Invest in your bed. You spend a third of your life sleeping, make it worth it.
  19. Ask the big questions. You might not find any answers, and it may freak you out, but you’ll feel much more conscious.
  20. Never mooch off others, but also try not to be so stubborn. Let others help you when they offer.
  21. Remember to pay yourself. Manage your finances and save for your future as soon as possible.
Lates,
Tyler