write.as/jonbeckett

Back in 2006 Eden Kennedy started “National Blog Posting Month”a lesser version of “National Novel Writing Month”. While “NaNoWriMo” challenged participants to write a 50,000 word novel during the calendar month of November each year, all “NaBloPoMo” asked was that you post something on your blog every day during the same month.

I had attempted NaNoWriMo several times previously, and failed spectacularlyusually because work commitments destroyed any chance of churning out the requisite 1500ish words a day.

It seems laughable looking back that the bloggers taking part in the first run of NaBloPoMo thought it any challenge at allbut back then it wasn't unusual for people to post once a week, as against the craziness of Twitter or Tumblr today, where people post what they had for breakfast, what they had for lunch, what they watched on TV, what they think about Jennifer Anniston's boobs, what they think about beards, and so onoften racking up 30 posts in a weekend, let alone an entire month.

During that first attempt at NaBloPoMo I made an effort to read and comment on other participants blogs, and quickly made friends far and wide. In contrast to the fleeting acquaintances we often make on the internet, many of those friendships have stood the test of time. Among them was this girl in the US that wrote about her kids, her daydreams, and her daily adventures.

Over the years we became close friendsworking on internet projects together, sharing family news with each other, and firing endless idiotic messages back and forth.

A couple of weeks ago she asked if I could do something for her, and naturally I said yes without thinking. She then explained that she was going to be admitted to hospital for a fairly major operation, and needed to put her internet house in order “just in case”. She chose me to be the “just in case” guy. Encrypted on a memory stick at home I now have all of her logons for everything that matters online, along with a list of instructions should the worst happen.

She will be en-route to the hospital at the same time I am writing this.

Unsurprisingly, I can't concentrate on my work today.