Creative Outlets (AKA No you can't plug your phone in one)

I was wrong. Right now I'm spending my time running around and counting down the days till the 18th... I'm supposed to be working on a slideshow but I can't focus... at all... which is why I'm here. I've been thinking a lot about why things seem so crazy, and I think it has something to do with my lack of creative outlets. I work, I clean, I organize, I plan, I put together, I make calls, I practice stuff... and then it's 2:35 am, and I was supposed to be in bed by 10. Facebook and Tumblr have provided enough distraction between projects that I don't go insane, but it's been months since I've read a book. It's been months since I've written anything. Even watching movies is hard to do without double tasking and trying to get something else done. And when I make plans, I stick to a schedule.

I've boxed myself into this thing called adulthood and I have no more room to fly, and that's not okay. I need to start dumping into a creative outlet again... I honestly think everyone needs one to survive, and I think mine is writing. I'm pretty sure it is, because when I go for long periods of time with out fanfic-ing, drabbling, or blogging, I get stressed. My hands don't stay as still as they should and I can't sit still. I'm unable to focus, I'm irritable, and I don't sleep. I used to think it was because I just had a lot going on and, that's partially the case, but it really is because of how my brain works.

I overanalyze, it's what I do. I'm over-analytical. I look at something and it reminds me of something else which reminds me of this thing I saw which makes me think of something funny which could be a good line in a story if I ever write one again. I see something else and wonder what kind of history it's had, what it could mean between the lines, what's going on that we can't see and hey that'd be an interesting idea for a story if I ever write one again. I hear a song and it reminds me of someone which reminds me of a moment which makes me think of a storyline that would be interesting for a story if I ever write one again.

Pretty soon my head is filled with all these ideas and possible plots and quirky one liners and I can't sit still, I can't focus, I can hardly form a sentence without effort because there's no room for anything else and that was why I blogged so hard core a year ago, that was why I joined up for NaNoWriMo and that was why life wasn't as stressful when I made a vow to write a short story every day for a month.

I need my creative outlet so I can get rid of the stuff bouncing around in my head, so I can manage my life better.

It's like my friend Jordan says: Ideas are nothing if they aren't birthed into the world as something real, something tangible.

I can't keep letting these ideas float around in there to dissipate into nothing but stress and anxiety. I need to get creative again which means I need to start writing again.

So that's what I'm going to do. I dub this summer the first annual Limitless Ramblings Summer of Writing and Other Stuff. Summer festivities kick off on May 29, 2010.

Make it so, Number One.