This evening at around 8:00 p.m, I finally put my feet up at the end of a very long day and once I finally had a few moments of quiet, I had a minor moment of epiphany. It occurred to me that I no longer want to maintain this blog.
I feel pretty liberated by my decision and I have a number of reasons that I'll share.
I've been running a blog for many years and I"m kind of blogged out. I spend way too much time reading stuff 'for the blog', saving articles, reading articles that people send me, and posting articles and thoughts.
Don't get me wrong, I love writing and feel compelled to write, it's not a choice-there's stuff I just have to get out of my brain and my soul and it has to flow through my keyboard to the world.
I just don't think a blog is the best vehicle for me anymore.
I have met some really amazing people through blogging, and it has been a lot of fun, but it never really took off as a lucrative venture. It was mostly a great place for me to vent my spleen and publish thoughts and pieces of writing that nobody else would publish.
Another consideration is that blog posts don't really accrue to one's professional portfolio or resume (or bank account). I hope to spend more time pitching and writing articles on more substantive topics and also on ventures that may be more lucrative and/or professionally rewarding because time is money and also our time on Earth is finite and I can't spend any more time on this blog. Like many other writers and creative types I have a list of projects and works in progresss I want to get done, and I ain't getting any younger.
One more minor consideration is that I'm pretty tired of having my ideas "liberated" by others. It's pretty easy to rip off an idea from a blogger and very hard to prove or trace. But believe me, I do see where traffic comes from-what country, what companies, what cities and I'm also very tired of feeling creeped out by federal government bureaucrats who pretty much stalk me on a daily basis. It's much harder to steal ideas from published articles (although I've also had plenty of ideas ripped off from pitches as well and that really sucks).
The other thing I worry about is that as I grow older, I have less and less patience for bullshit and belligerence and I'm less inclined to self-censor than I ever was. I don't want a blog post to be a gotcha moment for any random asshole. I have lots to say and will continue to say it but I'm pretty sick of watching the Internet Mob destroy lives. I'll always put my name to my thoughts and always urge others to do the same. The reason these disgusting mobs yield so much power, which is completely disproportionate to their numbers and even more disproportionate to their level of intelligence is because all the anonymous cowards who literally let them get away with it. So nuts to that times eleventy bazillion, million, gazillion.
I have lots of things on my to do list, but I'm getting older and I have a pretty heavy burden to deal with with my disabled child. My first priority is to my family.
I hope you have enjoyed this blog.
I certainly have enjoyed writing for you-wherever and whoever you are. For those readers I know personally through e-mail or otherwise, do stay in touch.
A special thank you to "C" in NYC who actually did send me a real, actual Hermes scarf after I drooled about them on line for so many years. I'll never forget that-thank you so much. Thanks also to everyone who sent a kind word when I shared, or perhaps overshared more personal life reflections and to the new friends that I made near and far.
Hopefully, and if I work hard enough, you'll still see my byline around town, perhaps even on different types of projects and forms of media. The harder I work, the luckier I get.
Shalom friends. See you around.