"Yeah, incentives are important. I learned that in rehab."

I took yesterday off from my day job.  Summer hasn't officially started by calendar date, but the weather and attitudes around my house don't pay any attention to such man-made lines of demarcation.  In short, it was the perfect day to take out the boat for the first cruise of the season.   Highlights of the trip included #3 catching serious air in the tube and landing without crashing, turtles balancing on top of each other, a giant dead fish, fossilized predatory fish teeth on the secluded beach, osprey diving beneath the surface, and the sense of being alone in the world that only comes on the wide water during the week when everyone else has to be at work.

 

Yes, I do like this movie.



I considered bringing my iPad to do some writing but thought I probably wouldn't get a chance.  It's amazing how time just flows by on the water.  I was right, there was never a moment where I thought, "I could be writing."  I don’t mind, I don’t hit the waves with a vessel filled with young urchins to spend the time with my nose buried in a book or a screen – it’s to watch said urchins flounder about.  As my eldest (#1) said at one point, with the younger children + friends scrambling fore and aft, “This is utter chaos.”  I calmly retorted that he was mistaken; udder chaos is not knowing which cow you are milking.

The tool I specifically want to cover this Tuesday is the iPad.  When I first saw it I thought, "Hmm, neat.  I think I want one but what would I use it for?"  Then one came into my possession and I started using it.  It was neat, but I wasn't sure what it was for.  It took me about six months to figure out.  They should call them iOpiates.  Now I don't think I could function without one.  It fills a niche that my laptop can't.  Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of things that the laptop does that the little iPad is completely under equipped for, but the inverse is true as well.  It all comes down to form.  The iPad is actually the size of a notebook.  I can write on it.  It fits on my lap on the train and in a plane.  Maybe even on a boat but I haven't tried that yet.  (As you know.)  It is always on.  There's a convenience to that little feature for creative people.  Like a pen and index card.   Being able to just start writing when you have something to write is important. 

Of course the hardware alone isn't enough.  You need the write app.  Next Tuesday I’ll tell you about Storyist, and how it changed my life.