You might be wondering why I’m concerned about being unable to write anything interesting. If this is my year of not giving a shit, why would I care about being interesting?
That is because I am unable to write anything that is even interesting to my own self. I assure you I’ve tried. I have some notes for stuff I might write in the future, but I’m not ready to write them just yet. I’ve thought about several different things. Nothing has come together. I spent a few minutes sitting at the keyboard doing absolutely nothing, and then this inspiration struck.
There’s another one for me to write about. Where are my notes?
I almost wrote a note right here that would tell you what that idea is. But I don’t want to spoil the surprise.
And now my wife has stuff I must do. So that is all for this uninteresting post. Come back tomorrow, and maybe I’ll come up with something even less interesting.
Today you get a random unpublished picture of Francesca as a kitten
I wrote this a couple days ago. Maybe today I’ll write something for tomorrow. Or the next day. Or some other days long after. Not giving a shit means I can write whenever I want for whenever I want.
If I’m going to write every day, I need to read every day. This isn’t too big a problem as I really like to read. However, I can be quite moody with my reading.
Sometimes I can’t seem to read enough about any old thing available. Much of the time, though, I require some Goldilocks options. I need something that is just right. When I try to force myself into reading for the sake of reading, it all just falls apart.
One thing I’ve been sucking at during my time of sucking at writing is reading blogs. When I started this, I followed a lot of blogs, many of which I hardly ever read even though they may be interesting. So I decided I need to unfollow some.
That was super hard because I felt so guilty. But it had to be done. Besides, I realize these people probably aren’t reading my blog (on those rare occasions there is something to read).
So I did it. And if you’re reading this and finding yourself among that group, go ahead and let me know. I’ll follow you again. But if I’m right about you not reading this, I got nothing to worry about. Not giving a shit just got a lot easier.
Sadie sitting in the window this past summer because I can post whatever picture I choose
I actually wrote something else ahead of time that I will post sometime in the future. Because of my work schedule, this is going to be a necessity. I will still attempt to write something during my especially long work day tomorrow. However, I will not be able to post anything because I’ll be at work and not able to access my blog because I’m dumb and not able to remember the password and not feeling like going about trying to reset it and all that noise.
Also, in case you weren’t previously aware, I sometimes enjoy writing run-on sentences. It’s quite intentional. Sometimes I try to see how long I can write them. I won’t do that right now, but you’ve been warned.
Anyway, let me wrap this up. It’s Tuesday night, and one of my brothers-in-law is in town. So I need to actually spend some quality time with him and my wife.But before I go, here is a picture I promised in a previous post of Francesca being all up in the way when I was attempting to write that previous post. This is actually quite typical, and some day I might post more pictures that are amazingly similar which were all taken at different times. Different days, in fact. The most amazing thing is she’s actually not in the way as I type this. Well, she wasn’t when I began to type that sentence. Then she was, but now she’s not. She did get in the way during the middle of that sentence just to mess with me.
One thing my year of not giving a shit is not is a best-laid plan. Even if it was, I realized today that there is a huge potential snag. I work crazy long days on Tuesday and Wednesday. That means I am unlikely to spend any real time at my computer which would be helpful in writing a blog post or recording a podcast.
Now you might be thinking that I could do one of those things with one of these modern technological marvels we call a smart phone. Great idea. Of course that only works if you can remember the password to your blog site or you have it saved on that modern technological marvel we call a smart phone. Neither of those conditions is present.
Thankfully, I do have a note-taking app on my modern technological marvel we call a smart phone. So that is how this is being written right now. If I remember to post it on my blog tonight, I will have kept up with my challenge. If not, I will have encountered my first failure on the fourth day of 365. That doesn’t sound so good.
That gives me an idea. I will put a reminder on my calendar that I keep on this modern technological marvel we call a smart phone. And I’ll do another reminder for tomorrow. Oh boy. This might work. Let us pray.
I was prepared to have a podcast episode today as is my Monday ritual. I recorded something while out in the yard with Francesca, and I spoke without giving a shit. I even talked about how the sound quality would likely be low and how I didn’t give a shit about that. However, it was even worse than I expected, and I found a limit to my not giving a shit.
It’s not that I’m even bothered by the sound quality being poor. The problem is you can’t hear a lot of what I’m saying. So what’s the point of having recorded anything if it’s all garbled and unintelligible?
Normally, I would avoid asking a rhetorical question. I find them overdone to the point of being annoying, especially when people answer their own rhetorical question. However, this is my year of not giving a shit. And part of the exercise in not giving a shit is to do little to no editing. So I’m leaving that thing in. I will resist the temptation to answer the above question, though.
Also, I am going to apologize for not having a podcast episode again this week. I wrote recently that they might be on hold for a while, but that’s no excuse. I want to get one done per week. It’s not going to happen this week. Maybe next week.
I may also be trying to do some videos. That will be even harder to do without giving a shit. So don’t hold your breath.
And now I will leave you with a picture of Francesca in the backyard taken while I was recording that crap that I won’t be posting. Tomorrow you’ll probably get the picture I just took of her being all up in the way while I try to write this.
Francesca refuses to rake the leaves in the backyard, and so do I.
Yesterday I wrote an obligatory post for my blogversary. I discussed how I’ve been having a hard time writing because it’s hard to write when I give a shit. This inspired me to try something.
For the next year I’m going to challenge myself to write something every day without giving a shit. This is not a promise. I will almost certainly have days, weeks, and possibly even months where I fail in this challenge. But I will see what I can do. And I will try to do it without giving a shit.
That second thing is probably the biggest challenge. Even while thinking about writing this, I had lots and lots of thoughts and plans and shit that I was giving. Had I actually started writing when I started thinking, this probably would’ve gone in some other directions and been much longer. Having farted around for several hours before making it to the keyboard, it will now be this short and not cover any of those other things. At least not this time around. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?
Somehow I noticed it’s my blogversary. As time goes by, I have an ever-increasing difficulty with keeping track of days and dates. Alas.
I have had even more difficulty with writing. Much of that comes from lack of effort. Writing is work. It’s really hard work when you give too much of a shit about it. I tend to write best when I avoid the shit-giving. Giving a shit is as natural to me as breathing, though. Not giving a shit is work, and we can see how I dislike doing work.
Soon I’ll be starting work on a master’s degree. That might make it harder for me to write. Or maybe it’ll make it easier for me to not give a shit, which would make it easier for me to write. We’ll see.
Another challenge I have is Francesca, my adorable little kitty. She often doesn’t like me to do this writing work. For instance, as I’ve tried to type this, she has sat on my hands and/or arms multiple times. She is currently lying on my gut/chest with her face right up in my grill. If I had a camera handy, I would take a picture to accompany this post. Unfortunately, I failed to be so prepared.
And right after I finished that previous paragraph she decided to jump off. Of course, since she was facing my face, she chose to go that route, putting all her weight on my gut/chest and smacking me in the face with her big fluffy tail. Everyone thinks she’s so pretty and sweet. These people don’t have to live with her.
For my next blog year, I resolve to work on not giving a shit and just plain writing on a regular basis. I’ve also been trying to podcast on a regular basis and have had a little bit of success. Due to holidays and other things, that might be on hold for a little while. However, I hope you will be my guest on said podcast. Drop me a line: swmseekspodcast@gmail.com. You don’t have to be famous or anything. Just be a person.
Being my blogversary, that also means it’s my mom’s birthday. She’d be 72 today. At this point, based on family history, she’d have permission to die. Unfortunately, she was a rebel. But happy birthday anyway, mom. I miss you. I love you.
Straight White Man Seeks Knowledge 