Does it Really Matter?

I am going to drone on and babble away about my inane life. Feel free to read, but feel equally free to click away. Consider yourself warned.

I really enjoy reading blogs and FB updates and Tweets of so many people out there in the blogosphere. But lately, I find that I spend too much time reading about everyone else's lives, much to the detriment of my own poor little blog. I used to write here. But these days, I'm doing good to get my Wordless Wednesday post up. Even the blogs that I used to love and read, I don't get around to any more.

I miss them.

Sometimes there's just too much of a good thing. Blogs, FB, and Twitter with all these links that take me down some bunny trail to very interesting, touching, humorous, and enjoyable sites. But you know how that goes . . . they lead to more interesting, touching, humorous, and enjoyable sites. And so on. Thirty-seven bunny trails and twenty-nine open tabs later and it's time to go to bed. Toss in a dozen emails to read, with a few needing a response, and it's well past bed time. Or even better, linking me down another bunny trail. To a new blog that I want to read and follow and add to my blogroll. Or perhaps follow on Twitter.

Lather.

Rinse.

Repeat.

I'm also finding that every other blogger has a more-together life than me. In no time at all, I'm impressed and in awe of how much these other bloggers accomplish and feel even more crummy about how much I DON'T do. And as much as I never started blogging to BE someone, there are times I get caught up in feeling sorry for myself, being a nobody in the blogosphere. And yet, I don't think I really want that responsibility. I'm such a contradiction.

The reality is that if I were to unfollow and unfriend a whole slew of people in FB and Twitter, it wouldn't matter. I'd know less, which is sometimes hard to swallow. But why is that? Am I really that desperate to be in the know? Who cares? What does all this information and blog reading and following and friending really mean to the whole of my life? Is it adding value? I guess it has at times, but lately it just seems to be sucking my life away.

This past week, I found myself really disappointed that I missed the MckMama gathering that took place right here, in my own city. Especially because I was on the list to make it to the previously scheduled one in November. But I never even knew about this one until it was too late. Again, I have to ask why I care so much. Yes, I prayed for Stellan. But so did a ton of other people. Yes, I read MckMama's blog. So do a ton of other people. But I don't know her nearly as well as some of my other blog friends. But there's that immature, insecure part of me that wants to be included, wants to be liked, and wants to matter. Perhaps I should focus on mattering to my own circle - my family and friends.

I don't think it really matters if I ever read another blog post, ever leave another comment, or ever tweet again. As much as I wanted this life for some reason, I don't think it's particularly relevant in the scheme of all eternity.

It's time to rearrange the priorities in my blogging life. Go back to writing. For myself. I can't care if others read or comment. But it's a good place for me to record my own thoughts.

Go back to reading the handful of blogs that I truly love.

Say goodbye to the excess friends and tweeple in my life.

I love photography, want to improve my skills, and will continue my 365 Project at my photoblog.

And some day, I may have time to read more out here. Or not. But I don't think it really matters.



ps - IF, and this is an enormous IF, you are one of the people I no longer follow nor read nor whatever, please don't take this personally. Like that? Even though you are the people who don't ever come here, I'm concerned about not hurting your feelings. So I have to add this disclaimer.

Wordless Wednesday - Ice Drop

For more wordlessness, check out Gabriel's blog or the WW hub.

Nameless

Sometimes I just can't come up with a title. Of course, that's really the least of what I can't come up with right now. Having a cold seems to impede my ability to access any creativity, be it behind the lens, in my writing, or some catchy title. That is, of course, not to say that my other titles are catchy. Sometimes I go back through my old posts and think that I should have done a better job of naming them. Although I suppose it's not as bad as some of the names my kids used to come up with. When they're real little, you get to do the naming. Then they get a little older and they want to name everything based upon the physical attributes of the thing being named. Like Brownie, Reddy, Fluffy, and so on. For awhile, it's kind of cute, but sometimes you just want them to come up with something better. Like Ralph. Or Rutabaga. But I digress.

I'm not sure from whence I digressed because there doesn't appear to have been any point to this post thus far. Perhaps that's why it shall remain nameless. Given that I've been so lax about blogging, it's unlikely that many will read this. And those who do can just quietly click away, with no obligation to comment. Because what could they possibly say? "Gee, that's a lot of space to take up for no reason, whatsoever," or "You're talking a lot, but you're not saying anything. When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed," or maybe just, "Mort, could you shut up a little?"

Which brings me to my next point. Or is it my first point? Or does it really matter? Let's turn this drivel into a contest. One that may actually be entered by a whopping two or even three people. Which means that your odds just went WAY up. The second two possible comments in the previous paragraph are actually quotes. I know exactly two people who would each know what one of them is from. But is there any chance that any one person knows both of them? If you want to take a stab at it, send me an email at bunny dot trails at yahoo dot com. Just put QUOTES in the subject line. Of course, I don't want this in the comments section, because if someone knows one and not the other, one of the other two commenters might take advantage of your knowledge.

You probably wonder what the prize is, don't you? If you've even read this far. And if you have, well, kudos to you for following my nonsensical stream of consciousness babbling. No, you don't get a prize. You just get to find out what the prize is in case you enter.

And the prize is...

If no one is anywhere near close, I could give a hint. One quote is from a song. The other from a cartoon. Oops, I just gave the hint anyway. But that's all the hinting you'll be getting from me.

Since it shouldn't take long for two to three people to read and comment (or perhaps less people), I'll keep this open until Wednesday night. That's Wednesday, the 24th of February, at 10:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (cause that's my time zone, after all). And then I will draw from the correct answers. You can leave a comment as well, but no answers there. Not even guesses. But feel free to say whatever is on your mind. As long as it's family-friendly. Or me-friendly. Otherwise, it will be trash-friendly.

Oh yes, the prize. Since it's easy to obtain, simple to mail, and fits in anyone's purse or wallet, how about a $10 Starbucks card? Unless, of course, no one gets both answers right. Then if I just draw from everyone who entered, we'll make it $5, as a consolation prize.

Thanks for joining me in this almost-completely-pointless-post-turned-into-a-contest. Have an awesome day. Or night. Or something.

CrazyBusyDay

I know what they say. They say to never write on your blog about how sorry you are that you haven't been writing. They say you just move on, write something, and don't draw attention to your slackerliness inability to get anything posted besides Wordless Wednesday photos. So I won't.

Thursdays are a little crazy around here for us. The boys participate in a homeschool, pardon me, junior bowling league Thursday afternoons. So we have to have lunch on the early side and be out the door on time. Especially since I have to get to the bowling alley early enough to snag a strategically-located seat in order to watch both my boys. Particularly if they're bowling at opposite ends of the league lanes. Occasionally, we'll grab a bite out for lunch on our way to bowling, which means we have to leave even earlier.

Since research has shown that teenagers, especially teenage boys, aren't terribly alert in the mental department early in the morning, I let my boys sleep in. This is one of the beauties of homeschooling - I can work with their biological tendencies. This particular Thursday, they're sleeping in a little more than normal. But I figured that might be a good thing, especially since 1) ClayGuy has been sick this week, is finally getting better, and the rest helps him heal, and 2) The Comedian was up at almost midnight last night puking up his dinner. No, I did not cook it. That was courtesy of Jack In The Box. It's an ironic twist, though, because he's the one who was majorly craving some meat - a hamburger, specifically. So he's pretty much the reason I picked up JIB last night. Since there wasn't anything in the beef department around here to eat. Apparently his burger and onion rings preferred not to stick around, though. So a good night's rest seemed in order for him as well.

Thanks to the bartering system, I get free massages every three weeks from the best massage therapist on earth. I wash her sheets each week in exchange. The sheet drop and pick-up is made on Thursdays, after bowling. That means they need to be washed and folded before we leave. Of course, you'd think that would mean that I'd actually do this ahead of time. Like have them folded and ready to go by Wednesday evening. Because that would be efficient and make all the sense in the world. However, since I live in the great Land of Inefficiency, I prefer to finish drying them and folding them on Thursday morning, when we're scrambling to get some school in and get ready to head out the door (bowling ball? check. bowling shirt? check. socks? check.). Living in the Land of Inefficiency also means that I typically need to stop and get cash at the atm on the way to the bowling alley. Because getting it ahead of time would mean that I couldn't live there anymore. I'd be exiled.

We also get together with friends often on Thursday afternoons. And today, the kitchen is a mess. I need to go to the bookstore to pick up the next book in a series we've been reading. I know, everyone has these kind of days. The rest of my week is a little more...well, balanced, I guess. But not Thursdays. I've taken to calling CrazyBusyDays. Fortunately, bowling covers a good portion of their homeschool time, cause we sure don't have a lot of the rest of the day to accomplish a lot. We'll still get our Bible time in, plus a little more. Or we'll make it up in the remaining four days of the week. Because only so much can be squeezed into CrazyBusyDay.

Late night update: since it IS CrazyBusyDay, it's only appropriate that we ended up not being home until after 9:00 tonight. In a last minute change of plans, we were able to attend the Patsy Clairmont show. Which was quite enjoyable, even if it did mean a very long day out. And then there's men's skating to be watched. I'll get some sleep, I'm sure of it. Eventually.

Wordless Wednesday - PatchEye

For more wordlessness, go here and here.

Wordless Wednesday - Icicle

Check out Gabriel's blog and the WW hub for more wordlessness.

Wordless Wednesday - Rerun

For more wordlessness, go here and here.



Originally posted April 2008