Chapter 89.7: Nostalgia and Wandering

It's funny the things that can jog your memory. I was musing the other day about blogging and it occurred to me that this blog was coming up — indeed has passed — a milestone, a birthday. It was seven years ago that I started this blog. Seven years and two weeks now.

I was a different person way back in 2004. I wasn't yet a dad, though I very much wanted to be. I was barely making ends meet, which is the same as now, but I was still working in New Jersey and driving to work each day (remember when gas was less than $3 a gallon?) and supplementing my salary with a few umpiring gigs. They were fun but basically covered beer money for a week at best.

But one thing that has remained the same is writing. It is part of who I am and always has been, since the days I'd walk to kindergarten making up stories along the way.

I learned about this free blogging software and thought, why not? I didn't know about building a "platform" for myself as a writer. I'll admit I thought it might help me get noticed, but I knew then that it was difficult to be heard amid the maelstrom. It didn't bring in any money then and it doesn't now. (Note to self: disable google ads; they don't work for me.) But, like baseball, it's fun for me. I enjoy it and I'll do it for as long as I'm physically able.

So my blog is seven. Ta da! It still doesn't have a focus and I'm almost in need of a refill to my coffee cup. In just a few seconds I'll wander back down the hall to do just that. Along the way, I might spend a few seconds to think of what I could do in the next year of blogging here and at my other virtual rest stops. What will you blog about today?

Chapter 89: Ok, I'm Not Going Away After All

Stay tuned. I've decided not to let this blog get lost in my back pocket and crinkled up in the wash, after all. Coming soon: my picks for the 2011 baseball season. But first, some reader participation.

In the past couple days, I've added followers, despite my most recent post saying I'm going on hiatus. I can only imagine it's because readers have found The Elephant's Bookshelf interesting and wonder what else I might have to say. Since the previous post, I also took the plunge and bought a Website address, MWSinclair.com, which is still being developed but which will serve as my journalism and fiction-writing home, and I'll link to both blogs there.

For those who are relatively new, the Coffee Cup was designed to be undesigned. Slightly less vaguely, I created it to be a place where I might ruminate over my morning cup of coffee. In fact, check out this interview I did with Victoria Dixon who blogs at Ron Empress, to see what I intended for this blog and the Elephant's Bookshelf.

And feel free to suggest anything you'd like to see here or on the Bookshelf. I'm a full-time writer, after all, which means I have an opinion on things, and sometimes I even share them.

Welcome back!

Exam Distractions

Image: www.yummy-coffee-and-food.com

Isn't it funny how when you're studying for exams, you suddenly get all interested in writing, housework, blogging, and baking? That's me today!

I started the morning by organizing my reading. I have eight days to study not-so-much material, but very-heavy-to-read material. We're talking John Stuart Mill-heavy. I organized it so that I do such and such per day, no more and no less. That's what works best for me.

Today, I'm reading and taking notes on the least heavy subject. I'm about 3/4th through, but it's soooo difficult to get the last 1/4th done. Maybe because I just took a lunch break and lost that trans-like focus I get. All I can think about now is blogging, critiquing, rewriting my first chapter, and baking Christmas cookies. Which I'm totally doing after I've completed my 1/4th. 

It's so hard to get to it, but it's easy going once I'm there. Since I'm a fairly disciplined person, I will get this done today.

When I get like this, I organize myself via time. For example, I will start reading again at one PM, take a break at one thirty and such. Unless I'm in a trans...then I just continue. Okay! Enough procrastination. It's almost one PM!

What distracts you when you're studying for exams/trying to complete a project?

Task for the day: Study about DIY, make easier notes from the easy notes, listen to the online lecture, finish my creative writing portfolio, pick up the kids, and bake!

Chapter 87: A New Leaf on Life

As you may have noticed, it's been a long time since I posted anything here. Life gets in the way. In fact, it has been so long that I'd forgotten about my little redesign. I'm still not used to it.

When last we spoke here, it was summer. Now, the air has gotten a bit chillier, Halloween decorations have begun to sprout on yards and houses, and a school year is in full gear as we sprint toward the holidays.

Me, I'm trying to catch up on my summer vacation, which evaded me. Until now. I'll be away for a week (not that my missives were regular enough that a week would make much difference.) But to be honest, my writing-related blog, the Elephant's Bookshelf, has been my primary blogging location lately (though I've not done much there either.) So if you'd like to read my little missives more often, feel free to follow me there. It's different: it's got a definite writing and reading focus. But that's a big part of who I am. Still, this was my first blog and I'm not abandoning it. Not in the near future, anyway.

So here is my leaf-season resolution: I will post at least once a month on this blog through the end of the year.

What's that? Oh, the llama... Yeah, well, lately I feel like I've been trying to stuff too much into my life, which is kinda why the blog has been back-burnered. But you know what? Life can be interesting even when crammed full of stuff. Hence, the llama.

Chapter 85.5: New Look

I'm not the fickle type. I tend to look the same day in day out. No purple hair on Tuesdays and red on Friday. Just increasing specks of salt among the pepper.

But I've been growing bored with the look of this blog, so when Blogger offered a few new design, I dove into this one. It may change again soon. Let me know what you think. Like it? Does it suck? Do you want me to spring for a more professional looking blog?

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment box below. I'll post them.

Chapter 83.6: What to do?

Recently, my wife has been updating the Web site for her company. And that's gotten me to thinking about a topic I've had on my mind a lot over the past couple of years: Should I build a Web site for myself — my writing self?

I do a little freelance work. Having a Web site might be a good way to attract more work, though to be honest, the best way is to go out and pursue it, not expect it to come to a Web site others don't know exists.

Should I try to park my domain name now and come back to the site later, when I have published books to hawk? Perhaps. But my name is already being used by someone else (probably someone named Matt Sinclair), so what would I be saving? Perhaps the name of my first book. There may be sense to do that, but does that mean I'd have to create a new site for the second book? And what if the first book is never bought and published, but the second (or third or fourth) becomes my first "real" novel? Well, I don't really know.

Then, there's also the issue of having the time. If I'm to build a site, I need to take time to do it right. As those who've visited this blog and my writing-related blog, the Elephant's Bookshelf, know, I barely have enough time to habitate this little avenue of cyberspace, so adding one more rest stop along the highway probably isn't going to make the trip any smoother.

My hope is to eventually blend this and the other blogs into one primary site for me as a writer. But I believe it makes more sense for me to take what little time I have to actually write. I have work that could be done on my "finished" novel, and query letters to send out. I also have a second novel that's begun, which has characters locked en flagrante in Antarctica. Ok, maybe that's not quite true, but I think there was some love brewing when I was last mentally visiting that little spot of ice on the world.

So for now, I'll stick with my blogs. I don't need to spend money to park something when I can always get a new domain that's named something interesting. Hope no one minds.

Chapter 81.2: Return of the Prodigal Blogger

I have returned. I'm not sure how frequently I'll be able to blog here (or at the Elephant's Bookshelf, for that matter), but I do want to try to get back to writing at least one post per week.

Even today, I'm slipping a quick five minutes in to write here. Most of November's writing time was taken by National Novel Writing Month, which ended up as a productive failure for me. As you can see from the little do-dad to the right, I didn't quite reach 16,000 words. I've added a little since December started, but mostly what I've done with the new novel is organize it better and think about where the story goes from where it is now.

One other reason I haven't blogged lately is because I don't have much that I want to tell the world at large. My brain has been more on things closer to home. While this isn't a wildly traversed plot of cyberspace, I do average 1,500-2,000 hits a month, so I don't need to share everything with everyone. And the things I might share, no one else really wants to hear.

I just dodged a call from a chimney sweep offer ... what else is new?

The Christmas shopping is essentially done, there's still work to do around the house before the big day arrives, and I'm completely swamped at work. I'm sure I'm not alone in those types of situations.

So I say, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone. You'll see me dropping off bloggy presents from time to time before the new year begins, but until then, be well!

Chapter 75.9: Re-Energized

It's rainy and miserable outside, I've not had my supper yet, and I am daunted by the great number of things I hope to accomplish during the weekend and the challenges that face me at work next week. So why do I feel so energetic?

I won't go through all the details, but I feel like I'm accomplishing things. The book is moving along again and will soon be ready to venture out on its own, tapping on the shoulders of agents and trying to call attention to itself. They're so cute when they're precocious. While I had my difficulties on the train this week with balky outlets that refused to power my laptop, I still was able to make headway on these final edits.

I also received a nice comment on The Elephant's Bookshelf on a post from last August. Little things like that make me smile ... hint hint hint.

Perhaps I won't get into the 200s with my final revisions tomorrow. I might not run as many miles as I intend in the morning. Who knows, I might forget to change the storm windows or clean out my car. The Mets might lose. I may have to perform CPR on Sunday. But for now, on Friday night, before I've poured a smooth dram of scotch, the weekend is looking good. Clear!

Chapter 75.7: Blogs From the Past

Last night I dreamed I had a blog that I'd forgotten. (Actually, I do have one I no longer show and another that I can't find any more. These things are like ex-girlfriends.) [Author's note: After I posted this item and the image, there was a very disturbing story about some depraved stalker of Uma Thurman. It sounds like that man needs help, and I hope people leave poor Uma alone.]

In the dream, I pondered what I might write about in this newly re-discovered blog, why had I abandoned it, what long neglected story threads might I string back together...

Last night on the train, I did what I said I'd do: I worked on my book. It felt good, though I realized somewhere between Maplewood and Millburn that I need to pay closer attention to where I am or I might not have time to get off the train with my laptop intact.

I believe the dream was a sign to me to continue writing, to reawaken my thoughts. I'm sinking into myself again, I suspect. I apologize for all the self-centered blog posts that may follow.

Chapter 75.3: Blog Till You Drop?

Ok, as any regular reader of my blogs (Cammy, this means you) has probably noticed by now, I'm not on any sort of regular schedule of posting. This is my first post of April, and we're closing in on the sixth day of the month (Happy Tartan Day, all you Scottish-Americans out there!) I'm sorry if anyone has missed me, but I do have a life offline, as the photo above is meant to imply.

So, I'm a little dismayed at reading this in the New York Times. The story is about a few bloggers who have died because of the stress of posting regularly for paid blogging jobs. Of course, I'm not getting paid to blog, but I do get paid to write and edit. That is, after all, what I was placed on this earth to do, as far I've been able to tell. (Though the cats beg to differ.) But blogging is not worth dying over, no matter what someone gets paid.

Now, I must admit, it never occurred to me that my occasional posts might be worth a minimum of $10 each. I mean, come on! Who in the hell cares what I have to say? I don't care what presidents and members of Congress have to say, most of the time. (Funny aside -- at least I think it's funny -- I was driving home just a little bit ago and heard John Lennon's Give Me Some Truth and I thought, if I ever run for any office, that'll be my theme song.) So, I can't imagine making $10 for the fifteen minutes I might spend writing a drafty piece of crap like this. And surely, if I were getting paid per post, I'd write a whole lot more and would soon demand more than $10 per.

The economy sucks right now. I think it's a fairly nonpartisan thing to say and altogether accurate for most people. I live in an affluent nook of America, and I see people struggling. It's not necessarily that they can't pay their bills but they're feeling their bills in ways that they weren't before. I was talking to a friend a couple weeks ago and she put it perfectly. She said, "I was in the super market, and I overheard a mother tell her kids, 'no, we're not going to dye Easter eggs this year.' The reason, my friend continued, is because the price of a dozen eggs has skyrocketed. In my area, each egg costs twenty cents. That's right. Per egg. Remember when your kids could toss them to each other during summer camp because they only cost about a nickle? Fun and laughs were cheap then. It wasn't so long ago.

Now, if the bloggers in the Times story had their heart attacks because they had slathered on layers of cholesterol from eating twenty-cent eggs and buttered toast, perhaps I'd have a little more sympathy for them. But no, these poor guys died because they were working their buns off to have a chance to pay for the frigging eggs and butter. I have sympathy for them; I think they should be regarded as casualties of war.

The price of eggs is up in part because the price of gasoline is up. The price of gasoline is up because some moron decided to stick other people into a hornet's nest in the Middle East and now we're quagmired there for at least another decade. Neither Hillary nor Barry (Barack) nor McCain is going to solve that little Rubik's Cube any time soon, no matter what they say (and in this regard, I think only McCain has been close to honest). So get used to expensive eggs, expensive milk, expensive gas, and cheapened lives.

I've got better reasons to die. And as the photo above suggests, better reasons to live. I may just have to start blogging daily in order to pay for the basic necessities.

Chapter 68.1: Pizza!

I don't want to suggest that by feeding the blogger (and his wife), anyone can get words of thanks on the blog. But I do want to thank Cammy and Frank for their generous gift of pizza from Chicago. (Oh yeah, I believe there were cheesecakes, too, though I've not actually seen them. ;-) The package arrived at a perfect time -- as you know, Cammy -- and our cat is pleased to have another sturdy box to play in. By the way, the photo to the side is not the actual pizza (or beer, for that matter), just an incredible facsimile.

Chapter 58.25: Once Bitten

Got an odd post to this blog earlier today. Apparently, my details of the minutest of trivia impressed (or irritated) someone enough for them to clip it and post it on their site, which is called A Hapless Archive of the Blogosphere. I'm not really sure how I feel about that, but what can you do? It's like repeating someone else's conversation you overheard in a bar. We're all here in the public domain, so if you can't deal with it, leave.

On the other hand, the moment that this person plucked -- or "bit," as they call it (blogbiting) -- was a funny moment I'd observed. And by spreading it out to another blog (which seems to have about as many visitors as mine), it elevates that mundane moment to ... hell, who am I kidding? it's still mundane.

Lord knows, if this person feels like finding more moments of complete trivia, my blog is filled with them. They're the moments of a day that for some reason I feel should be remembered; but I know I'd probably forget about them otherwise. I guess it's human nature to collect trivia. Lord knows I've seen it enough in other people and myself. Blogbiting seems like just another example. Let's see how long it takes to gather dust.