THE LAST ONE

 So here's the thing... I've decided to retire the blog. 

We had a lot of fun with it, but it's time to try something new, because no one really cares about blogs anymore. 

If you hadn't noticed, I revamped the entirety of trevorhale.com last fall, and moved this blog into more of an archive thing. There wasn't much going on here anyway, other than the occasional playlist. I posted once in January of 2022, and not again until December. I've gotten a little bit motivated to write more lately, and wanted kind of a fresh start, so I started a Substack newsletter. This is easier for all of us, because if you actually think you might miss reading anything I have to say, you can subscribe and it'll be sent straight to your email.

The newsletter is called FILLER, after the short-lived zine I made for my booth at Craft Lake City years ago. My goal is to send something out once a week. Maybe it's a playlist, maybe it's a quick rant, maybe it's a short story. I don't know yet. I'm still playing around, and getting comfortable with the Substack interface, learning what works, how it looks, and all that stuff. A lot of cool writers that I look up to have been using it lately, and I thought it would be fun to try it for myself. 

I'd love it if you subscribed (it's free, of course) and gave me some feedback on what you like, what doesn't work, and what you want to see more of.

Everything will be sent out as an email, or you can download the app and get notifications there. You can also just go to the homepage and see everything if you're bored at work one day.

Thanks to everyone that used to (or still) reads the stuff I post. I really appreciate you, and it always makes my day when someone mentions it. Hopefully this is the first step to doing more of it.

WINTER WINDOW

It's January 3rd, and I'm in the process of figuring out my goals for the year. I have most of them figured out, they're in a Note on my phone, and I feel good about them. Most of my goals are professional (I got into real estate last year, if you didn't know), but there are a lot of personal goals on there, too.

One of the personal goals is to get into a much better routine when I wake up. I spent so many years working the morning shift at a restaurant that it's really, really hard to change what I'm used to doing. Since I had to be at work at 7 every day, my morning was really just waking up 45 minutes before, getting dressed, brushing my teeth, and heading out. Since the first thing I did at work was start coffee, there was no need to make any at home, and it's a restaurant, so breakfast was easy.

I've been pretty good at implementing a new routine, but once the temperature dropped, and it started getting really cold (it was 12 degrees when I woke up yesterday), I stumbled. Add in that it was the holiday, and I didn't really have anywhere to be, it got even harder. 

This week is going to be a bit of a learning curve though. I've got a new apartment workout that takes about half an hour, I like making coffee, and breakfast is pretty important. I'm also trying to journal (writing with a pen in a physical notebook) when I wake up. I stumbled on that this morning because my arms were trembling from the workout. I also really like making coffee and breakfast at home now, so figuring out how to do all that stuff before showering, getting dressed, and taking the 20 minute drive to my office is a little challenge. I'm getting better at it, but that's the first thing I want to check off my goal list this year.

Last night while I was starting to plan my week, I got sidetracked—as I often do—listening to music. I made a playlist to listen to first thing this morning. It's mellow, and reminds me of a winter drive where everything is quiet, cold, and peaceful. It's not the stressful snow squall drive from last week. This is for when you don't have to worry about black ice, because the sun is out, and the fresh snow is glittering through the window. It's been on all morning, and I might change it up a bit because there are a couple of songs that, in my head were a good fit, but don't work so well in practice. Anyway. Here's Winter Window.