It's been just shy of five months since I last wrote and posted here, and it's time to reset things and start up again. But why the five month hiatus in the first place, I hear nobody asking. Actually, I do hear myself asking that question of myself.
My last post, from February of this year, gives one reason. Life was as overflowing as my inbox. I had slipped into a pattern of dog paddling, nose just above the waterline, through each day's needs and activities. One of my nose-out-of-water strategies was to come in to the office even earlier to get a head start on whatever had piled up in my inbox over night, or to use the relative morning quiet to actually get something done. There was no early morning quiet to use for writing, or rather, I was no longer carving that quiet time out for myself.
But that was only part of it. Partly, I have to admit it was because I was tired of what had become a near-daily obligation and felt that the blog had somewhat lost its way.
The first phase of this blog was way back in the early days of blogging and it was purely a chance to play with the tools and possible uses. The second phase started back in 2010 as a challenge to myself to blog every weekday morning, just for the sake of writing. A short post-commute writing exercise in which I would, at a minimum, record the tunes that played during those brief six miles and occasionally link to lyrics or poetry that fit the mood of the morning. Once in a while a topical post would happen when I was thinking about bigger issues. At most, reflection.
(Photo: a reflection, and a bad pun)
The third (unintended) phase was when I started taking the blog a tad too earnestly. The poetry was taking over (not that poetry is a bad thing!) as were the topical posts. At that point, it became a chore to find something to write each day that had enough meat to it to be "worthy" of posting. I had allowed my simple daily writing exercise to morph into something that felt more like a published column, complete with deadline. At that point, between more pressing demands on my morning time (or misplaced priorities) and the increasingly obligatory feel to maintaining the blog I let it slide altogether. That was both a relief and a nagging loss.
So, version 4.0. I'm going back to the roots of version 2.0. A near-daily post-commute record of what I listened to on my way in to work and whatever that stirs. An occasional foray into the topical forest if the fancy strikes me, but only if. Writing, as before, only to an audience of one.
I have also wrangled my inbox and all it begets back under control, mostly. That creates the necessary space for this totally unnecessary exercise.
Today's commute playlist:
- Nothing. Just my thoughts and the sounds of birds and early morning activity on this beautiful top-down morning.
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