Feeling a little rusty
I think I need a duster in here. No, maybe a snow-blower... it's been too long since I did anything with the blog. I do have reasons. Not just excuses! But I'm not looking back, I'm looking forward.
School is out... forever. Ok, for at least a year. I promised the First Reader that much. So I am looking for work. I am also trying to write. So far, that part's a fizzle but I have been trying to rest and recover from a hectic couple of weeks, and tomorrow is Christmas. I'm not going to worry. I did, however, write a really bad poem - it's the Evil Muse's fault! - about writing at this time of year.
So i'm contemplating what to do with the blog this coming year. As I'm shuttering the performing business in order to focus on the new career, the hosting plan I've had is not the right one for a simple writing blog any longer. That, and Godaddy as a host sucks harder than... It's really, really bad. Any kind of serious traffic to this blog crashes it. Not that I can realistically expect much traffic to the blog, as sporadic as I have been the last few months. The blog is in search of a host, and I am in search of...
I'm not really sure. The blog is a good outlet for me, but if I'm going to write, I need to write, and focus on fiction. I also need to disengage with facebook, which is difficult as it is where I chat with family and most of my social engagement happens there. So maybe I'll turn that focus here. And maybe I'll port this blog back to wordpress-hosted, which would kill the 'shop' but I could reform that elsewhere, too (not Etsy, I'm deeply unhappy with Etsy and will not be using it any longer). Since woocommerce and Printful stopped syncing, the shop has been more of a pain than an asset, anyway. I'd planned to have merch for Christmas, and it didn't happen because I just didn't have TIME to deal with the problems.
And that's part of the whole thing. I just haven't had the time, or the energy, or the mental power, to do anything but take care of what was in front of my little face. It's been a good year, with good things happening, here. It's also been a year of stress and struggle before the ultimate triumphs. A bit like writing a book, really. Conflicts, goals, and climaxes. I could do with a bit of boring for a while.
To try and kickstart my muse, I've been reading. Just finished MHM: Sinners by Ringo and Correia, which was just what I wanted. A can't-put-it-down rollicking fun romp through ichor, blood, monsters, and lots of weapons. I think I liked this one better than Grunge, overall. It is lighter on characterization than I'm used to from Ringo, but I could still engage with the characters. Really, this fits right into the MH universe, with a softer, gentle... er, quirkyier side to the MCB that I found refreshing. Uni-dimensional bad guys are no more fun than uni-dimensional good guys are. I felt a little guilty buying myself a book right before Christmas, but when I'd seen that this one was only $7.99, the price of a paperback, I couldn't resist it. And I'm glad I didn't.
I've also been watching videos while working, something I often do. Writing in high gear takes music, but studying got a series I was rather enjoying on Netflix, Murder Maps. Murderers in the metropolis of London, other than Jack the Ripper. Fascinating, really. And didn't require me to be looking at it while I was reviewing over material for exams. And no, it didn't hurt my grades. Overall (other than the one exam I'll never know my final grade in, since the professor doesn't post grades online) I got better grades on finals than I had on previous exams. The final total for the semester was for As and two Bs, meaning that the graduation ceremony will stick. It was a little weird to walk and not know for sure if I had passed my classes and this was real.
I have to get off the computer and go run to the store for milk (why didn't you tell me this yesterday? We weren't out yesterday. Sigh). Then I need to make pies for tomorrow. And maybe do some decent art to finish this year out on a high note. I'm not sure what I'm doing with the art. I don't want to stop cold, but the First Reader is right, I've been spreading myself too thin. The art I could do, this last year, when I could not write. It wasn't that I was wasting my time on the art, it was what I needed when the words wouldn't come.
But that season is, I hope, passing. I really want to write. Just... not today. Probably not tomorrow, or Monday... and I am running out of time.