For a variety of reasons, I'm considering putting this blog on hiatus.
It hurts to consider, because I've been writing it nearly daily (in one location or another) for more than 10 years. (Coming up on 13, really, if I've done my math right.) It feels very awkward to start a workday without spending a half-hour rambling into the blog first.
But it seems like all I do anymore is throw out a laundry list of activities, or (increasingly, distressingly, and boringly) whine about stuff. I don't really talk anymore. I'm not funny, or interesting, or insightful. I don't have amusing anecdotes or thoughtful critiques or fascinating links. And thanks to an assortment of unpleasant experiences, I can't talk about many of the things that are really on my mind, because those things involve other people who would be excessively unhappy to see them aired.
I'm not fully decided yet. It's hard to give up such a long-held habit. And I know a lot of my "real-life" friends use this as a way to keep track of what we're up to.
But the whining and the laundry lists are boring even me.
This is very much a one-way communication most of the time, but I'm really hoping for responses this time. Give me some ideas or strategies for keeping this going without turning it into the whinefest it's been for the last few months. Or tell me that yes, it's time to hang up the keyboard. I want to know what you're here to read about!
Showing posts with label meta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meta. Show all posts
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
The New Blogspam
Yesterday, for the second time, I got a most peculiar email.
It was from a shopping site (or more precisely, from a network of shopping sites), and it was offering me a chance to run a contest on my blog for their merchandise. The first email I received was from a different site network, and was offering to pay me to review for them.
Both website networks being advertised appear to be genuine. (No, I didn't click on any email links. I'm not entirely lacking in brain.) On the other hand, they didn't say which of my several sites they "loved the look and feel" of.
But none of them make sense, anyway. None of them are high-traffic blogs. I have maybe twenty readers, here, most of whom are real-life friends. I have a few more readers over on the weight-loss blog, mostly via KT's patronage. (She, unlike me, is excellent at the whole "community participation" thing. I'm not nearly as introverted as I used to be, but some habits still linger. Even when I'm genuinely trying to participate, I kind of suck at it.) My writing blog doesn't see a lot of traffic, either.
I do occasionally comment on some high-popularity blogs. Very occasionally. So I guess a robot somewhere snagged my link from those comments and threw me into a database and now I'm getting form letters. Which amuses me.
It's honestly tempting to write back and tell them I'd love to host a contest for my readers. I mean, with my low number of readers, it gives you guys a pretty solid chance at whatever the giveaway is, right?
On the other hand, if I do anything in the way of advertising or "monetizing" my blog, I could eventually run into this problem. So I suspect I'll just hang out here on my non-money-making blogs, continuing to ramble about whatever happens to pop into my head at the moment -- grousing about work and diabetes care and the trials and tribulations of parenting.
It was from a shopping site (or more precisely, from a network of shopping sites), and it was offering me a chance to run a contest on my blog for their merchandise. The first email I received was from a different site network, and was offering to pay me to review for them.
Both website networks being advertised appear to be genuine. (No, I didn't click on any email links. I'm not entirely lacking in brain.) On the other hand, they didn't say which of my several sites they "loved the look and feel" of.
But none of them make sense, anyway. None of them are high-traffic blogs. I have maybe twenty readers, here, most of whom are real-life friends. I have a few more readers over on the weight-loss blog, mostly via KT's patronage. (She, unlike me, is excellent at the whole "community participation" thing. I'm not nearly as introverted as I used to be, but some habits still linger. Even when I'm genuinely trying to participate, I kind of suck at it.) My writing blog doesn't see a lot of traffic, either.
I do occasionally comment on some high-popularity blogs. Very occasionally. So I guess a robot somewhere snagged my link from those comments and threw me into a database and now I'm getting form letters. Which amuses me.
It's honestly tempting to write back and tell them I'd love to host a contest for my readers. I mean, with my low number of readers, it gives you guys a pretty solid chance at whatever the giveaway is, right?
On the other hand, if I do anything in the way of advertising or "monetizing" my blog, I could eventually run into this problem. So I suspect I'll just hang out here on my non-money-making blogs, continuing to ramble about whatever happens to pop into my head at the moment -- grousing about work and diabetes care and the trials and tribulations of parenting.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
So yeah.
If you've got me on your RSS feed, you may have already seen this; I'm not sure how backdated posts work with the RSS thing.
But I'm beginning to move all my old posts over here. From the very first post, back in January 1999. I've got about the first month's worth posted, and it's a slow and laborious process, because I have to hand-copy them all in here. I'm not sure what to do about posts with pictures in them, yet, either. I'm hoping to get about a month's posts moved every day or so, but even at that pace, it'll take me several months to finish the project. I've been journaling for almost ten years now.
(I'll have to think of something special to mark my 10-year anniversary. I can't think of a single project I've stuck with that long. I don't even have very many relationships more than ten years old, outside of the ones I was born with.)
Once I get them all posted, the plan is to go back through and put tags in, so I can search through them easier. (That will take much longer, because I'll need to actually read them.)
At any rate, if this is showing up on RSS feeds, I'm sorry if it feels like I'm spamming you. Feel free to hit that Mark All As Read button and ignore them; or skip through them and see where I was, back then. Wait for the "Why I Don't Want Children" post and chuckle knowingly. If you're not on the RSS feed, then you shouldn't see much difference, except when I forget to change the posting date and things show up as current, and the archive section of the sidebar will grow, little by little.
Either way - thanks for stopping by.
But I'm beginning to move all my old posts over here. From the very first post, back in January 1999. I've got about the first month's worth posted, and it's a slow and laborious process, because I have to hand-copy them all in here. I'm not sure what to do about posts with pictures in them, yet, either. I'm hoping to get about a month's posts moved every day or so, but even at that pace, it'll take me several months to finish the project. I've been journaling for almost ten years now.
(I'll have to think of something special to mark my 10-year anniversary. I can't think of a single project I've stuck with that long. I don't even have very many relationships more than ten years old, outside of the ones I was born with.)
Once I get them all posted, the plan is to go back through and put tags in, so I can search through them easier. (That will take much longer, because I'll need to actually read them.)
At any rate, if this is showing up on RSS feeds, I'm sorry if it feels like I'm spamming you. Feel free to hit that Mark All As Read button and ignore them; or skip through them and see where I was, back then. Wait for the "Why I Don't Want Children" post and chuckle knowingly. If you're not on the RSS feed, then you shouldn't see much difference, except when I forget to change the posting date and things show up as current, and the archive section of the sidebar will grow, little by little.
Either way - thanks for stopping by.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Cruft
I stumbled across this last night while I was surfing, and was sufficiently entranced to bookmark the essay and make a note to say something about it later:
Why Your Internet Experience Is Slow about the amount of bloat and cruft that attaches itself to websites these days. We all know it's there, but this is an actual analysis of a page, and it's pretty astonishing.
...The irony of linking to this from an autopost blog host with plenty of its own cruft has not escaped me.
Why Your Internet Experience Is Slow about the amount of bloat and cruft that attaches itself to websites these days. We all know it's there, but this is an actual analysis of a page, and it's pretty astonishing.
...The irony of linking to this from an autopost blog host with plenty of its own cruft has not escaped me.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Oh god, I have to think up titles now?
After observing to someone a day or so ago that Alex hardly ever seemed to feel like "talking" anymore, this morning he was Mr. Chatterbox. He sucked his lower lip in and made little "mmm!" noises, and he pursed his lips and made slightly different "mmm!" noises, and he grinned hugely whenever I made eye contact with him.
He's such a happy little kid. Penny was happy, but I don't remember if she was this happy. If he's not actively upset about something, he's usually good for a smile or two. He loves any kind of personal interaction -- even eye contact, but especially being touched, and skin contact is the best. Getting his diaper or his clothes changed is the biggest joke in the world, especially if we pause to zerbert or num on his tummy.
It should be a nice day and a good weekend.
The daycare is doing a Mother's Day social this afternoon, with ice cream for the moms and kids who show up. I've done this in the past, and it's a nice treat for the kids. Matt is taking them to school this morning so I can do the social and then bring them home tonight. (Otherwise, it'd be my turn to take them in and his to pick them up.)
(Note to self: Look up carb info on ice cream and chocolate sauce before I go, so I have a general idea how much of a shot to give Penny, in case they don't have it.)
Nothing much is happening Saturday -- errands and maybe we'll take Penny to the park or Busch Gardens or something.
Sunday, of course, is Mother's Day. We're having dinner with the family at John and Sam's, which I'm looking forward to. I always like visiting with my family, Sam is a great cook, and the kids will get all the attention their little hearts crave.
Whether I'll post over the weekend, I don't know. I want to keep up my commitment to posting at least once every work day, but whether this format will morph into additional postings... we'll just have to wait and see.
He's such a happy little kid. Penny was happy, but I don't remember if she was this happy. If he's not actively upset about something, he's usually good for a smile or two. He loves any kind of personal interaction -- even eye contact, but especially being touched, and skin contact is the best. Getting his diaper or his clothes changed is the biggest joke in the world, especially if we pause to zerbert or num on his tummy.
It should be a nice day and a good weekend.
The daycare is doing a Mother's Day social this afternoon, with ice cream for the moms and kids who show up. I've done this in the past, and it's a nice treat for the kids. Matt is taking them to school this morning so I can do the social and then bring them home tonight. (Otherwise, it'd be my turn to take them in and his to pick them up.)
(Note to self: Look up carb info on ice cream and chocolate sauce before I go, so I have a general idea how much of a shot to give Penny, in case they don't have it.)
Nothing much is happening Saturday -- errands and maybe we'll take Penny to the park or Busch Gardens or something.
Sunday, of course, is Mother's Day. We're having dinner with the family at John and Sam's, which I'm looking forward to. I always like visiting with my family, Sam is a great cook, and the kids will get all the attention their little hearts crave.
Whether I'll post over the weekend, I don't know. I want to keep up my commitment to posting at least once every work day, but whether this format will morph into additional postings... we'll just have to wait and see.
Sunday, January 31, 1999
Archive - 31 Jan 1999
Well, here we are again. There were some objections and arguments about my first journal entry - some people felt I had maligned Matt by saying that he didn't have much in the way of fashion sense (though it's something he freely admits), and Matt thought I should have talked about those concerns with him before I aired them in a public place. Water under the bridge, though, and when I offered to get rid of the journal altogether, he said I should keep it. I wonder what will happen if we have an argument about something and I vent here, though... Hopefully, as long as I remember to either explain both sides or note that it is in fact venting, things will go more smoothly.
Enough of that. On with my life.
I got my Zaurus last week. For those of you who haven't heard the story already, let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up. Around New Year's, I ordered a Sharp Wizard from the company that handles Sharp's online sales, and was told it would be shipped around the middle of January. About the middle of January, I got the chance to play with a friend's Zaurus, and liked it even better than the Wizard, so I wrote the company and asked if I could change my order. They said they didn't stock the Zaurus, and oh by the way, due to backorders, they shipping date for my Wizard was now the end of February. I got impatient and poked around on eBay and entered an auction that was almost over for a Zaurus 5000. (Not the top of the line, but I made my maximum bid about half of what I was going to pay for the Wizard, so I couldn't lose.) After about a week, the Zaurus landed on my desk, and I'd gotten it for only $85, less than half of what I was going to pay for the Wizard, and I cancelled my order for the Wizard.
I'm pretty pleased with my Zaurus. I only have a couple of problems with it, and they're fairly minor, considering everything. First, it's quite a bit larger and heavier than the Wizard I'd originally contemplated. I had to buy a new purse to make it fit, and I can't hold it and type at the same time as easily as I could with the Wizard - my hands aren't big enough. And second, it doesn't have a backlight. But I haven't really been in a situation where a backlight has been necessary, so that's really minor. And it does have more functionality than the Wizard, and with a PCMCIA card, it's expandable, which is very nice. (Of course, I still need to find the PCLink software so I can get it to talk to my computer, and a flash memory PCMCIA card for backups and memory expansion, but that's just a matter of time.) So, I'm happy.
I'm irritated at the local Recreation Center. Matt and I have been taking water aerobics class there for about eight months. Because of our busy schedules, we can't make every class, so we had been using a system the center had in which we buy a bracelet that was good for 10 classes. (The other option was to sign up for the class by the month and just eat the loss if we missed a class. The bracelet is a little more expensive if we make it to every class in a month, but cheaper if we miss more than two or three classes.) But with the new year they came up with a new bracelet. This one costs the same, but allows the holder access to any number of classes for the duration of one month. And, of course, they're getting rid of the other bracelet. I find it infuriating. I don't care about going to other classes, and the class we go to is the only water aerobics class offered during a time we're able to go. So we won't actually be getting any more classes out of the bracelet than we'd be getting if we just signed up for the class by the month and ate the cost of missing a class. So now we have to decide if we're going to go back to paying for the class by the month, or quit the class. And if we quit the class, we'll have to find some other form of exercise, which will be nearly impossible, given our schedules, the fact that Matt is in lots better shape than I am, and my bad feet, which make simple things like speedwalking and jogging out of the question. ::sigh:: Oh, well. We'd probably have had to quit anyway when we moved to our new house, because the new house is technically in a different county, so the price of the bracelet would have doubled. But if you have any suggestions of exercises that are cheap, require little or no equipment, and little or no impact on the feet, by all means let me know!
And today is Super Bowl Sunday. We're going to spend the afternoon over at my parents' house. Mom always makes chili for the Super Bowl, and they want to hear all the details about the new house. And I love to watch Super Bowl commercials. Couldn't care less about the football, unless the game is really close. That's about it for my not-so-exciting life right now!
Enough of that. On with my life.
I got my Zaurus last week. For those of you who haven't heard the story already, let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up. Around New Year's, I ordered a Sharp Wizard from the company that handles Sharp's online sales, and was told it would be shipped around the middle of January. About the middle of January, I got the chance to play with a friend's Zaurus, and liked it even better than the Wizard, so I wrote the company and asked if I could change my order. They said they didn't stock the Zaurus, and oh by the way, due to backorders, they shipping date for my Wizard was now the end of February. I got impatient and poked around on eBay and entered an auction that was almost over for a Zaurus 5000. (Not the top of the line, but I made my maximum bid about half of what I was going to pay for the Wizard, so I couldn't lose.) After about a week, the Zaurus landed on my desk, and I'd gotten it for only $85, less than half of what I was going to pay for the Wizard, and I cancelled my order for the Wizard.
I'm pretty pleased with my Zaurus. I only have a couple of problems with it, and they're fairly minor, considering everything. First, it's quite a bit larger and heavier than the Wizard I'd originally contemplated. I had to buy a new purse to make it fit, and I can't hold it and type at the same time as easily as I could with the Wizard - my hands aren't big enough. And second, it doesn't have a backlight. But I haven't really been in a situation where a backlight has been necessary, so that's really minor. And it does have more functionality than the Wizard, and with a PCMCIA card, it's expandable, which is very nice. (Of course, I still need to find the PCLink software so I can get it to talk to my computer, and a flash memory PCMCIA card for backups and memory expansion, but that's just a matter of time.) So, I'm happy.
I'm irritated at the local Recreation Center. Matt and I have been taking water aerobics class there for about eight months. Because of our busy schedules, we can't make every class, so we had been using a system the center had in which we buy a bracelet that was good for 10 classes. (The other option was to sign up for the class by the month and just eat the loss if we missed a class. The bracelet is a little more expensive if we make it to every class in a month, but cheaper if we miss more than two or three classes.) But with the new year they came up with a new bracelet. This one costs the same, but allows the holder access to any number of classes for the duration of one month. And, of course, they're getting rid of the other bracelet. I find it infuriating. I don't care about going to other classes, and the class we go to is the only water aerobics class offered during a time we're able to go. So we won't actually be getting any more classes out of the bracelet than we'd be getting if we just signed up for the class by the month and ate the cost of missing a class. So now we have to decide if we're going to go back to paying for the class by the month, or quit the class. And if we quit the class, we'll have to find some other form of exercise, which will be nearly impossible, given our schedules, the fact that Matt is in lots better shape than I am, and my bad feet, which make simple things like speedwalking and jogging out of the question. ::sigh:: Oh, well. We'd probably have had to quit anyway when we moved to our new house, because the new house is technically in a different county, so the price of the bracelet would have doubled. But if you have any suggestions of exercises that are cheap, require little or no equipment, and little or no impact on the feet, by all means let me know!
And today is Super Bowl Sunday. We're going to spend the afternoon over at my parents' house. Mom always makes chili for the Super Bowl, and they want to hear all the details about the new house. And I love to watch Super Bowl commercials. Couldn't care less about the football, unless the game is really close. That's about it for my not-so-exciting life right now!
Wednesday, January 27, 1999
Archive - 27 Jan 1999
Well, here we are, a brand new blank journal. There's something about a blank page that I find both fascinating and terrifying. I can say anything I want on that page. Anything at all. But what if it's the wrong thing; something stupid?
Anyhow, this is my journal. I'll use it to keep track of things that are going on in my life - the big things and the weird little trivia. I don't promise that it will be exciting - but the sort of person who reads online journals isn't usually worried about being bored, are they?
Matt and I are in the process of buying a house. It's such a weird process. We can't just buy a house - not even if we had the entire price of the house in cash. For one thing, the price of the house is not the cost of buying a house. There are inspections that are required but not free; you have to pay to transfer the title to the house if it was previously owned by someone else; there are fees in addition to the interest involved with the loan. Why can't I just say, "I'll give you $120,000 and you give me the keys,"? I know, this is starting to sound like a rant.
Had my Weight Watchers meeting last night. I wasn't feeling very positive about it - I've been sick most of the last week, and for some reason I always feel heavier when I'm sick. But I'd lost three pounds! Hurrah! Guess all that broth and tea was good for something after all. I got my fifteen-pound star. (They give out bookmarks at 5, 25, and 50 pounds, and little gold star-shaped stickers at the other 5-pound increments. I'm just in the program for the stickers, you know...)
This weekend Matt and I drove to Lynchburg to help our friends Braz and Kristen move. It was something of a last-minute trip; last weekend Braz and Kris were in Williamsburg for MarsCon, and we joked about doing it. But we didn't actually decide to go until Thursday. Moving is never really fun, but I enjoyed talking with Kris at least - she's got good taste, so I'm hoping I can get her help in picking colors and such for our new house. Actually, she liked most of my ideas, which was nice for my ego: I can now officially explain that my apartment looks like hell because I can't afford the things I'd really like.
I'm a little worried that I'm going to clash with Matt over decorating the new house. I don't know whether it's the age difference (I doubt it) or the gender difference (that's my bet) but he still doesn't see anything wrong with putting a poster up with thumbtacks. (That's just an example; he happily bowed to my request that his Jim Henson poster be framed.) But... I not only want nice things in my house, I want them to match each other. I even want to be able to do themes for a few individual rooms. Matt looked at me like my head was on backwards when I told him I wanted to do the guest bedroom in pale green with cream-yellow trim. (I'm trying for a spring theme - I had visions of nice bedspreads with pink or blue flowers, and matching curtains.) ::sigh:: In every way but this, Matt is the sweetest, most sensitive man I could ever ask for - but his fashion sense is practically nonexistent. Maybe he'll let me make the decisions as long as I pay for all the extras? Oh, well, we'll get it settled somehow. We can't afford to do everything I want right away anyhow.
I guess that's enough rambling for now. Nothing really momentous is going on anyway.
Anyhow, this is my journal. I'll use it to keep track of things that are going on in my life - the big things and the weird little trivia. I don't promise that it will be exciting - but the sort of person who reads online journals isn't usually worried about being bored, are they?
Matt and I are in the process of buying a house. It's such a weird process. We can't just buy a house - not even if we had the entire price of the house in cash. For one thing, the price of the house is not the cost of buying a house. There are inspections that are required but not free; you have to pay to transfer the title to the house if it was previously owned by someone else; there are fees in addition to the interest involved with the loan. Why can't I just say, "I'll give you $120,000 and you give me the keys,"? I know, this is starting to sound like a rant.
Had my Weight Watchers meeting last night. I wasn't feeling very positive about it - I've been sick most of the last week, and for some reason I always feel heavier when I'm sick. But I'd lost three pounds! Hurrah! Guess all that broth and tea was good for something after all. I got my fifteen-pound star. (They give out bookmarks at 5, 25, and 50 pounds, and little gold star-shaped stickers at the other 5-pound increments. I'm just in the program for the stickers, you know...)
This weekend Matt and I drove to Lynchburg to help our friends Braz and Kristen move. It was something of a last-minute trip; last weekend Braz and Kris were in Williamsburg for MarsCon, and we joked about doing it. But we didn't actually decide to go until Thursday. Moving is never really fun, but I enjoyed talking with Kris at least - she's got good taste, so I'm hoping I can get her help in picking colors and such for our new house. Actually, she liked most of my ideas, which was nice for my ego: I can now officially explain that my apartment looks like hell because I can't afford the things I'd really like.
I'm a little worried that I'm going to clash with Matt over decorating the new house. I don't know whether it's the age difference (I doubt it) or the gender difference (that's my bet) but he still doesn't see anything wrong with putting a poster up with thumbtacks. (That's just an example; he happily bowed to my request that his Jim Henson poster be framed.) But... I not only want nice things in my house, I want them to match each other. I even want to be able to do themes for a few individual rooms. Matt looked at me like my head was on backwards when I told him I wanted to do the guest bedroom in pale green with cream-yellow trim. (I'm trying for a spring theme - I had visions of nice bedspreads with pink or blue flowers, and matching curtains.) ::sigh:: In every way but this, Matt is the sweetest, most sensitive man I could ever ask for - but his fashion sense is practically nonexistent. Maybe he'll let me make the decisions as long as I pay for all the extras? Oh, well, we'll get it settled somehow. We can't afford to do everything I want right away anyhow.
I guess that's enough rambling for now. Nothing really momentous is going on anyway.
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