From Thinkpad to Paper and Back.
I started blogging not to be read by anyone, but as a convenient online journal. I have journaled on and off for years and years. As the internet developed and technology improved, it struck me that an electronic journal would serve me best as it allowed for links, youtube videos, and pictures. So. Last August, I set up a blog.
Nobody is more surprised than me that I have a small, but faithful readership. I love y’all for reading my blathering drivel, but it has served to cause me to censor myself. (I’m afraid of the “keep this post private” toggle as I can just see me accidentally posting one of my most embarrassing TMI entries.)
That I can pull my Flickr into the blog (indeed I didn’t use Flickr until I started the blog) really rocks my boat and I love looking at the map thingie to see where my visitors are coming from.
All that aside, the blog has been great for getting me writing on a daily basis again. It’s also provoked me to take more pictures in my quest to be “right here right now.”
[An aside: I love feedback and, seriously, I don’t understand why more of you don’t comment even if only to tell me the post sucked or bored you to tears. I once was part of a writing group and “constructive” critiques are a gift.]
Wood Pulp and Ink
But, since I do have a readership and am censoring, I’m back to ink and wood pulp journaling. I haven’t been very good about doing it every day, but when I do, I like to make a ritual of it. Thus I have a good rollerball and a fine, fine dip pen (Murano glass that you dip in ink.) I love lazy mornings at the table writing secrets, rants, whines, and various blatherings on paper with fine ink.
Still, the blog is so much easier. I can just grab the laptop and sprawl either on the sofa, the chaise or in bed. I am a hedonist and being comfortable while doing anything is critical to my well-being.
Both my son and my father have considerable writing talents and opinions on everything. About a month ago I decided I would set them up blogs as a birthday/Father’s Day gift. I was amazed when I actually followed-through on that idea. Surprisingly, I had such fun setting them up and personalizing them with in-jokes and photos that it was worth the work even if they decide not to maintain them. [If you’re of a mind to, go wish my dad a happy Father’s Day – his life’s journey has been such that if you knew him, you’d love him too.]
fine pens are a must
Blogs as a gift are a stroke genius, I think, provided the recipients have any interest in writing and are not averse to a (mostly) silent audience reading their thoughts. I’m pleased with my unorthodox gifts. I think my dad will be and I think my son is.
And blogging, my own and others, has been a great gift to me. I enjoy it far more than I ever thought I would and I love setting up blogs for other people. (For a nominal fee, I’ll make one for you too!)
The Ides of June are slowly ticking away and the gift-giving season will soon be at an end. I’ll be able to get back to my regularly scheduled programming which I am now resolved will involve a more faithful paper journaling.
W. Va. Fur and Root 
I wish you hadn’t told me
Told you what?
That you’re keeping secrets. I love reading your heart and now you’re hiding it…
then this quote:
You must have been warned against letting the golden hours slip by. Yes, but some of them are golden only because we let them slip by.
– Sir James Matthew Barrie
i can share about my experience why people are less commenting than visiting..
in a normal condition(your post isn’t provocative) then for every 100 visitors you will get 1-2 comments. that means, the other visitors are just take a look & go, while the commentators are the readers who think your post is quite interesting.
One of my tricks is, i’ll write some useful information/how to article but i dont write it in complete, it will encourage your reader to ask something, then you can get comments 🙂
Welcome!
LOL I’m certainly not provocative hence my surprise at a readership.
I did one sort-of how-to post – it’s not my forte, I don’t think.
Now then — tell us about you.
Well, I’m just a normal college students living in south east asian country. Because my personal interest is in computer field, I wrote a lot about computers. I found a big visitors while writing about the bug in some software. Apparently google put my link on the first page, and a lot of people landed on my page because of that, and i got commentators who ask more information how to implement my solution.
I’m doing that trick and it works :), i found my website is cited by some education institute in china 😆
the provocative part is the title 🙂
I’m on my way there to check it out.
My feedjit says you’re coming from Malaysia. Beautiful country.
I hope you hang around – we all need some different perspectives now and again.
I understand what you’re saying. I also do not post some things. When I started blogging, it was to keep a journal as a way of dealing with my father’s death (soon after my mother’s). I felt lonely even in the midst of my large family. And I wanted to think about and share what was good in my life. As a professional storyteller, I also wanted to talk about that part of my life. I did NOT want to talk about my day job. My blog was to be an escape from that.
Readership surprised me too, and it makes me humble that others find my life and thoughts interesting. At the same time I know that as a public performer some things are best not put on the blog–politics and religion, family disputes, my job. But as a writer–I love blogging and the people I have met through this medium.
And I enjoy your blog. I’ve become a regular here.
I think we have a similar mindset and a mutual admiration society going on. I love your blog – especially the photo poems.
You and Rosie should connect – she’s a storyteller too. (I am too, but I need a glass of wine and an audience that can’t get away and my stories are rather pointless – not something that puppets would facilitate. 🙂 )
I’m just here to say this post sucked.
🙂
Well you SAID to!
And I was surprised that nobody else had already said it, given that you asked for it.. 😉
It didn’t really suck, I just said it cos you said to say it, here’s hoping nobody takes me seriously and bitch slaps me in return.
I especially like the blue pen in the pics.
Re comments – yours is one of maybe 300 blogs that I have in my reader. I literally would not be able to comment on all the posts I read each day, much as I would love to. 🙂 But I am there, and I am reading. And if you tell me to tell you that your post sucked, maybe I will take a minute or few to drop over to say that. 😉
What you can do is occasionally do a post where you ask the lurkers to drop by and comment, usually people will come out of the closet to say hi when you do.
I love your blog in general. I love the garden pics, I love the writing..
There is only one negative thing I have to say – I do not love colors in the theme you are using but I understand this is a free wordpress blog and you’re stuck with what you can pick. I’ve done several different versions of this theme in many colors for various people, and the first thing I always change is that blue link color. I am so not a fan of it. Both wordpress and blogger have templates with that color as standard and it makes me feel.. bad. I like a pink, or a maroon, or even a teal green.
I’ll give you a link to one of the others I did in skype.. so you can see what I am on about 😉
Yeah, I am stuck with the free version – I don’t have the time nor the inclination right now to find a host, domain name, etc. etc. I’d love for those link colors to be a deep green. And I dislike how the sidebar lines up with the posts. But, for free, I’m pretty tickled overall. I’m also ticked that I can’t use any flash.
As for comments — my ego doesn’t need them (Lord knows, I have enough ego for a dozen), but I must confess I get a wee bit creeped out at the idea that a silent audience is consuming my words.)
And thank you. Your good opinion means much.
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