I have little time to do the things that make me happy. I work 40 hours per week, and my commute time amounts to roughly 10 hours per week. I have a 6 year old son and a 5 month old boxer. I need to spend about 2 hours each morning with the dog and getting ready for work. Then I need to leave the house between 7:30am and 8:00am. If I don't hit a lot of traffic, I can drop my son off at school (near my work) between 8:30am and 9:00am and then work from 9am to 5pm. I pick my son up from school after work, and usually get home at about 6:30. By the time we finish eating dinner, it's 7:30 or 8:00pm. Then either my wife or I need to read to my son and get him to bed. By that time it's 8:30 or 9:00pm. If I want to spend an appropriate amount of time with our boxer in the morning, I need to get to bed by 9:30pm (10:00 at the latest). "And when the morning comes streaming in I get up and do it again. Amen." (The quote is from Jackon Browne's The Pretender.)

I would like to have more time to play guitar, write, play with my son, exercise, go kayaking, etc. My wife says that she would support me if I wanted to work from home or find a part-time job in the area. I'm not sure how I would make money working from home, and I don't know of any jobs I would enjoy in my area. I would love to make money as a writer or singer/songwriter, but a voice in the back of my head tells me that neither is a practical pursuit. I'm starting this blog to explore my options and to work on my writing skills. If you're reading this, I would appreciate hearing what you have to say...as long as you don't try to give me advice or try to "coach me" to success. If you've found a way to balance interests similar to mine with the rest of your life, I would like to hear your story.

That's it for now. We'll see whether I keep this blog going....