For those that don’t know, I very rarely write blog posts straight into the Wordpress editor interface - I used to write everything in a text editor, save it into a neat and tidy folder structure, and copy it into Wordpress. In recent months (since lockdown, I suppose), I have written in Google Docs, copied the text across.
Why am I writing about it?
Because I’ve had this post sitting on the screen all day - with no more than the title at the top - ‘Friday’. I typically give all posts the same title when I start writing, and then re-name them when a title presents itself. Quite often the title only relates to the final paragraph.
I don’t really have anything to report. My toe is still broken, the cat still has half his hair shaved off after his most recent hospital adventure, and I find myself becoming increasingly distant from ‘social’ media.
I’m not sure that I’ve given up on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and so on - so much as re-framed what they’re useful for. Or at least, what I find them useful for. I used to see ‘the social internet’ as a way to reach out to the wider world - a way to discover interesting people, make friends, and share a little of each other’s lives. Somewhere along the way that all became somewhat poisonous though - Twitter became a place to stand on soapboxes and shout louder than the next person, Facebook became a place to have bitter disagreements with acquaintances, and Instagram became a place to show off.
I will admit to thinking quite a bit about shutting my blog down, and just reverting to a personal journal. I’ve thought about it before - I’ve DONE it before - but it doesn’t seem to be so much about me changing any more - it’s more about the world changing around me - becoming a little less friendly, a little more abrasive, and a little less welcoming.
I get it. Blogging has ALWAYS been a bit of an odd pursuit - sharing the guts of your day with a nameless audience. It’s just always been something I’ve done though - for twenty years now. I qualify it by telling myself that it helps keep me sane - and yet I filter perhaps half of the words I might share - all the most interesting stuff. The anger, the frustration, the gossip, the scandal, the unpopular opinions - the good stuff.
In other news, I weighed myself this morning. I’ve lost about 18 pounds since lockdown began. It’s not something I’ve done intentionally - we just haven’t bought any junk food for some time. It was mostly about saving money. If I lose another few pounds, I’ll be the same weight I was twenty years ago. Go me (sarcasm intended). I keep telling myself that I feel better for it, but I could murder a chocolate bar.