Tag: busy

Time Enabled – 1st January 2026

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 1 Comment

Too little time to do all the things we need
or needing to do too many things in that time?
Forming focus has found a way to succeed;
at the least enabling a chance to shine.

January 2026 Punk Poetry Chapbook now available here.

The January 2026 Punk Poetry Chapbook features poems previously published here in January 2025

A couple of years ago, when I immersed myself in Ryan Holiday’s The Daily Stoic, a thought crossed my mind to try and write a poem based on each day’s entry. I also thought that this book would be great as a phone app but in the absence of that arriving, AI has advanced enough now for me to be able to create the app myself. Whilst not perfect, it does present each day’s entry as a Reminder on my phone, which is great.

Whilst messing around with creating this, today I decided to get back to this idea of writing a poem for every day too and should be able to add an extra poem here each day for the rest of the year.

What a crazy (stupid!) idea.

Today’s Daily Stoic poem:

Control and Choice

The past is firmly in the box, the future still outside
Every day is a choice about the ideas you consume.
Is it wise to be making bargains with the tide?
Or sweeping back the ocean with a broom?

The Facade – 15th July 2023

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Growing up being told a mystery
Was the most interesting thing to be
A facade, facing out
Where I can keep and claim the real me
Trying to make sense of the times
Dizzy with the fumes of youth
The facade falls down
At the telling of a vulnerable truth

Vaguely inspired by (and first two lines borrowed from) Spinning Visions blog

Today I’m feeling:

It’s started already. I turned off my 8 a.m. alarm and enjoyed dreams of hanging with my students when the pleasure was broken with the scream of ‘AUOOON! Fix this for me please’ Well, good morning! It’s an hour later now, on my second coffee after a cold shower and still I feel not awake.

Today I’m grateful for:

The plumber who came to fix up a few things around our house this morning. He nearly got away without fixing the main issue because Amy told me it was done but when I checked it wasn’t. Back to the frustrations of miscommunications!

The best thing about today was:

Amy making me busy. If she’s not here I will relax the day away, enjoying it but not getting most of the things done that we did today. Most of it is cleaning and tidying which I’m motivated to do in a different time frame to her. 

When I went to Utopia I joked with Art about Amy being back, shaking my head and looking up to the heavens. Art said, ‘You prefer to be alone?’ I said ’No, both are ok. It’s just the change that is difficult.’

Besides the plumber coming, the electrician also came and fixed the electric shocks coming from our oven as well as fixing some issues with our cameras. Our home feels slightly less dilapidated now.

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

Almost everything was out of my control as I submitted myself to Amy’s whims and direction. I did lose my temper in frustration this morning when I couldn’t use my mobile banking app on this new phone and setting it up proved to be impossible without going to an ATM. Frustrating at the time but easily resolved in the end. 

Something I learned today?

I watched a few iPhone videos before for tips and tricks to set it up the way I want but stopped watching when I realised my old iPhone 8 couldn’t do a lot of them. Today I was able to catch up.

I took this picture because Amy is back but doesn’t want her picture taken!

Brain dump (by mouth) – 11th September 2020

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Attempting morning pages exercise using dictation with phone (Samsung)

The first time using computer for morning pages
911 – In my head Chile 1973 – 911 has more than one meaning
Tired not sleeping – Intervention – Can’t remember my dreams
Three cats in the kitchen – Tigger crying
Kimchi with energy
Looking forward to classes today
Difficult to think and speak sometimes easier to write
This is first time so let’s try
Cool morning
Stretch body and brain
Snail on verandah

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for a busy Friday. I like this feeling as it motivates me.

We got that attitude! – 23rd February 2020

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

I am so happy and grateful that we have drinking water in our house. Not everyone has that.

A man gets an answer to his questions in accordance with his fitness to understand and his one preparation.

The Food Of Paradise

To-do list

  • Remind yourself again that you may die now
  • Record another TCRAH ½
  • Spend 15 minutes planning Bruce’s lesson ✅
  • Register for Payoneer ✅
  • WDS spreadsheet ½

It was an enjoyable morning playing basketball and chatting with Bruno. Not so negative and I can tell he really enjoys teaching his students.

Time ran away way too fast today and somehow I managed to squeeze a lot of things in though no time to meditate today. This next week and a half is going to be busy too but I feel quite positive about the way things are going.

School should be easy this week and I’m taking things quite easy now anyway. I’m expecting to be working a lot more next semester.

I’m struggling a little with what to write here as I haven’t been sitting and thinking about things so much today as I was so busy. I do feel happiness though.

Back on the thought train tomorrow.

Catching up on life – 26th September 1994

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 2 Comments

About twelve hours, each of sixty minutes precisely, from now, we’ll (me, Broni, sweetheart, dream girl) be tapping toes at Heathrow waiting to get on that jet plane to take us away into golden sunsets (sunrises). And briefly the past.

Not had time to write – too busy catching up on life, so Broni’ll tell ya!

So we got back from Greek island ok to stay in Gatwick hotel with mad manager, then to Lisa’s in Chichester, on our way home to go out even-time with Rosemary and Mia for Thai (I told you all this, didn’t I?).

Then Wednesday fuckin’ madness trying to pack and organise and just going silly crazy, to Kerry in Verwood, her work, for lunch, back quickly before up to Southampton to Chrissie’s to see sweet Rebecca, mad Amanda and Chrissie too, of course. Sharon, Jon and Selina, Tina and Paul and Rob came over and fuck, Karl Barry and his pal too. Played Party Pictionary, mad raucous noise, drunken dancing, Broni crashed, people fell away, describe later.

Sleep, wake, say goodbye to Chrissie – miss her, may ring her now home again, breifly, pack (Oh, I sleep!). Rob comes down, we drive together to Newport, for final UK gig! Broni slept through it in car while Rob and I drink and fun about. Back to Simon’s (Simonless) Describe more later!

Morning time say bye bye’s there, drive to London, whizz cross M4, run around town, Portobello Road, here there, put Rob on train (another story!). Go to David and Louise’s. Sleep needed! Up into London Town, Harrods, Liberty’s, Hamley’s, shopping sprees, mad dash round! Back, food, drink, sleep, jeez – you keeping up with this – we’re knackered!

Sunday, drive back a.m., go to Sian and Robbie’s p.m. Mess around here, Kerry (Rob, Jon, Selina, Edwards come down) John turns up, bye byes. Broni’s at Rosemary’s (bye bye). Phew. All this and me, not nervous at all, don’t understand really. Just biding time till tomorrow a.m. Want to get away! Know I’ll miss people terribly but don’t feel it yet! Here, Monday to Salisbury with mum and to Jo’s p.m. and out mealtime p.m. with mum, Kerry and aunt Shirley.

Home here – so much to say. Get this. Today – to fuckin’ day – turns up a letter from Finland, from Bengt, eleventh hour. Songs from Deep Turtle! Wow-wow-wow! And I go and find Squirrelbait CD in London too! Later! Yeah, right? – gotta go! Gotta sleep! Gotta think, gotta wonder! I’m going tomorrow – do you understand!? Ha – not sure I do! Keep you informed.