Things Bloggers Write About

I don’t know if anyone has found my blog by searching for Gimpy George the recently disabled dude from Texas but it wouldn’t surprise me if someone did.

That reference comes from Good Vibrations- Breaking Bad While Breaking The Blog but if you are truly interested in George you might want to read How To Use 5000 Pounds of Bananas To Terrorize Noisy Neighbors.

I don’t pepper my posts with links solely to help provide references to past writings but also because I hope that one or more of you will check out the past and that you’ll be so impressed you’ll want to stick around for the present.

And if you choose to stay to see what the future holds, well that is so much the better.

Did I mention I feel like I am back in the land of sleep deprivation?

I am not entirely sure if that is accurate because the fact is this transition I am going through scares the hell out of me.

Part of that fear is a good thing, helps to remind me I am alive and actively working on continuing to be so. It is good because I don’t want to be the guy who just exists, I want to live a life that is beyond description.

But the other side of that fear is a big fat energy suck. It is a whirlpool of nonsense that exhausts me and I have to fight extra hard to keep going.

Maybe that helps explain why I keep hearing that Chariots of Fire song in my head, because I am running one hell of a race.

Finding A Rhythm

I don’t know about you but I like trying to find a rhythm to work, move and live to. I like finding it because I always feel like I am more productive when I tap into it.

It is part of why I like working out on a heavy bag so much. When you start throwing combinations and dancing in a circle around it you have to find a rhythm or you end up exhausting yourself earlier than you expect to.

Maybe I should have been born a drummer.

My best writing always feels like there is a rhythm to it as it flows from my fingertips.

That reminds me, I have always wanted to shoot lightning from my fingers or rockets. Not sure that I have a preference there but if I had to pick it would be the one that didn’t cause any issues going through airport security.

That would be kind of a bitch now wouldn’t it.

You can empty your pockets of metal and take off your belt/shoes but you can’t take your fingers off.

Ok, some people can do that but I am willing to bet the overwhelming majority of us don’t want to lose a hand(s) so we can gain a prosthetic device.

I’d be willing to look into using some sort of exoskeleton or Iron Man type suit, but not at the expense of my hands.

And even if you did give me some of those things I’d still have to deal with the damn TSA.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate having people look out for our security but there are moments where getting groped in the name of safety is less than exciting.

How Do You Identify Your Best Posts?

Got David Lee Roth and the rest of Van Halen singing Hot For Teacher in my ear but they have yet to help me come up with an answer for how to identify my best posts.

Ask me why I need to know and I’ll tell you every writer needs to be able to identify their best work. But I wouldn’t limit it just your personal opinion because that might not include work you have done that is admired by the masses.

Like how I used masses to describe the vast readership you and benefit from. Ok, it might not be masses now but there is no saying it won’t be accurate in the future.

And if I know anything about people it is that very few people like to eat in an empty restaurant, at least not for the first time.

We’re like Dr. Seuss’ Sneetches chasing after the chance to apply or remove stars on our bellies.

That is a conversation I have with my son on a semi-regular basis.

He doesn’t like chocolate and he wears a light jacket to school every day regardless of the weather.

That makes him stand out just enough for people to ask him about the jacket but they don’t hassle him about that as much as they do about his dislike of chocolate.

People can’t understand it and they quiz him about it. I know it is not an exaggeration because I have seen it happen.

So he always asks me what is wrong with people and why they should care about whether he likes chocolate or not.

My response is always some variation of the Sneetches story and how many people are afraid to be unique and or different.

It makes them uncomfortable.

That doesn’t answer the question of how to identify our best post does it.

Damn.

Writing For The Joy of Writing

This post you are reading is being written solely for the joy of writing and not because I have to. Blogging is not an obligation for me or at least I don’t see it that way.

The only obligation I feel now is the need to find full time employment again. That is a grind and a big part of what is helping to destroy what is left of the hair on my head.

I have had a lot of activity but have yet to close the deal on the stuff I am working on.

Makes me a bit crazy that these prospective employers don’t share my sense of urgency. Would make life a lot easier if I was their biggest priority but I haven’t been that lucky yet.

Since I have little control over that I find myself working 12 hours a day, M-F to find something.

I am very cognizant of how much time I have put in and when I am not doing something it is hard to relax because it makes me feel guilty.

This is a numbers game and the more doors you knock on the better your chances are.

Except there comes a time of diminishing returns, a moment where you start to wonder if you have pushed too hard and need to chill out so that you can become more productive.

I probably crossed that line a while back because that is what I do, I cross lines. You never know how far you’ll go if you don’t stretch.

What do you think?


words
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8 Comments

  1. Kenya G. Johnson April 7, 2015 at 4:04 pm

    LOL Jack. While I was reading the section about your identifying your best post I was looking around at the same time. No you sure didn’t answer that but while was trying to see what I thought you were bringing attention to, I noticed you don’t have a sidebar. I don’t have one either and I think we are in the minority. I like a clean page but I don’t like people not being able to look over and see that I’ve been blogging for almost five years and grab another title to read. I’m going to have to start linking some stuff like you do. I think that works. I’m off to click on one of your oldies.

    • Jack April 7, 2015 at 11:22 pm

      Hi Kenya,

      I used to have a sidebar, time was when I had two but that was a while back.

      I got rid of them so I could expand the size of the page and the pictures because I thought it made for a better reading experience.

      The question I ask is the same as you,what happens to my old material? Do people find their way into the archives to see what I have in there or do they just move on to the next blog.

      Linking to old posts seems to help a bit.

      • Kenya G. Johnson April 8, 2015 at 8:36 am

        I think it does make for better reading experience. It keeps you focused on reading the post instead of pulling your eye to something else. Especially if something is “moving” in the sidebar. I’m still on the fence about it though. I added an “archives” link to my navigation this morning like you have. For the most part I depend on someone clicking one of the linkwithin posts but I rarely get comments on anything old so I don’t know if they are being read or not. I do have a way to check what’s popular and that pretty much stays the same from week to week. So people much search the heck out of snacks on Weight Watchers, Reverse psychology on a man, and the disqus comment system 😉

        • Jack April 8, 2015 at 10:49 pm

          I notice people going through the archives from time to time but more often than not the old stuff lies unread collecting dust.

          Sometimes I take them out, dust them off and run them again.

          Don’t know how effective that is but I have this idea for new posts on reverse psychology on men, the disqus comment system and weight watchers. 😉

          Don’t mean to steal your thunder. 🙂

  2. The Imp April 5, 2015 at 7:10 am

    Honestly, I just write. Sometimes its on family chaos, sometimes it’s news inspired, and sometimes, it’s heart led.

    Personally, my favourite ones, that I think are best, are heart led.

  3. Julie Barrett April 5, 2015 at 4:31 am

    Someday that lack of love for chocolate will help him with a girl who wants the whole box to herself.

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