What I did on my summer vacation, part 2.

Before I began my Summer Hiatus, I think you could probably sense my heart wasn't much in blogging anymore. This was for a variety of reasons, the first and foremost being I FUCKING HATE TECHNOLOGY. Yes, it's ironic to be saying that on a blog. I get it. But I only got into blogging because at first it was so easy it wasn't even like using technology. And then, like everything in life, it got harder.* Somehow I keep getting hit with tons of annoying spam comments, no matter how I lock down my comments section, and I have to go delete all those by hand.** I'm also changing how I'm selling out, so I've been trying to figure out how to add Amazon links, in addition to Powell's links, and all of that takes time. And I just don't have the time to give to that kind of stuff anymore.***

In addition to all that, for some reason I seemed to be going through a little thing where I just kind of wanted to think about what I was reading, without writing about what I was reading. I just wanted to keep it to myself. I would come up with some sort of lame excuse like "I give so much of myself as a wife, mother, daughter, and productive member of society that I just didn't want to give any more," but that's a laugh. I do all those things in a totally half-assed way (except the "productive member of society" thing, I'm so bad at that you could say I'm doing it in a whole-assed way). It's just the way I was feeling. I think every blogger goes through it sometime. In a way I suppose you'd call it burnout. This is extremely common and contributes to why lots of blogs are here today, gone tomorrow. They're a lot of fun to write at first but then, well, it becomes a job like anything else. And when it's a job you're not getting paid for and is not mandatory, well, it's usually the first thing to go.

I also somewhat feel this has been a shit year for nonfiction. I blame the election.

Hmm, with the footnotes, long enough for today. Sorry about that. Tomorrow: stuff about books. I promise.

*And why is that exactly. Why, as we get more advanced, does technology, at least Internet technology, seem to be getting more clunky and annoying and time-consuming? I respectfully submit that nothing in my life, like banking or visiting the doctor, has really gotten faster or easier since we've had the Internet. Do you think it has? I'll admit that online banking can sometimes be a bit faster than stopping by the bank, but in general there's still things I have to go to the bank to do, and everything THERE takes longer; plus, it still takes time to bank online.

**I tried to do that thing that makes commenters type a code word they see (captcha), even though I hate that, but for some reason that doesn't work at all between Typepad (how I host my blog) and the Mozilla Firefox browser that I use. What?

***Who are all these people who go to the Apple Store for fun? Who don't view shopping for a cell phone as one of the seven circles of hell? I wish I was one of those people. To me, gadgets=expensive little soul sucking time vampires that want me to buy apps, whatever the hell those things are.

Comments

[Marija]

Thanks for being honest! We're definitely kindred spirits. I also hate the complications of technology and feel that 90% of it sucks our cultural souls. Still, as a librarian, I can't do my job without it.

If you decide to stay, I'll continue to be a faithful. I love your writing and your blog.

[Citizen Reader]

Marija,
Yes, I feel very close to anyone else who knows they have to use technology (I definitely have to use it in my "work from home" situation) but still doesn't love it, love it. I wish you the very best of luck in dealing with all the tech I know you have to at your job.

And thanks for the nice words, too.

[Becky]

You said it very well, about not wanting to always be talking about what you are reading, that sometimes you just want to think about it and not talk about it. My blog has been moribund lately, too, by the way. Same reason. Glad you are okay.

[Citizen Reader]

Becky,
I know you know what I'm talking about. Nice to hear from you too. Coffee sometime? I'll be emailing...

[Sarah]

I do too! Reading can be very personal.

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