New to this.

Never written a blog, no idea where to start, definitely not sure how to market it or convince people to read it. But I'm curious enough about the idea, and I have enough to say that I wish I'd written down over the years that just doing it seems appropriate. My good buddy Jake had an epiphany once about 'Just Doing It' where action needed to be taken, and the simplicity of that philosophy has struck me many a time, in spite of my anxiety and hesitation preventing me from actually taking it to heart. Maybe this endeavor will help.

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I'm starting to read a new book, at the advice from my boss at work. Good boss, probably a good book? "Be Water, My Friend." The Teachings of Bruce Lee, written by Mr. Lee's daughter, Shannon Lee.

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Empty your mind.

Be formless, shapeless, like water.

You put water into a cup; it becomes the cup.

You put water into a teapot; it becomes the teapot.

You put it into a bottle; it becomes the bottle.

Now water can flow, or it can crash!

Be water, my friend. 

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That's a Bruce Lee quote, apparently. Was Bruce Lee a Taoist? That sounds like Taoism to me. Maybe I should just read the book.

That does remind me, though. I had the great privilege of running a Dungeons and Dragons game for a friend of mine, M'zee. No idea the nationality of that name, but he was a big black man (with dreads at the time), taller than most and a bit overweight. Turned out he was diabetic, and during the course of that D&D game, I watched him lose like 100lbs or something after he was diagnosed and started watching his heath. Anyway, M'zee had never played D&D before, so for that campaign (with several other first timers), I really dispensed with the rules about race and class, and just told them to tell me what they want to be, and I'd make the character creation happen for them for their first time. I tend to bend character creation rules more than any other in D&D simply because a lack of familiarity with class/race mechanics is the biggest barrier for new players, and even more so for those unfamiliar with fantasy or gaming tropes.

Never one to hesitate (something I have a real problem with, I've found), M'zee immediately said, "I'm a golden dragon who fights like Dragonball Z fighters." And therefore, he was. A golden scaled dragonborn monk, whom he named Shenron, after the great dragon from Dragonball. Shenron was a talented fighter, Way of the Four Elements, and a gifted philosopher who only ever spoke in Bruce Lee quotes.

Now me, having only seen like 2 Bruce Lee movies (one of which I watched because of this character, and even today I haven't seen more than those 2), I had a blast learning and listening to those quotes. But there lies the end of my experience with Bruce Lee, before this book.

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Now, I doubt my boss recommended the book on the basis of Bruce Lee alone. They referred to the book as the closest thing they have to a Bible, and he said that the day after we had a long conversation about my home life, which I'm sure you're acutely aware is not great right now. My father-in-law died a few weeks ago, my wife was already in poor mental health before that happened, and I've been struggling through a lot of personal issues that have persisted since I was a kid.

So, perhaps this book is meant to help with all that somehow? Perhaps it's just entertaining and might help me get my mind off things.

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Anyway, this blog isn't going to be a journal entry a day, it won't always be this freeflowing and inarticulate. I've got plans for this here cart n' buggy. But I do plan to write at least once a day for the foreseeable future, so if sometimes the writing is a little less than professional quality, so be it.

Anywho, here's hoping you stick around for all the pop culture, board game, and personal life stuff that will end up here.