It’s been three weeks since I wrote anything.
Well, this is not entirely true. I did post a story last week about how it was discovered that my girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend is now seriously dating a woman I used to see ten years prior.
You may have to read that twice. There isn’t an easier way to explain it.
It is an amazing coincidence and a hell of a fun story to put on the blog. I had to take it down, however, as it violated some boundaries. First, the story didn’t have that much to do with me. I was only one of the four players involved. Second, it had not yet been revealed to this guy that I had dated his girlfriend. There is a chance he would have stumbled across this blog and found out. Third, I had accidentally revealed some details about my girlfriend that weren’t fair to her.
I thought of rewriting the story to protect everyone, but I couldn’t figure out how to do it. It had to be unpublished and now it’s in the vault.
About once a year I write something that ultimately has to come down. It’s always for the same reason – I have violated someone’s privacy. And in small ways that I don’t realize at the time. It’s a good reminder to keep this blog focused on the one person willing to violate his privacy – me.
Okay – so what’s up with me? Why haven’t I been writing?
I’m not lazy, so that’s not it.
Simple – I don’t have any ideas!
Recently I’ve been going on a SiriusXM and podcast binge. On the subway to work (45 minutes) I do nothing except stay entertained with talk shows. Then I’m at the office all day where I’m busy making a living. On the way back, more podcasts and satellite radio. Then it’s home where I stay occupied with television and other distractions.
I know that to have ideas I actually must take time out of my day to let ideas emerge. Which means I have to get quiet for a least a little while. This I haven’t done.
While on vacation in Nicaragua I assumed I’d amass a huge number of stories to write about when I got back. But I didn’t. I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t bursting with blog posts. The answer is the same as now – I was too busy on holiday to notice what would make for a fun blog entry.
I do have a few stories to tell which should come out shortly. One about how we shared a treehouse open-air cabana with two bats in the middle of a monkey forest overlooking one of the top surf spots in this half of the world. We had a net around our bed to keep out the bugs. It was crazy. And no hot water – this was an expensive hotel, mind you.
Going forward it’s important for me to get back to basics. Namely, starting each day with this one thought – What the hell should I write about when I get home tonight?
Then I actually have to shut up and listen to my brain. Eventually something comes up and I start typing.
Kate Hall says:
OMG, you HAVE to share some pictures of the cabana. That’s fascinating, for real. I didn’t even know you could vacation in Nicaragua. Seriously, I need to read a newspaper or something.
TheFakeGourmet says:
There is a fine line between being “in the moment” and far enough out of the moment to mentally record it so you can write about it. I tend to be the family photographer, so I have this issue with taking pictures, too. A couple of years ago I took a mini-vacation and someone else was the designated photographer. It was incredibly freeing.
Karma Girl says:
So…No band camp stories?
Mari Corona says:
Welcome back great share. Nice of you to retract something you knew would make others close to you uncomfortable. Though I look forward to you somehow being able to share the incredible connections from your past 🙂
Kat says:
I totally get it. I’m always careful to protect the privacy of those around me. Most of the time, my posts revolve around me and what’s going on in my head and heart and those do involve others tend to be about my feelings toward them and not actually about them.
Try to spend some “quiet” time figuring out how to tell us about your vacation because we all want to know!
GiGi Eats says:
Clearly you haven’t listened to your brain lately, because you haven’t updated you site in a few days! 😉
Michelle says:
I have similar issues. I’ve been too busy absorbing things to regurgitate anything meaningful. I have a journal on a support web site that I used to update every day with daily happenings and inane thoughts (i.e. nothing blog-worthy), and I haven’t been able to update that more than once a month, lately. It figures, I decide to start a blog, and I suddenly become too involved with life to write anything!
One thing I did start a while back was a folder of quotes and such that I thought someday I could write a blog post about. That way, if I do somehow find myself with some magical time and energy to write, even if I have no ideas, I have a folder of ideas to turn to.
I have run into the privacy issue just with Facebook. My mom isn’t happy with some of the things I share with my Facebook friends, even though I’m only FB friends with people I think of as actual friends. I have had to take down a post or two there. Good for you for recognizing the need to take your post down before someone hit you over the head about it!