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Tuesday, May 12, 2009

sic transit Euphrony

Man wakes up, remembers he blogs.
In a strange case of modern amnesia, local blogger Euphrony recently was roused from a month-long case of amnesia. Apparently, while traveling, Euphrony lost all recollection of who he was (online) and for the last five weeks has thought himself to be a race-car driver named Mario whose racing opponents were trying to kill him on the track. As his memories returned, it was a shock to discover he had merely been driving in Houston traffic. Word on the street is that he may blog again.

Hey, everybody. I thought I might want to put up a note of some kind to let you know I'm alive. No, I did not get swine flu (although Lil'E's school was closed for a probable case) - I did get strep throat again. I also managed to see one of my cars partially wrecked and a leak in the upstairs shower take out the TV in my master bedroom.

No, I told a few people about a month ago that I would be backing off the blogging for a while. I've had some things that needed more attention than a blog, so I wanted to focus on that. Really, on top of that, I've not had too much to say. Sure, I might see something that is worth a chuckle and thought about passing on. Strangely enough, I passed it on to people I actually see every day instead of online. And, really, I've just been too busy to really pay attention to blogs, mine or other people's. I find myself leading an environmental action team at work, on the planning committee for a conference next year, actually occupied by more work at my new job, and writing more papers than before. My normal blogging time was during lunch, and right now I crave that as down time from busy days, and time to better connect with my new co-workers.

And, to be honest, I just don't know that I care about blogging like I once did. And that's not by nature a bad thing. I've always maintained that I blogged because I really liked it, just as a catharsis and creative outlet, and did not care who (if anyone) read. That's still true; except for the part about really liking it. So, the internal motivation is pretty well gone right now. As to external motivations (i.e. does anyone care if I blog) I know some people do. But I've watched my stats over the last month. Not surprisingly, my daily pageviews has dropped, almost cut in half. But the number of unique visitors on a daily basis has only dropped around 5%. Translation - most people coming to my blog, both when I blogged regularly and when I haven't blogged in weeks, are random visits coming in on keyword searches. So, I know that a few people are curious about what I have to say, but really no one is clamoring at my door begging for words of wisdom, sarcasm, or rheology. Which is okay - I've never known myself to be a dynamic, engaging person who would or could attract a crowd of dedicated followers. That's life.

The other blog which has held my attention, Inspired to Action, also seems to have played itself out. This I find much more upsetting than the lack of action on this blog, as I really care much more for it. But things do have a finite lifespan, and I2A may have run its (at least, so far as what I see).

I guess what I'm getting at is that I don't know if I will post another blog after this one. I've had this written in my head for at least three weeks, and digitally for three days. Obviously the motivation to post has been lacking. But a few people were asking, so I decided to go ahead and post it. Don't be surprised if you catch me lurking about, though.

TTFN

11 comments:

Douglas said...

Sorry to see you go. I hope nobody was hurt badly in the wreck. Isn't this about the 5th time somebody has kersmacked your jitney?

JSue said...

Perhaps the reason we aren't coming to your blog is because of the "new" feature on the blogroll that we have that tells us when we have a new post to read on your blog.

THAT is why I have not stopped by...

Chaotic Hammer said...

As a fellow non-blogging so-called-blogger, I've got no room to criticize the lack of blogging.

Seth says Blog is Dead, and evidence is mounting that while that may not be altogether true, it is certainly the overall trend.

Good to hear from you at any rate. Hope you and yours are doing well.

Kristin said...

Brody and I were just talking about you wondering how you all were...

Sad also that the I2A blog has fizzled out. It needed a group commitment and I think we were all committed at different times.

NatCh said...

I have your blog set up on an RSS feed on my Google home page, so while I haven't "stopped by," I've effectively looked for new entries daily, if not several times a day. (shrug)

That being said, I certainly understand the "end of life" scenario on activities, I've felt one coming on myself with another online activity. :(

It's sad, but in the end, it's just the way things work.

texasinafrica said...

Well, I've missed you. But, yeah, sometimes things live out their lifespan. I'm really sad about I2A, too.

euphrony said...

MB - no one was hurt in the "wreck". Basically, Mrs. E was backing out of our driveway and backed into my dad truck. Busted out the rear window and dented the door on our van.

NatCh and JSue - I did not mention the feedreaders. Those stats have remained constant, so I know people have their ears open (so to speak). Still, I don't feel a huge demand for my particular brand of online drivel.

C-Ham, I might agree with Seth. I refuse to tweet, and I may have a facebook account, but I spend about 10 minutes a month with it (and that may be more than I want).

Cristy said...

Hey euphrony, glad to hear from you. I'll keep checking periodically anyway to see if anything is new. Glad nobody was hurt in the wreck. Not such a bad thing living offline, I've been doing a little of that lately myself. Take care!

Amy said...

Did I miss an official moratorium on I2A? That really shows how behind I am!

In any case, if you don't enjoy it, I see no reason to keep on doing it. There definitely are other things in life.

~Erin said...

I'll miss the ramblings. Guess we'll just have to talk...you know...in person :)

Sarah said...

Do you blog somewhere else now?

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