Loyal Major Readers have probably noticed that I haven’t written anything in a while. This post will also be one of the last for a while. Here’s why.
1. My Health
No, I’m not dying!
On October 16, 2005, Amy and I started the South Beach Diet, and I blogged about it sporadically. I ended up losing around 25 pounds and dropped 4 inches from my waist.
Though I’ve continued to be somewhat mindful of what I eat, I have strayed significantly from the tenets of the Diet over the last six months or so. I have also dropped exercise entirely out of the picture. During Phases 2 and 3 of South Beach, I did Pilates and an almost daily abdominal workout. I haven’t gained all the weight back, but I do feel sluggish and pudgy.
One aspect of my lifestyle that changed was my blogging habit. I made the decision to try to post at least once a day throughout 2006. But it takes a lot of time to generate a well-crafted and insightful blog post. It even takes a fair amount of time to produce the crap that I write on this site. And more often than not, that time is when I should be crunching, stretching, and bending my ass (and stomach) back into shape.
In short, there’s a direct correlation between my waist size and the frequency of my blog posts. I have used blogging as a excuse to not don shorts, venture into the basement, and pump myself up. No more. My new goal is to drop the weight I’ve gained and get back to a 32” waist before clothes-buying season (around Xmastime).
2. My Job
Apart from this post (cough) I’ve been pretty scrupulous about not writing during work hours. Usually, I’ll let a topic ferment overnight or on the bus, write out a draft during lunch, and polish it up during the last few minutes of the day. Nevertheless, I have so much work to do that I really need every last minute that I’m not spending with Ray and Amy. If I’m already eating lunch at my desk, I should be doing something productive.
3. My Life
Let’s face it: from the outside, I don’t have a very interesting life. I don’t go anywhere. I don’t have an interesting job. I don’t have any unique hobbies. Personally, I love my life and I’m extremely happy. But it’s usually not fodder for public consumption. This is nothing new; it’s just that it’s getting increasingly difficult to find topics to write about.
Overall, it’s been pretty fun to build a small audience and put stuff out into the world, but the novelty has worn off and I’m tired (and fat) and I need to take a break. Thanks for reading, and keep checking back because I’m nothing if not indecisive!
Comments
Hmmm, maybe now that you aren't spending so much time blogging you'll have more time to email YOUR MOTHER.
Posted by: Your Mother | September 18, 2006 9:32 AM
I think the one entry per day goal is excessive. With you being such a perfectionist about your writing, it's not a realistic expectation. Also, having something to blog about is a vicious circle. The less you blog, the more experiences you will have that you want to blog. We all still want to hear from you, so just settle for less often, or less perfection.
By the way, when I type comments into this box, the box gets really wide and I can't see what I'm typing on the far right side. Do you know why this happens (IE6)?
Posted by: Liana | September 18, 2006 10:07 AM
You have my support and full understanding. I was formerly on a one-cartoon-per-week schedule, but now that I'm devoting more time to writing and meeting deadlines, cartooning is on the backburner. Still, there's nothing stopping anyone from dropping by Arrmac's World and seeing my work! New stuff will be posted there one of these daze.
Whenever you decide to post something on your blog is fine by me! You're on my RSS feeder, so new material is announced automatically. Hope you'll keep your archives posted. You've written some real gems.
'Bye for now...
Posted by: arrmac | September 18, 2006 12:18 PM
We look forward to your blogs. It helps us keep up with Ray. Personally though yur blogs always gave me a nice respite from my stressful job. When things got to be too much, I would take a minute to stop and read yours as well as Life is Different. But now I've resigned from that position and have taken on a part-time job, so now we read you together when I'm home, although your dad can't quite get up the stairs too many times a day yet. Still somewhat in pain, too many things broken. While I can see that you try hard to write with perfection, I well understand that, that is the only way you can operate, so with that in mind, yes, it can get to be too much. When blogging becomes work, it's time to get away from it for a bit. We will be checking from time to time. Later, Dar
Posted by: Dar | September 18, 2006 10:52 PM
In the meantime, you should re-post classic blogs, kind of like Dear Abby does when she goes on a booze cruise...they throw out stuff that's worth repeating. Or, using that logic, have your mother take the helm (kind of like guest-starring on an episode of Law and Order) of you site and let her repeat some of the things from your adolescent years that are worth repeating. That would be worthwhile.
I also note that your text box extends right, out of the visual area of IE 6.0.2900.
Posted by: Peter | September 19, 2006 7:14 AM
Damn, it's the trend of the month: the blog break.Do announce your return with great fanfare. We don't want to miss it...
Posted by: nina | September 19, 2006 9:22 AM
Re: #3 (your mundane life not being blogworthy). I think the mark of a really good writer, such as yourself, is the ability to make ordinary events and observations entertaining. I hope you come back soon, even if you only post once a week.
Posted by: Bill | September 19, 2006 7:29 PM
You know what? I'm right there with you. Especially with the hours I am working lately and my commitment to my physical health as well. But I'm going to try to keep going if not all the time....at least sometimes. Good luck w/a life that I think is pretty interesting and wonderful! xo
Posted by: Jennifer | September 24, 2006 3:01 PM