Blogging

Why I Have Been Gone – Autistic Burnout?

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Tyr’s Day!

If you also subscribe to my Youtube Channel Simple Life Philosophy, you already know that in therapy I discovered that I could be on the autistic spectrum. This has been a very revealing explanation of my past problems and struggles with what we know around here as The Grey. Depression. Depression is a symptom of a more significant issue with my nervous system, which may be wired differently than most. While haven’t had any official testing, the signs are all there and the ‘unofficial” tests say I have a high possibility of being on the autistic spectrum.

I have developed many mechanisms for dealing with this problem over the years and writing on a blog has been one of them. Some of my others include weightlifting, Reading, Hiking, Playing Games (this one is the one that is least productive and time-consuming 🙂 ), Writing in General, and most recently I am exploring gardening as a hopefully more productive way to deal with the nervous system stress as well as providing more of a tangible benefit.

For this blog and any blog I have had the danger is when I am stressed, I tend to write my feeling in their most raw form. This is why I moved away from writing personal posts here and simply went creative for a while. This has its limitations but it keeps me from posting things that are harmful to my family and friends feelings.

I have loved the latest round of fantasy fiction have been writing and the well hasn’t really dried up, but my motivation has been because I don’t have posts that express my true feelings right now here, so this blog writing thing isn’t really helping with my emotional expression issues, so I just don’t bother.

I am afraid right now to write expressing my emotions because I feel they would be much too raw. Too hard for others to deal with. So I mask and I don’t bother to blog at all. That’s right folks, not writing is a method of masking for me.

The Grey Wayfarer will always exist. It is too relatable a title to my own personal journey of life for me to ever discard it. That said, writing on this blog can be a joy or a chore. There is no in-between. Until I get a handle on the level of stress my autistic nervous system can take, it might always be this way. I just want you my faithful readers to know what is going on and that my posts are going to be sporadic until I get ahold of this issue better.

On a positive note, I have really taken off in writing off-screen with the design of making money. My novel has an outline and parts of it fleshed out and I am germinating a non-fiction book on my journey from faith to atheism. but even these two projects have their dry spells.

In short, if I am not around, just assume I am dealing with my new revelation of adult autism and learning about myself in ways I can live more effectively with it. I love all of you, readers, for sticking with me over the years. Thank you and as always…

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!

Preparation and Research – Update Post (Launch Date – March 18th, 2023)

/ Ed Raby Sr / 1 Comment

Happy Sol’s Day!

Just an update post in case people have been wondering where I have been. I have been doing the following three things:

  1. I have been getting my apartment to a place where it is functional with my routines and systems – not quite there yet but I have reached a point where it is the details and not big things, so it won’t be long before I am at a point where I am comfortable in my creative environment.
  2. Research – for writing purposes I have been reading a lot of Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition material. It’s good stuff and I find the 5th edition is a good example of things that worked in earlier editions and discarding things that were bad in those editions. Mostly I will be doing a solo adventure serial on this blog based on my solo adventures with my characters seeing right now I don’t have a group to play with. The great thing is that while it is hard to role-play by yourself when you are rolling the dice and doing the mechanics, the journal you do leads to some great stories. But I did make a decision to be very open to my first character being something else. I mean the whole thing is to take random dice rolls and gameplay and turn it into a story. The more random the better and that includes the main character. So I am going to randomize the first character and have the tools to do it now with some of my recent purchases of DnD material.
  3. Preparation – This is mostly in regard to my future YouTube channel as I have decided on a name and a direction. I have made a list of things to do so the Launch Date is set for March 18th for the first video and channel reveal. March 18th is my 54th birthday, so the launch coincides with a milestone for me.

Thanks for sticking around and the new subs. We are about to become more creative as I also have my Grey Avatar series that was just started in late February and soon a sci-fi one as well based on fan writing based on another game I play on PC. I appreciate everyone’s patience, but research and prep have taken up a lot of my time so I am up to speed when things get rolling. Peace.

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!

The Grey Wayfarer is Going Creative

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sol’s Day!

Sorry, I have been away for so long but I have been trying to get my apartment to where I want it and decide what to do with the Grey Wayfarer blog here. In the end, I can do a paper journal to keep track of my personal life with routines and all that. I need to get back into the practice of creative writing both as an exploring some possibilities and it is good therapy for me. So I am shifting this blog to a more creative route. So what will I be writing?

  1. I received the Solo Adventure’s Toolbox books 1 and 2 in the mail so I am learning the system so my series based on my solo adventures in Dungeons and Dragons will be starting very soon. I need to bone up on my 5th edition a little and do some initial world creation. After that, the system’s randomness will challenge me to push my creativity in directions I have not thought of before. Hopefully.
  2. I started another serial that is urban fantasy. I actually have written part of part 1. This one will be interesting as it focuses on one character, Norse mythology, and magic in our modern world.
  3. I am thinking about science fiction. I love science fiction but of all the genres, it would require me to research the most. I like my science fiction to be as close to real as possible. Perhaps short stories are best here.
  4. I am also going to try my hand at short stories, poems, and other creative projects. Note: no genre of writing is exempt from my hand which is why this blog will remain rated R and at times higher. I like dealing with real subjects in my writing.

I guess what we could say is that the Grey Wayfarer represents a journey of sorts. It will be my journey personally as I learn and grow and experiment with my writing. Part of who I am and what I am going through has always been expressed in my writing. Artists reveal a little about themselves with their art and I m no exception.

Will I still drop the personal post at times? Yep as I learn and grow, I will reflect on that from time to time. But my focus needs to be getting a better work situation, my YouTube Channel – which will launch in March – and getting back to writing. The goal is to retire to a cabin in the woods and become a philosopher and get paid for it until I hit the Long Dark. A very simple focus but requires me to think very differently about how to achieve it.

Thanks to everyone for following along this far as I struggle with recent changes in my life. The apartment thing is real for me if I am not comfortable in my environment I don’t do life well. The downside concerning this blog has been to not be writing. But I am feeling more comfortable now so the routines and writing should pick up bit by bit as I feel more creative due to being more relaxed.

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!

Rethinking Things (Sorry I Have Been Out)

/ Ed Raby Sr / 1 Comment

Happy Mani’s Day!

Whenever discipline breaks down, there is a cause. In my case, I just was not enjoying writing on this blog the last few times. I also am still wrestling with my apartment and getting it where I like. For environment is important otherwise it becomes too distracting. Mostly though using this blog strictly for a journal has not worked as well as I had hoped. The goals part has when I have done it but this blog has always been best when I write about things like philosophy, Norse mythology, or just plain fiction that I created. This has to e the daily creativity side of me for it to work. This has caused me to rethink things.

So I have decided to look at my six focus points as still valid but moving to a paper journal to keep track of them. What in need to do here on The Grey Wayfarer is talk about them more philosophically, with a dash of Norse Mythology, and perhaps just plain allegorically present them with creative works. I am not completely sure of the details but change is coming. I will let you know more tomorrow. of the details. What I do know is that what is more therapeutic to me is not the type of writing I have been doing here. This needs to change. See you tomorrow.

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!

A Quick Post on a Busy Day

/ Ed Raby Sr / 1 Comment

Happy Odin’s Day!

I am just going to post quickly but I wanted everyone to know I am making progress on a lot of things today I got some bookshelves and I am trying to get organized a little so I don’t have to do as much of it on my days off.

So today’s goals will be achieved relatively soon as they are as of this posting in progress. Part of this is the backdrop for my YouTube Channel, so it is progressing down that road as well.

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!

This Week’s Foci – Writing and Health

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Mani’s Day!

So I need to embrace my six foci over a three-week span, which I think is best. I don’t want to overload my routine with everything because that is a good way to not do it. For sake of repetition, my six foci are Writing, Media, Health, Lifestyle (formerly Money), Love, and Family. I chose writing and health for starters because I am already doing part of them already and it will be a lot simpler adjustment also if there are two things that help my overall feeling of well-being, they are writing (Mental Health) and Health (Physical Health.)

In looking at it a couple days ago, I realized that this combo would be the best way to start the first routine and last routine as well. In a sense, Writing is a natural First Routine thing and Health fits best with the Last Routine. So both these routines will have something in them right away. There is some Lifestyle stuff in all of this because it needs to be the glue that holds the Writing and Health stuff together. Lifestyle proper I will deal with Last as kind of a mortar to the brick of the whole system.

First Routine:

  1. Wake Up and Make the Bed
  2. Meditation – 3 minutes
  3. Blogging – 1 hour. One article a day plus work on fiction for the blog. This is my journal and daily artistic expression.
  4. Meal Time
  5. Personal Hygiene:
  6. Get Ready for Work
  7. Reading/Study Time – 30 minutes
  8. Novel Writing – Half Hour or 500 words – whichever comes last.

Last Routine:

  1. Get Out of Work
  2. Gym Time
  3. Walking – 30 minutes when weather permits.
  4. Bed Time

I am picturing the First Routine will be much more involved than the Last. Mostly because of my energy level but also because I do the best work right after I wake up. In Health I need two systems which are my workout log which is paper and my nutrition plan. I need to use soem time to lock these down this week.

Goals – a note would be that goals fall outside the routines so they involve time outside the routines as well. Because a third shifters day is not in one day, I am simply going to call these ‘today’s goals” and then give a report the next day on how I did. As a reminder, I only do 2-3 goals a day.

Today’s Goals:

  1. Fill out forms for the therapist
  2. Email the landlord about trash pickup

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!

I Am Sick, but I Am Going to Post Anyway

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sol’s Day!

I have not felt well all weekend and still need to go to work, so I am trying to rest up. So today you get a quick one where I simply show how stubborn I can be about keeping streaks going. 🙂 I Love All of You and thanks for reading all my posts. Hopefully, soon I can get to some of the stuff we have been waiting for.

I ordered the solo adventuring tools for Dungeons and Dragons but they sent it the cheapest way you can so it might take a bit. In the meantime, I might write short stories or poems. I also am planning my YouTube Channel so that it will start whenever it is ready to go. My biggest struggle here is picking a good name for the Channel. Once again, thanks for stopping by and hopefully we will have something more substantive tomorrow.

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!

Routines and Systems – Planning: First and Last Routines

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Sif’s Day!

Yesterday I determined my various foci for my life and this week is going to be all about figuring out which routines are needed and what systems need to be put in place. The real challenge is as a third shifter morning and evening are very relative for me. So the real issue is more of ‘what is the best time or most productive time for this. Coming up with names to describe it is a little more difficult. It’s not a morning /evening situation. It’s not a wake-up/go-to-sleep situation Eventually I went First and Last.

The First Routine is done right after I get up. So the focus is the best part of my day being used for things that are probably creative in nature I can see my writing/reading and YouTube Stuff falling in this slot. This also would involve anything that is about the philosophical application to life. It is also about Love, Family, and Lifestyle. So it involves relationships and cleaning for the most part. This is where I reset my apartment from a cleaning point of view and then get ready for work on a workday or move into the last routine if it is a day off. This is the big routine but once I get it going it will be pretty much automatic once I get out of bed.

The Last Routine is more about health and perhaps a few other things. But mostly health and doing it for the most part right after work or when off that day right after the First. I get off work and go to the gym, and talk a walk if the weather permits. Get something to eat and head to bed.

I change the focus name of Money to Lifestyle because then it is a little broader. That’s applying philosophy to various aspects of life, not just money although money is included.

I am going to try my best to put everything I can into these two routines. But what doe not fit usually becomes a system and systems are used for the routines. The issue is if I can get it into a routine I am more likely to do it and have it become a habit. Stacking habits together is important for this process.

What remains is that for the next six days, I will be taking the six areas of focus and figuring out what goes in each routine and where. I need to get this as close to right as possible but I know adjustments need to be made and I am starting this with a lot of knowledge of the past.

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!

Well So Much for That

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Thor’s Day!

Well, so much for the streak. Not that it was very long but I was hoping to keep it going. In any case, I am back from my short hiatus as I was moving into my own apartment and now I have my own place to work and play so I am getting things organized and very soon will be getting on with my life. Just wanted to let everyone know what was going on. Hopefully, I will be writing more this weekend.

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!

Keeping the Daily Streak Alive

/ Ed Raby Sr / Leave a comment

Happy Mani’s Day!

I hate posts like this. I am just posting today because I want to keep the daily streak alive. But a quick update. I am moving into my apartment this afternoon. Having minimalized everything before I left Texas this will not take long but it might take most of the afternoon and I am not going to the gym later or tomorrow morning to free up my time. Hopefully, tomorrow’s post will be done in my own apartment with my own WiFi. See you then.

I remain.

The Rabyd Skald – Wandering Soul, Bard, and Philosopher.  The Grey Wayfarer.

Skal!!!