It's a Dangerous Business
I’ve just re-written the title of this blog post three times. It started out as “Reflections on a a Few Weeks of Trying Harder”, and then “Expending Effort”, before finally settling on a paraphrased version of Tolkien’s words from The Hobbit.
I’ve been putting a bit more effort than usual into this whole blogging escapade over the last couple of weeks. I’ve been attempting to publish something or other almost every day, and setting off across the internet in search of others telling their story – often in the dead of night, because that tends to be the only uninterrupted time I get.
I think perhaps the least surprising discovery of the last week has been how rare I am – a male blogger, sharing candid diary or journal entries recording every day life. The most surprising discovery – certainly of the last week – has been the “single mum” bloggers.
While digging a huge hole through internet in search of interesting posts, I stumbled upon a single mum telling stories about her experiences with Tinder. The comments lead to another, and another. For several hours I read their hilarious/horrifying stories, and hit the follow button again and again. Their stories about meeting lunatics for coffee reminded me of my own story. I met my other half on the internet, back when it was rare to do so – we dined out on our story for years.
Following the journey of discovery over the last few weeks, I’ve decided to share. You’ll notice there is now a “Blogroll” link at the top of the blog (if you’re looking at it via the web). I wrote a Python script to compile it – it loops through an OPML export from Wordpress Reader, then visits each feed to grab the description. If I wanted to be OCD, I could probably write capsule reviews of each blog, but then I would worry about playing favourites.
Right! I can no longer hear the washing machine in the background. Time to go get on with chores. Hope you’re having a great weekend – if you’re around, feel free to distract me from my attempts to avoid the arrival of Monday.