NaBloPoMo Archives - THOMnottom

Weekend update

What is it with the Internet and weekends? I’ve noticed for sometime now that once the work week ends, posts, status updates, tweets, links, etc. all begin to run dry. Sure seems like, despite recommendations to the contrary, a lot of people still tie their personal Internet connectivity to their jobs. Tsk! Tsk!

Of course that would be better for me than writing this late… Holy cow! It’s not even 10 PM! How’d that happen? The past couple of weeks have been pretty rough in the parenting department. The wee lil’ one had lost interest in sleeping through the night and continued to turn her nose up at the concept of napping. Thus our past week or so has been dedicated to correcting this most inconvenient behavior. After briefly discussing and even more briefly testing a few suggestions, we’ve finally settled back into our old routine with just a tad more parental strength in an attempt to reclaim our past success. So far it’s been decent – although the promise of a regular nap over 1 hour long continues to elude us…

Still, it chipped away at my sanity and free time which is why I, once again, have failed at NaBloPoMo. But even with all of these distractions, I’m only a few posts behind my pace in 2007 and have written way more in a 3 week span than almost any 3 month span in the past couple of years. Now if only I could convince people to read it…

Sure… why not?

Call it delusions of grandeur… call it gluttony for punishment… call it whatever you like, I’m going to try my hand at NaBloPoMo again. That’s National Blog Posting Month for those of you with lives.

Since I first failed miserably at this a couple years ago, they’ve changed it to a monthly thing that encourages people to fill the Internet with mindless drivel about what they had for lunch on a daily basis (torilla-encrusted fish-based product for those wondering), but November remains the “official” month.

The real trick will be pushing myself to post earlier in the day. These late night “brainstorming” sessions go no where very slowly. The other trick will be to come up with things to actually write about. But we all know content is purely optional when it comes to the self-indulgence of personal blogging.

This time I even remembered to submit this site for their blogroll – it should now be listed under “general” because “meandering” wasn’t an option. Perhaps the potential threat of random strangers being directed here will be enough to keep me posting. Or perhaps it will simply be enough to make me finally get rid of the CSS that puts those silly blue borders around my photos…

NaBloPoMo: A review of my failure

First, a shout out to Sara from Moving Right Along for providing the perfect badge for my “accomplishment” this past month:

As for NaBloPoMo, what can I say? I really did blow it. But I made it almost halfway through the month, and in the ended racked up 23 posts. That’s the most I’ve written in… probably at least a couple years. No, I won’t be winning any prizes, but I didn’t even realize there were prizes until a week or so into this thing. Since my goal was simply to get myself to start writing more regularly, I can claim success on that front.

Actually, I’ve even started to feel a little more focus this past week – less total randomness in how and when I post. Alright, there is a certain amount of randomness, but it’s the fun kind – not so much of the “I have no idea what I’m doing anymore” kind. You could almost say that I’m starting to feel some real inspiration these days…

What have we learned?

So far, we have learned that I cannot keep to a schedule. I’ve proven this over most of my life but, come on, I couldn’t even link to some kittens or something? Missing the first night was silly. When I skipped this past Saturday, well, I was well on my way to a wine and cheese induced coma. That managed to wipe out Sunday, too. I’m still not even sure what happened on Monday – I think I went to work.

Alright, in reality this whole NaBloPoMo was really about encouraging me to write on a regular basis. Unfortunately, I lost site of the inspirational part and focused on the schedule part. In order for me to get back to writing more – and writing better – I’ve got to get in the habit of writing when I’m inspired. You should be able to figure out when that is pretty easily – compare the stilted, single paragraph posts to ones that meander for way more words than any subject needs. Hey, that’s my style and I’m sticking with it, thank you very much.

I’m most upset that I missed my Sunday Photo. I really need to think about that more before hand – maybe even go out specifically to shoot something. I need a muse…

Crap

12 days in and I blew it. I even had something I wanted to post when I got home (already forgotten) but got so wrapped up in little chores that I never actually wrote it. Argh. I have to admit, I didn’t expect it to be a difficult task. But when you’re not completely inspired, it becomes almost a chore to log on and post – even if you have a topic in mind.

But, I’m not giving up. There’s still almost 20 more days, and I don’t want to miss another one…

NaBloPoMo

After browsing my archives a couple months ago, I had realized that 5 posts had become my unofficial minimum each month. Outside of my domain move back in December of 2005, I’ve always written at least that much since almost the beginning. Somehow I managed to hit my minimum in September, which gave me great hope for getting back into the swing of things again. Unfortunately, October kicked my ass and I only put together a meager 3 posts. Pathetic.

To help myself out, I’ve decided to join NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) – see, that’s me (real profile to follow). That means I’ve got to write a post EVERY FREAKING DAY! Awesome! So, that means these first couple will be from Santa Fe – but, I’m sitting in bed watching Scrubs – not exactly different from if I was home.

If anyone else wants to join, hop right in. I’m sure no one will mind if you miss the first day or not – I’ll just call you a cheater…