Biscuit

I'm back from Costa Rica, but I'm going to postpone writing about my trip to share some sad news. I just found out that while I was gone, my beloved dog Biscuit passed away. She was 16-years-old. I grew up with Biscuit. When we brought her home from the pound when I was 10, she was diagnosed with Parvo, a nasty disease that typically ensures death. Although all of her siblings were put down due to the disease and the veterinarian assumed Biscuit would be a causality as well, my family decided to treat her, regardless of the cost. She pulled through and lived a long and happy life.

In her youth, Biscuit was prone to perform daredevil-like tricks with tennis balls, leaping into the air sometimes three times her height to catch a ball in her mouth. She was extraordinarily active and fast, but also could be an excellent lap dog, which earned her the nickname "The Sleep Machine" because she could instantly lull anyone sitting with her to sleep.

I didn't get to see Biscuit much in her later years. During college, my visits home became more sporadic, and after graduation, my treks to Texas became annual. I last saw her in late November during Thanksgiving. The pep and energy she once radiated had passed and been replaced with the fatigue of old age. She still had a lot of love to give and continued to give it up to her death. She died in my mom's arms on Sunday. The rest of the family coincidentally happened to be in town to at least see the body. My only regret is that I wish I could have been there to say goodbye.

Rest in peace Biscuit. You led a good life. You were a very good dog, a member of my family, and you will be loved always.

Biscuit Anna Marie Ecker

1991-2008

Leaving On A Jet Plane

Hey everybody! I'm going to be blogless for a little while cause I'm traveling to Costa Rica!

In the meantime, enjoy this video:

CelebriME

Today on CIN there was a post about what celebrity would play you in a movie (presumably based on looks). I was pondering this question and trying to figure out who would play me. I don't really look like anyone famous that I know of, but then again I don't really keep tabs on celebrities, so some look-alikes may have slipped under my radar.

I've used MyHeritage to see what it's spotty software said I looked like. The closest match was Scarlett Johansen. I can't complain.

But after much thinking, I would say I look most like the below celebrity. What do you think?

ME:



Jeff Goldblum:

I Got Some Leads

I don't like conferences. I'm socially anxious to begin with. So why would I want to surround myself with stuffy people in suits talking about business and the weather. In fact, why would anyone want to surround themselves with stuffy people in suits talking about business and the weather.

The more I think about the above paragraph, the more I wonder why conferences exist at all. Or better yet, why can't conferences be what people want them to be. Why can't for once people convene to talk about business dressed in leotards, and instead of sitting and watching a PowerPoint presentation, some dude breaks out a Slip-n-Side and everyone has at it. That's a conference I'd attend. Especially if the Slip-n-Side was covered in chocolate!

The one good thing about the conference today was that it allowed me to get several freelance leads. When I decided to take the leap of faith into the great void that is the real world, a world free of 9-to-5 boundaries and long commutes, I was worried that paying rent every month was going to be a nearly impossible chore. But thankfully it turns out that working hard and gaining experience, especially experience on a topic that is so niche only a handful of people know how to write about it, is extraordinarily valuable. So it turns out I probably won't be too hard up for work when I exit my current position. Go me!

Anyway, I'm meaning to write more about how to establish one's own freelance business. I'll have to get around to that. If anyone has any questions out there about how to become a successful freelance writer, how to become a journalist, how to write an article, etc., let me know. I like to think I have quite a bit of good insight, and I'm always looking to help others regain their freedom.

Just don't ask me to attend a conference...unless you're bringing your leotard.

Shiny Things

According to the medical community, I have ADHD. It's weird because I never was diagnosed with ADHD as a child, nor did I really exhibit any of the stereotypical symptoms, such as running around in circles screaming or swinging off of chandeliers and ceiling fans.

Turns out though there are two types of ADHD, according to my therapist. One is the kind you're born with (see above), while the other is the kind you acquire (see me).

In all honesty, those that acquire ADHD are kind of posers. Whereas someone who is diagnosed with it as a child was likely born with some chemical imbalance, those who become ADHD as adults kind of just picked it up as a bad habit. Acquired ADHD comes from anxiety and stress. Those with anxiety disorders are especially prone to this and tend to get fidgety, hyper and unable to concentrate because of all the crazy thoughts inside their brain competing for attention.

It is my fear that someone who is a born ADHDer will discover that I have merely acquired ADHD and will then recruit a number of other genetic ADHD people to beat me up, all the while being occassionally distracted by a passing car or bird chirping. It's like the nightmares I used to have where I would accidentally stumble upon a gang of monsters in some sort of monster clubhouse cave. And when the monsters spotted me, I pretended I was a monster too by scowling and gnashing my teeth and making animal noises. And the ruse would work, at first. The monsters would all agree that I, my 8-year-old self, was indeed a monster and would invite me to be a monster with them. But then something would happen, like the monsters would break out their dinner of rotting human flesh, I'd scream, and my cover would be blown.

Also, ADHD shows itself differently in differenet people. It's a spectrum kind of disease so whereas some people bounce around uncontrollably, others are reserved and merely fidget occasionally. I'm the type that always has to fidget. My legs shake, I crack my knuckles constantly, I rock from side to side. I also can't concentrate on a single thing without getting distracted about every two minutes (I blame MTV with their fast edits).

As I learn to calm myself down through breathing exercises and self medication, I find my ability to stay attentive to increase. So I suppose there is hope for me to one day shed my ADHD label and become a normal human being again. I just hope those hyperactive, attention deficit monsters don't find out first.

My Kittie!

I'm still learning how to use this blog thing. So bare with me as the color scheme of this page continues to change. It is the "Technicolor Brain Spillage" blog after all.

Oh, and here's my kittie:


Yay for uploading things!

I Bought Me!

I'm not so sick anymore. Thanks pills!

And to celebrate my renewed health, I went shopping.

Did I buy a pair of Gucci, all-leather shiny shoes?

No!

Did I buy a new bike helmet to protect my brain?

No! (But I know I should.)

Did I buy the rights to keithecker.com?

You bet your bee-hind!

So coming soon to an Internet near you is keithecker.com. I don't know how to make Web pages, but I've got some open-source software that promises to make the process fairly easy. My goal with the site is to showcase my comedy and my freelance writing. If I get a grasp on this Webmastering stuff, expect more sites in the future. They're cheaper than a deep dish pizza.