Back to the Blawg

Wow. I look at the dates on this blog/blawg and I am almost startled when I realize how long I have been away. A lot has happened. My dear mother passed away at the end of May 2014. I have been dealing with grief and depression since then. Also, my business took a nosedive, and book revenues have been down, so I have been struggling.

An additional source of grief is that my parents' dog, Sebastian the Schnauzer, passed away at the end of January 2016. Some may say he was "only a dog." but I loved that little dog--and still do.

Still, it's time to resume writing here. I have missed posting to this blog and my life has progressed to a point where I can resume posting.I'll see how it goes. One day--maybe one hour--at a time.

Thanks to all of you who have been loyal readers and commenters and who have wished me well during this period of adversity. I appreciate you more than I can say.

Autumnal Renewal

It's the middle of October, and a time of renewal for me. I'm working on a number of projects, including marketing efforts, and staying focused on my work. Indeed, I'm renewing my commitment to making my law firm and my writing career successful. I have no lack of dedication, but the situation is frustrating because it is taking very long to generate new opportunities and cultivate them to the point where they develop some sweet fruit that can nourish me, both metaphorically and literally.

I'm not complaining; indeed, I consider myself blessed. I am taking a dream I developed over 16 years ago and I'm making it reality. That dream is to be self-employed, running my own law firm and earning a significant portion of my income from my writing. The flexibility and range of opportunities are unmatched and suit my personality very well.

I am a little disappointed that I am behind schedule on several things, including:

• my marketing efforts (with the law firm marketing consultants I have hired);
• completion of my minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) requirements, which are now overdue;
• pursuit of several additional writing and blogging opportunities that seem like they'd be great for me;
• completion of my currently quarterly update to my book, Internet Law, and writing the update that must immediately follow it; and
• of course, my boxing training.

I know things will soon get back to a more manageable routine and something that seems like order emerging from the chaos. It won't take long to get there, and I'm determined to enjoy the experiences I have along the way.

Back to Blogging; Busy Weekend; Training Hard and Enjoying It

February was quite a month. I've been away from the blog, mostly because I have been busy with work. It's an interesting challenge to balance all of these activities, but I am definitely learning a lot from it. Although I haven't posted any training updates, my training continues and is going fairly well. It could always be going better, of course, but I'm a perfectionist, so my attitude is permanently oriented toward improvement.

Here's a recap of what has been going on lately, in work, life, and boxing.

• In my defiant approach to the economic recession, I have been hustling to get some new clients. I have two new prospects and one to contact tomorrow. I am not being naive, but if the basic laws of chemistry and physics still apply, matter and energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Thus, in the aggregate, there is no less matter or energy in the universe today than there was a year or two ago, so we haven't truly "lost" anything. The matter and energy may have changed into different forms, but they still exist. As a practical matter, this means that the opportunities are still available, but we will have to be more persistent and imaginative as we look for them.
  

• Life continues to send its nonstop series of ups and downs. I'm enjoying my new neighborhood--and am confident I'll enjoy it even more once spring arrives with some consistently warmer weather.
  

• I helped my good buddy Mark move his home over the weekend. He's in the same building, but has moved to an apartment two floors above his former unit. I'm thrilled for him. He's still relatively new to Chicago, so I am glad he's getting settled comfortably in his new place. Mark is one hell of a great guy and a really good friend. Unfortunately, he recently lost his cat, Fritz, so it's a difficult time for him.
  

• Training got an added boost on Sunday. It was my first time attending the Sunday "fight club" (also known as "Small Group Boxing") at my gym. I was there in a group of about 12 guys and Glen, the trainer, who runs the 2 pm Sunday gathering. It was a great time and I look forward to attending the practices regularly. In addition to the shadowboxing, work on the bags, abs training, punching-and-defense drills, and work on the punch mitts with Glen, I got in some good sparring, too. (Thanks to Jim and Eric for pushing me hard and making me work!) It was a blast. Since all of the boxers are midlife guys--basically late 30s to late 50s in age--the group might offer some good business networking opportunities, too, as well as the chance to make some new friends. After all, some of my closest friends are guys I have punched in the face. I'm hoping my buddy Mark will attend some Sundays.
  

That's the update for now. I'm planning to get more content on this blog, including links to various articles I've found interesting. For now, thanks for reading, and stay strong!

Post-move Training: Friday and Saturday

I got through my move. Yippee!  Now it's back to something resembling a normal training schedule.  Here's the recap for Friday and Saturday.

Friday
60 minutes of roadwork
3 rounds of shadowboxing
3 rounds on the heavy bag
2 rounds of stretching
1 round of abs/sit-ups

Saturday
60 minutes of roadwork on a great, sunny day

Not Much to Report

I haven't blogged a lot lately because there just is not a lot to report on the boxing front. I have been consumed with getting ready for my move and trying to keep my law practice going and keeping up with my writing gigs. I've also spent a considerable amount of time helping my parents to get ready for their upcoming move. Training has been less frequent and less intense than I would like, but I know that's a temporary situation that I'll get past soon.

A man named Glen, one of the readers of this blog, who lives in the greater Chicago area, invited me to box with him in a local bout on September 25. Ordinarily, I would jump at the chance, but I have too many distractions right now to add a boxing match to the mix. My training isn't where it needs to be for such an event and there is no way I am going to box unless I am in fine physical and mental shape for it. I have no interest in getting injured or injuring anyone else. I also want to be a worthy opponent. It's a shame because, at least on paper, Glen and I seem to be very well matched.

I had to decline the invitation for this particular match. However, in the spirit of good sportsmanship, I've been reaching out to a few boxers and coaches here and trying to help Glen find an opponent. Also, I told him that I would be very interested in doing a bout in the future, if we are as evenly matched as we seem to be. If I could sensibly squeeze it in, when Glen has his bout, I'd love to be the guy in the opposite corner of the ring. That won't happen this time, but perhaps in the near future we can arrange something. In any event, good luck, Glen, and let us know how it goes!

Friday's Morning Training

Friday's training was brief, but I resisted the temptation to skip it entirely. I went to my parents' closing on their new condo later in the day, so the morning was pretty hectic, but I'm glad I got to the gym. The recap is brief:

• one hour of roadwork (I did this later in the day)
• 6 rounds of shadowboxing
• 1 round of stretching

I also talked briefly with Chad and asked him about learning some grappling and ground-fighting techniques. I will still always be a boxer first, but I'd like to expand my skills and learn some things that are outside my ken. He suggested that I talk with Robbie, so I'll do that this week and see what I can arrange.

Brief Update

Not much to report here, but I figured it's better to write something than to stay silent.  Last week, I went to the gym, and over the last 6 days, I've done about 3.5 hours of roadwork, so that's not too bad.

Life has been nuts lately.  (What else is new, right?)  My mother has been hospitalized since Sunday.  She's doing better and should be able to go home soon.  I'm planning for my move and helping my parents to plan for theirs and get the paperwork done for their new condo and so forth.  Additionally, I'm running my law practice and hustling to get some new clients, as well as finish my various writing projects.

In other words, life continues to be challenging.  I'm hoping to get to the gym tomorrow.