Wild Rides

Let's be honest, much of our lives are pretty boring.  We eat sleep, shower, commute and work much of the time.  It takes a lot to interrupt our routine, maybe twice a year the weather will shake up my day to day, but unless I can't get to the office, the weather hardly changes what I wear, let alone what I do on a day to day basis.

Working in Washington DC, once or twice a year I get to see, sometimes even meet, high level politicians.  Hearing Hillary or the Vice President speak is a bit of a thrill, a nice wild ride to spice up the day.  I produce some fun programing, and it is nice to see the finished product, though usually I am so stressed that I don't see what we have done until it is over.  I am not good at stopping to savor the moment.

I am back riding bikes, riding in DC can be great fun.  Last Friday I slipped out of the office a few minutes early, grabbed a bike-share bike and rode the monuments on my way to the subway station. One morning last week, I was passing across the north side of the White House, when traffic was stopped, the motorcycles rumbled in, followed by both Presidential limos and the armored vans that follow; the President was returning to the office from an early meeting.

The experts on creativity say to challenge yourself by varying the routine.  Take a different route to or from work, at least once a week do something you have not done before, stop in a store you have not been in, visit a museum or gallery, try something different for lunch, or buy one exotic ingredient at the grocery store. These little things add up.

What will you do this week, that you don't normally do?