The Nomadic Imperative

Often you will hear someone tell you they want to live a nice quiet life. We have been convinced that all we really want is some variation of what we see on TV. A spouse, a kid or two, maybe a dog or a cat, perhaps a witty guinea pig or a bird. We want a car and we want two weeks vacation every year plus weekends off. Except the guinea pig and the bird. They're relatively new. And I'm allergic to cats so I have two dogs.

This has been my life for nearly thirty years and I can tell you I was sold a lie.

This is not to say I haven't been happy. I have been. I am happy. But, I am also restless. I feel like I am cheating myself. I feel like I am giving up on my dreams. I remind myself that I am young enough to still go out and do the things I want to do. Then my back hurts, and I remember I am not as young as I imagine myself to be. Young at heart, old just about everywhere else.

Is this what Thoreau meant when he talked about men living lives of quiet desperation? Is this why I work to fill the void? I don't really know. I don't think anyone could know. I do know it sucks and while the intensity of these feelings increases and decreases, they never quite go away.

I've lived in the same area most of my life. I am, as I write this, 30 minutes from where I grew up, went to school, learned to drive, and lost my virginity. I long to move, but I have responsibilities. I want to walk, to seize the road, but I can't. It would be irresponsible, and I can't do that.

Ernest Hemingway said that to live in one land is captivity. Well, shit. He was right. Not that everyone who lives a stable, successful middle-class existence is unhappy. I can see people choosing this life. I can see its appeal. Maybe it's because I have no choice that I feel the urge to move on.

I feel the urge, but I will fight the urge. I ain't going nowhere. For now. But if I do decide to go, you'll read it here first.

The views expressed by the author are his alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of anyone anywhere.

Adolfo Jimenez is the chair of the elections committee of the Libertarian Party of Broward County. He is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published eight books, which you can find here.

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Self-Imposed Deadlines

Settling into a new routine can be hard. I recently left the office life and I am working from home. It's not an easy transition Because I don't have to shower and shave and get out the door in the morning, I have lost my sense of urgency. I take my time. I write, then I walk the dog, then I come home and have breakfast and then get some work done.

Life was easier when I was racing against the clock.




Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida with his family.  He has published eight books, which you can find here. 

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Easy Like Sunday Morning?

I like Lionel Richie. I also like teasing Mr. Richie about the whole Sunday mornings being easy thing. I woke early and sat down to write.  I still have Christmas lights to take down and Christmas stuff to put up in the attic. I've been busy and haven't had a day off in two weeks.

But I feel good on this not-so-easy Sunday morning because I got my writing done.

Whatever you are pursuing. You must prioritize whatever you are doing to improve yourself or to improve the lives of others. If you're not getting better, you're getting worse. It's a cliche but it's true. Work on you. Every Day. No exceptions.

Keep on truckin'!




Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida with his family.  He has published eight books, which you can find here. 

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Who matters as much as Why - A Quickie Post.

Why are you writing?

Who are you writing for?

If you are writing for anyone other than yourself, you are writing for the wrong reason. You are the only person who will definitely read every word you write, so make sure they are words you love and can be proud of? Or, at the very least, make sure they are words you can live with.


Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida with his family.  He has published eight books, which can be seen here. 

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The Evolution of Dave Chappelle

Much is being said about Dave Chappelle's  new stand up special available on Netflix. I watched it last week. Never thought I'd find myself writing about it but here I am.

Chappelle had long ago proven that he is a fearless comic. His show on Comedy Central was hugely successful and with good reason. He took a lot of chances and rarely missed. The show was just plain funny. Chappelle has proven time and again that he deserves to be compared to Eddy Murphy or Richard Pryor, two of my favorites when I was growing up.

But with his latest release, Chappelle has claimed new territory. He stepped into a world previously occupied by comics like George Carlin and Bill Hicks. Chappelle now seems to be as interested in making you think as he is in making you laugh; making you uncomfortable is a bonus. The show had funny lines, to be sure, but there were far more lines that seemed meant to push buttons and get people, weak people, foaming at the mouth.

There have been serious opinion pieces calling Chappelle, who is black in case you didn't know, a white supremacist. People are hating on him pretty intensely right now. This is what happens when you have the balls to be honest about your feelings.

I am not trying to defend Chappelle's opinions. The man is quite capable of defending himself. What I will defend is his right to express those opinions.

Chappelle has gone from sidekick (Men in Tights, You've got Mail) to writer and comic performer in his Comedy Central show, to prophet and pot-stirrer extraordinaire in his Netflix special. The man has evolved.

In today's cancel culture, you are not allowed to make a point. You are not allowed to be okay with harsh words. Everything must be sanitized in order to be acceptable. If it hurts someone, it must be eliminated, along with its creator.

Chappelle presents a special problem for the PC police because his is black. He is not afraid of controversy and he's rich enough to tell the world to go to hell.

Lucky bastard.

Note:

I usually write this column to share my thoughts on writing. My opinion pieces appear in other places under other names. The lesson here for an aspiring writer is that you should learn to be fearless. Speak your truth, your opinions. Speak even when you are scared. Don't let yourself be bullied. You are too important; much more important than the feelings of some little pussy who can't handle words he can't agree with. Of course, if you are the little pussy who can't handle the words, kindly fuck the hell off.



Adolfo Jimenez is a writer living against his will in Hollywood, Florida.  His latest release is Scenes from a 1979 Ford Fairmont, a short book of poems. Get it on Amazon!

Check him out here!

Doing Writerly Things

I got a rare Saturday afternoon to myself today. My wife and older daughter are out of town. My younger daughter was at a party which I was not invited to. Rubber chicken and no booze. I'll get over it. I dropped her off and found a local bar. I sat down and ordered a very tall beer and lunch.

I was halfway through the beer before the food came. It was not yet noon. This is new to me. Not the eating. Not the drinking. The drinking before lunch before noon could be a thing, though I doubt it. Still, I ate. I drank. I was merry for a while.

I had one more very tall beer and finished my lunch but before then, I did a little writing. In my head and on my iPhone. I took notes for what may or may not become a poem, a short story, part of a book or nothing at all.

I texted a writer buddy of mine and told her this drinking alone at a bar before noon is the most writerly thing I've ever done. She agreed that it did indeed sound writerly. Whatever that means.

In Paris in the 20's, writers hung out in cafes not to be seen, but to take advantage of the heat. Now, people crack open their laptops in Starbucks because writing, it seems, is the least important part of being a writer. What matters is that you are recognized as a writer. It seems to be an excuse to be eccentric or not have a good job, or to drink on someone else's tab. I don't know how eccentric I am, but I pay for my own drinks with money I earn from my job.

Writerly things vary. Hemingway liked hunting and Fishing and Travel. Bukowski drank wine and loved L.A. Hunter S Thompson did every drug imaginable.  Two of these great men committed suicide. Is that writerly?

So go on and hang out in bars. Drink coffee, write in full view of the public, or pretend to write as you read Facebook posts about writing and answer idiotic questions posted in writers' groups. Perhaps you'll post some idiotic questions of your own.

But I would advise you to lift your head now and then. See what's happening around you? That's life. That's the stuff of literature. The world is what you need to understand if you really want to be a writer. Not the look, the looking. The listening, the watching. Soak in the smells of a place because they tell you as much about what's happening around you as anything else.

What it comes down to is that if you want to be a writer, there is only one thing you must do, and that is write. The rest is pretentious bullshit.




Adolfo Jimenez is a writer living against his will in Hollywood, Florida.  His latest release is Scenes from a 1979 Ford Fairmont, a short book of poems. Get it on Amazon!

Check him out here!

Digging Up The Past

Hemingway said you can't write what you don't know. What that means to the science fiction and fantasy writers I have no clue. But to writers like myself, his words are gospel. You can tell when a writer knows the subject.

I can't write about mountain climbing - never done it. I can, however, describe the fear of bridges. I'm not proud of it, but it's true. Bridges terrify me.

Our writing is informed by our experiences. I dare say what we read or the movies and TV we watch count as experience. Everything is fuel for the imagination. The more you take in, the more you can put out. It also helps to not be lazy. I can't tell you how many people I've met over the years who looked for shortcuts. Well, there are no shortcuts. Not to any place worth going. (I read that somewhere. It's not mine. I'm not that clever, but it illustrates the point. Read more, know more. Write more.)

So don't be afraid to write about old lovers or the bully from third grade who punched you and stole your lunch. If you were the bully, write about your experiences as an insecure asshole. It's all good. It all counts as raw material. Fuel for the fire.

Write what you know. Write it well. Write it now.

Well, go on. Do it!

- Adolfo






Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, blogger, and past-digger-upper living in Hollywood, FL .

Tough Choices

Being a writer is a lot like being a minor god. You are the god for the universe you are creating. Even if there is a god in your story, you tell him what to do.

Don't let that go to your head.

You're still just a schmuck like the rest of us.

I recently published a novella, The Man in the Gray Sky. I sold a few copies, gave a few copies away, and felt good about it over all.

Then I read it.

I withdrew it. With the perspective only time can give, I realized the book wasn't ready to be published. I was like a kid on his way to Disney, jumping out of the car before his dad parked the car. (Yes, this happened when I was a kid... many times, many places!)

It was tough to unpublish my book. It was like admitting defeat. Again, as I take a little time to think about it. It's not an admission of defeat. It's a momentary retreat to regroup and resume the attack.

This has given me a chance to rethink the book and the follow-up to it, which I just finished a week ago, and the direction of the series and the characters. There is no shame in pulling out. In this case, it's a very responsible thing to do. My readers will appreciate it - both of them.

Trusting Your Gut

You ever get that feeling? You know the one. Down in the pit of your stomach. Sometimes it's positive. Sometimes, it's a bad feeling. It's a real thing and you ought to listen to it. Let it guide you. Think of yourself as a Jedi and that feeling is The Force.

I don't know how to explain that feeling. Maybe it's God. Maybe it's the lizard brain. Maybe it's luck. Maybe it's something we all imagine. All I know is, it's usually right.

I believe it's the accumulation of experience. I think all the mistakes we've made, conversations we've had, books we've read, and advice we've received, go to some place in our being and create that feeling. I think that's why it becomes louder and more reliable as we get older, and I think that's why we ought to listen to it.



Adolfo Jimenez is an executive coach, entrepreneur, book club nerd, and family man living in Hollywood, FL. He is the owner of Le Velo Macaron

You can find him on Instagram and LinkedIn