I just booked my weeklong vacation in September. I was planning to go to Virginia Beach, but if I did, I would’ve spent $150 a night at a hotel. While the prospect of hanging out at a fairly deserted beach and enjoying the boardwalk restaurants and bars each night was abundantly appealing, I ultimately didn’t want to spend $600 on a hotel room. So I’ve decided to stay in town…on a staycation.

But I have to make a promise to myself… I cannot spend those days at home. This is a vacation. I can sleep at my condo, but I must spend the days and evenings out.

So, what am I going to do?

Well, hopefully in two weeks I won’t have any lingering obligations (like videos that need editing), so I can be completely free to indulge in absolutely anything I want.

I want to jump-start several of my Fall projects, like biking the W&OD trail, writing short stories & scripts, enjoying some of the local sites (like Great Falls, Burke Lake, etc.), having lunches and dinners with local friends, and doing some barhopping in the evenings. In the end, I hope to find some new inspiration and creative sparks to push me through the rest of the year.

I just need to get out of my rut. I need to leave the house. Leave work. Leave technology behind.

…Well, except for my iPhone and Twitter, of course.

I tried to give them a chance. Heaven knows I’ve spent a lifetime devoted to independent publishing, holding strong to the fundamentalist indie attitude. I admire those who have the initiative and willpower to make something happen all by themselves. It’s the ideal achievement. To create something on your own. With no help. Just me.

Maybe I’m not looking in the right place. I went to the comic shop last Friday (my first visit to such a place in years), in search of some good, independent comics. I wanted to discover local talent that I could get to know and possibly collaborate with.

I asked the cute girl behind the counter if she had any recommendations. I think I wanted her to be right so much, that I didn’t actually stop to think critically about her picks.

My previous indie comic experience included a comic called Blue Monday, which I picked up because one of my friends was into it. It was somewhat amusing, but ultimately I found the constant Brit pop music references exasperating.

The first pick from the girl at the comic shop was Love the Way You Love, a simply-drawn story of a lead singer, who falls in love with some girl he sees at one of his shows. The story is basically the story of the movie Titanic, where a girl who is engaged to one man falls in love with another man. Somewhat despicable. I didn’t like any of the characters, and hated the constant references to indie bands and songs.

The second pick was a more “intellectual” story about musical mysticism…or something…called Phonogram: Rue Britannia. It was an interesting take on music as a form of magic. But ultimately, it drowns in faux intellectual nonsense – it’s hard to take seriously. And, my goodness, more Brit pop references! How do I get away from this indie music crap? I will say this… I read one chapter today, which used an Echobelly song as its theme. It just so happens that I was listening to Echobelly on a whim today in the car. Weird.

I bought one other indie trade while I was at the comic store. It’s called Dead@17. Not sure what it’s about, but I like the art. I solemnly hope it has nothing to do with music.

So what’s with indie comics? Even the stuff by Jim Mahfood (whose art I love) is highly influenced by urban music, which seeps into every panel of his comics. Why is every indie comic about music, emo love, and school? It’s like they’re all created by high school drop-outs. …er. Maybe that’s it. The majority of indie comic creators probably are high school grads, who don’t know anything beyond high school life and minimum wage jobs. That’s not a slight on indie comic creators. Just an observation. Maybe there aren’t indie comics about corporate life, raising families, and growing old, because there’s a severe lack of creators with that knowledge. A potential niche market?

Of all the indie comics I’ve read, my favorites are the ones created by local talent. Something about it being local makes it more worthy to me. One of my ex-coworkers named Andy created his own comic, and I loved it. Not only because his art is great, and his sense of humor is hilarious. But because I knew him personally, and he was based in northern Virginia. I love seeing great independent art coming from my hometown.

That’s why I’m so excited about finally making it out to the Small Press Expo in October, as well as the Baltimore Comic-Con in September. My goal for going to these events is to meet and network with local comic talent. I’ve always wanted to produce an indie comic, but never had drawing skills. Maybe if I collaborated with an artist and brought my writing and/or marketing skills to the table, we could make something happen.

Of all the potential projects I have in mind, this is the one I’m most excited about. Creating an indie comic book would be a dream come true.

Figured I’d write a few words before going to bed. I probably should have accomplished more today, but I’ve had a daylong, hangover-induced headache that kept me on the couch, sleeping and watching TV. I drank a pitcher of beer last night at the karaoke bar, and since I rarely drink anymore, it did quite a number on me.

I do hope to get a bit of cleaning done tomorrow. I also hope to finish my online business class tomorrow, as well. And edit the Fair Oaks videos.

That will finally put me in the position of starting off the fall with a clean slate. Zero obligations and a brand new focus.

I may start the fall with a short vacation. Maybe a week at the beach to relax and write. Then, I’m gonna spend the next few months distancing myself from work and all ambitious side projects. I don’t want to spend my evenings and weekends with technology. I want to spend my free time offline.

I want to go to the gym after work. I want to ride my bike finally (after owning it over a year without taking it out). I want to take tennis lessons again. I want to read like crazy. I want to write. And draw again.

These are the things I’ll be focusing on this fall.

I’m going to try to make my life more physical and organic. I don’t want to rely on the Internet for my entertainment and socializing. I want to start doing everything face-to-face, live, and in person.

That’s what I want to do this fall.

Every now and then (about four times a year actually), I take stock of my life and reevaluate the things I spend my time on. Not in the sense of reshuffling my annual goals (I do that at the start of every quarter), but I evaluate the aspects of my life that are unquantifiable. Like what I spend my free time on. The things I think about. The thoughts that consume me and keep me from pursuing other worthwhile endeavors. Usually this means that I’ve noticed an imbalance in my life and want to correct it. This time is no exception.

I’ve been insanely focused on new projects at work. Not that I’ve been assigned any new projects. They’re all my own doing. I’ve gotten back into the R&D role of my past work life. (And by R&D, I mean traditional Research & Development – not what R&D has come to mean in my group at AOL.) I find a tremendous amount of joy and satisfaction from coming up with new Web products and implementing new Web 2.0 technologies within AOL’s sites. Whether it’s blogs, podcasts, or user-generated content, I’ve been excited to help AOL become more of a Web 2.0 player on the Internet. It might be a lofty goal, but I want AOL to become relevant again.

Because I find Web 2.0 technologies fun and interesting, I’ve been spending all my time on these new projects. I started my first “official” podcast for AOL and have been devoting my personal time and equipment to getting it launched and continuously going. I’ve spent my evenings at home coming up with pitches for other new products for the AOL Shopping channel. And just this past week, I’ve been engrossed in preparation for a brand new product idea, which I think would be a blast to build.

But the question is time. I don’t have time for all of this during work hours. I still have my normal job to do. Sure, I could devote my evenings and weekends to these fun projects, but I don’t think that’s really fair. I have other things I should be spending my personal time on.

I’ve been neglecting three major areas of my life for several months now. I live like a hermit, neglecting all of my social relationships. I haven’t worked out consistently in months, and it shows. And I haven’t been to church in forever. I also think my life lacks any non-guilty free time to just sit down and do nothing. Every time I read for a couple hours, I keep thinking there’s something else I should be doing – and end up not enjoying it as much as I should.

My predicament is my own fault. I loooove the extra work I’m doing for AOL. Which makes what I have to do very difficult. I just have to cut it off. I have to leave the office at work and go out and live my life in the evenings and on the weekends. I need to go hang out with friends after work. I need to go play tennis again. I need to go back to Frontline on Sunday nights. I need to keep myself from turning my laptop on when I get home. I need to stop committing myself to new projects and classes.

I think it’s just an issue of pride. I want to be a Web 2.0 superstar at AOL and outside of AOL. That’s why I keep so up-to-date on what’s happening in Silicon Valley. That’s why I do so many video podcasts. That’s why I try so hard with all of this stuff – and why it all consumes me.

But I don’t need to be a superstar. I don’t need to make a name for myself in the Web 2.0 world. I don’t need to keep hitting home runs at AOL. I just need to be humble and relax. And focus on other areas of my life right now.

Today, I came across what has to be the coolest fan-created material on the Internet. It’s a series called Dead Fantasy that pits female characters from the Dead or Alive video game series against female characters from the Final Fantasy video game series. The animation is completely CG, looking as if it came straight from an official next-gen game release. The characters engage in a non-stop battle, using powers, spells, and items made famous in their respective game titles. The action is similar to that of the Super Smash Brothers game series, but way, way cooler. I found downloadable HD versions of these videos on gametrailers.com, so check those out to see the graphics in all their glory. Otherwise, you can view them below…