Hugh’s Notebook

Boy, am I busy. I am writing, writing, writing. In the last week, I have written about cellphones, about Bollywood actresses, about hockey stars, tutorials for Microsoft products, internet marketing articles and articles on business finance.

But… I am writing. And getting paid.
However, all my personal projects are falling to the wayside. So, be patient with me if I owe you an email or a call back. I will get to you… just as soon as I finish this article about the new Sony Erricson video phone…

2 Comments » Posted by Hugh / musing

The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars….Jack Kerouac

No Comments » Posted by Hugh / musing

A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people. - Thomas Mann

No Comments » Posted by Hugh / musing

 A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult (Proverbs 12:16).

For my parent’s generation, Walter Cronkite represented the voice of truth; for me, it was Mr. Rogers.

I always liked him, how his steady, even paced voice calmed you and led you to believe everything would be OK; how his ritual of changing shoes and putting on a sweater indicated his shedding the strictures of the outside world and entering a world of his own creation. He created a world where things made sense to him; a world where right won, evil was punished; a world where you could feed the fish, take a tour of a candy factory, talk to a king and see a talking owl all in the same day.

Today, a friend recommended I watch this video of a very young Mr. Rogers testifying before the US Senate in 1969 on behalf of the newly formed PBS, who was trying to secure a grant of $20 million dollars.

The thing to notice here is the body language of the 2 main players; Mr. Rogers and John Pastore, a Senator from Rhode Island who had a reputation as a real tough guy. Watch how the sequance starts off confrontational, then how Mr. Rogers wins him over with the sheer power of his authenticity.

The clip is about 6 minutes, you can watch it here.

I miss Mr. Rogers.

No Comments » Posted by Hugh / musing

The astute among you may have noticed already, but today I remodeled my website and gave this blog a new header.

The website is a work in progress, so be gentle with criticism.

Further, in the “it never fails” department, while futzing around with my own website, a paying client actually asked me to do paid writing work for them, so my not-paid work must go to the side. On the upside, did I mention it was paid work?

1 Comment » Posted by Hugh / musing

Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional. - Herman Witte

1 Comment » Posted by Hugh / musing

Well, I told you last week that this week I would tell you all about the big news I have been talking around for a while now. The big news is…

I am moving to the Raleigh/ Durham area of North Carolina. Yes, that is right; after nearly 14 years of living here in Memphis, I am un-assing this joint and hitting the road.

For several reasons, I have not blogged directly about this yet. There were people in my life (including that famous list of 10) I wanted to tell directly first before going public with it. (There is little worse than your Mom hearing you are moving halfway across the country by reading it on your blog). Also, from a business standpoint, I wanted to wait as long as possible before announcing I was closing. Closing a business is never fun and if people are uncertain about your future, they tend to quit coming in.

Why Raleigh/ Durham, you ask? Well, why not? (Just Kidding). Actually there are several reasons, some personal, some business related, but when it all comes down to it, I just ended up with an opportunity I could not turn down (More about that and my plans in future posts).

Moving is not easy, nor is it fun. I am quite the minimalist, yet even I have accumulated large amounts of just stuff that have to be gotten rid of. Maybe I will follow Jennifer’s example… In any event, this is why I have been so on edge, so distant, so pensive of late. Worse yet, my ADD is raging and I have caught myself just freezing up, so staying on top of that is a constant battle. Of course I will miss my family (including my newest nephew!) but as Helen Keller said, life is either a daring adventure, or nothing at all. Given the choice, I will take the adventure.

You may recall, gentle reader, that the beginning of this month I hit the road for a few days. I went to Raleigh to verify some assumptions. Since they turned out to be true, I went ahead and decided to move out there.

Over the next month or so, I will be traveling back and forth several times, so if you want to see me in Memphis before I get out of here, email me and we will work out the scheduling.

Over the upcoming weeks, if I seem more distant than normal, I am just dealing with the enormity of moving. Please be patient with me, and I will try my best to keep you all updated.

3 Comments » Posted by Hugh / @me and Raleigh and musing

I know I have been a bit morose of late, and I want to apologize. I have a lot going on right now and I am trying to process it all. Also, I have the “Big News” I mentioned in the Friends post that I am still dealing with. (By the way, sometime early next week I will be able to let you all in on it, so quit pestering me, already).

This morning, I had to close another door, and for me that is always hard. I have so much to do and my ADD is just raging, so I am frozen (Never Good).  Those of you who are around, just deal with me and put up with me the best you can and I promise next week it will all make sense.

1 Comment » Posted by Hugh / friends and musing

Last night, I had this dream…

My brother Jimmy and I were riding around Memphis in a mid 1980’s Green Oldsmobile. We stopped at this coffee shop and hung out for a bit, but when Jimmy got up and went to the restroom, I left him there and went driving again.

I remember I had to be at work soon at my job (in the dream) at Target, so I started driving there. It is now pouring down rain, and I remember wondering how Jimmy was going to get home, since he had left his cellphone in the car. I decide I will go to work, drop off the wet-vac I am lugging around, then go back and get him. (I have no idea why I have a wet-vac, but it is pouring down rain…)

I get to Target, half an hour early, still lugging the wet vac, and realize I have on Navy blue pants, not the Target regulation Khaki pants. I drop off the wet-vac in the back room by the time clock and then run out the door to get Jimmy and change into appropriate pants, while dodging the boss so he does not see me in the wrong pants.

Anybody think this means I am going to win the lottery?

3 Comments » Posted by Hugh / fun and musing

I suppose we have all had the experience of a door irrevocably closing, such as…

• An old lover marries
• Someone you love dies before you tell them how you feel
• The restaurant you carried your first date to closes
• They tear down the house you grew up in

Yesterday, a door closed for me. In all honesty, it was already closed but I did not have to face it until yesterday. And I was the one who pushed it shut.

I hate that sound.

6 Comments » Posted by Hugh / @me and friends and musing