Tag: blogging

And that’s why I do it…

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Well, it’s one reason, anyway.

I regularly refer back to a post from 2008 on this blog. This one.

Brian Micklethwait’s words originally, but something that I live… er… blog by, every day.

And, if you can’t be bothered to click through, then you probably just need to know that despite commenting on everything from news to sport to weather to politics to whatever this falls under and everything else, this still remains – from time to time – a personal blog. And because this is a personal blog, I do occasionally put personal stuff on it. And then when I look back on it, I can be reminded of exactly how I felt about something back then. Whenever that was.

Like this post from last August:

And it’s a really good thing that I can be reminded of good stuff like that, because last night I played football and it was shit. Really shit.

Sore arse, 40km round trip through the traffic, some floodlights not working, ball with an egg in it, a whole 15 minutes game time, I was rubbish, our whole team was rubbish, the referee was a complete [censored] clown from start to finish and yes, we lost, but to be honest it would only have been very mildly better if we had won, such was the general attitude on display and overall crapness of the whole evening.

Worst game of football (that I was playing in – there have been a few United performances that would still beat it) that I can remember. I broke my rib in two places and tore ankle ligaments in one of them, and it was still better when you consider last night’s bollocks.

I came home and went to bed. At least that went ok.

So maybe I’ll look back on this post in years to come and think: “hey, things have gone better today than I thought”, because I’ll helpfully have the memory of yesterday evening with which to compare it.

Day 723 – A really good blog post

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Driving down to Agulhas this morning, I had an idea for a really good blog post. One of those rare, engaging posts like this blog used to feature.

I knew I’d remember it, because it was really good and rare and engaging. So I didn’t feel that I had to make any sort of effort to create an aide-mémoire. Also, I was driving, so this might have been dangerous.

Safety first.

But then I forgot it. I forgot it because I’m old and tired and forgetful. So I’m sorry that you’re getting this instead of a really good, rare engaging post.

But on the plus side, I’m sitting by the braai, listening to some decent music, and drinking a good beer.

So at least I’m not losing out.

Day 648 – Bloggery on 6000 miles…: an explanation

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As regular readers will know, the ten year anniversary of a post every single day on 6000 miles… came around just a few days ago, and lo, there was much jubilation and dancing and the citizens did celebrate in the streets and slaughter the prodigal son.

Or something.

It was actually a rather diluted event for me, given that I took something of a break from writing (if not delivering) blog posts over the Christmas and New Year period. So the post in the first line up above was not written on the actual day, but rather a week or so beforehand. That might seem a bit sad and maybe even a bit of a fraud for such an auspicious occasion, but it did mean that while the blog continued in pre-written form, I was able to step back and relax a little.

That last sentence does make it sound like writing here is a chore, and there are certainly times when it does feel that way. But generally, it’s a positive experience. For me, at least: you’re the poor buggers who have to read this stuff.

The anniversary and the break got me thinking (between beers) about this blog and why I write it. And before anything further is said on that topic, I will always go back to Brian Micklethwait’s wisdom which underpins everything on 6000 miles…

My most important reader is me.

Bit selfish, sure. But I have addressed that on several occasions, not least here. I can look back on what was happening in my life and what was on my mind at any given moment, much as someone who writes a diary could.
And so I guess I could actually write a diary, but how archaic is that in this so-called [checks notes] “21st Century”?
You can’t put cool photos or music videos in a diary, you’d literally have to tear a page out and post it to someone if you wanted to share your thoughts and read what you were saying, and then if you needed to look up that important thing you learnt about LEDs on curling stones in 2018, you’d literally have to flick through many pages to find it.

So, no. In this case, pixels are better.

But in actual fact, while that quote above very much represents the foundation of the blog, the bricks and mortar on top of it have brought me so much more. Writing here is often a cathartic experience: be it by sharing something I want others to enjoy or be aware of, getting something off my chest, directing anger at annoying people, directing ridicule at silly people, popping an idea out into the world or just momentarily escaping from a difficult period in real life.
I’ve been through deaths (not personally), illnesses (personally), various employments, holidays, parenting, relocation, education, political upheavals, historic events and – gasp – an awful lot of everyday life while I’ve been writing this blog, and yes, while it might one day be interesting to revisit my thoughts on each of these things in the future, sometimes it was the actual documenting of them that helped get me through those moments.

So sure, I’ll happily overlook the days when it seems like a chore to get something out on here.

But then, if those sort of days begin to outweigh the good ones for any reasonable period of time, I’ll definitely take a long hard look at whether I want to continue with this each and every day. Sadly for you, dear readers, I haven’t come anywhere close to that thus far. And it’s been 10 years. (Did I already mention that?)

So as the line from that song they wrote about me goes:

Here’s to the future ’cause we got through the past

Thanks for being here and thanks for reading. Let’s look forward to the next ten years together.