Friday, June 7, 2013

The Carbon Anniversary

Heavens.  It is six years today that I have been keeping this blog.  This is post #1940.

Blogversaries are always occasion for a little navel-gazing about the point of the enterprise. So here goes: How I usually think of the blog is that it is a way for me to chase after knowledge and improve my faculties in an organized fashion, kind of like college but without the squalid living quarters. It's still working!  It goes without saying that I love learning about art, and in particular I love learning about art along with you, the commenting reader.  I've had a lot of my ideas challenged by votes that didn't go the way I expected, and that has been fabulous.  Everything else that comes along with the tournament is similarly a goad to my interests, from history and science to more fringe-y stuff like the arbitrary travel and exploring the new-to-me world of jazz.

Now the problem with being me -- like you care -- is that there are just way too many things I want to do.  Unfortunately, these don't tend to be the usual hobbies shared by people of my age and class, like hiking, international travel, dog fancying, cuisine, or raising children.  Instead, I tend to be torn between a set of concepts that evolves from year to year, but is currently something like this:
  • I should take my quilting more seriously!
  • I should spend time on musical projects!
  • I should keep running more and more and more and more and more and more!
  • I should try to make my house and garden amazing!
  • I should try writing a novel!
Meanwhile, I am always having ideas for the blog:
  • I should do another series of movie reviews!
  • I should write about classical music!
  • I should do more book reviews!
  • I should record a song every month and put it on the blog!
  • I should revive the quilt blog!
  • I should revive the Bible blog!
Meanwhile, it bears mentioning that in civilian life I have something resembling a career to work on -- a challenging, engaging, and satisfying career, even -- so there is really a pretty strict limit to how many serious projects I can take on, especially since I discovered workaholism.

So, how will I resolve all this?  Who knows.  Incrementally, is a safe bet.   But I'll tell you this: as long as it has voters, the Art Tournament stays.  Because it is just way too much fun to give up.

Wow, did you really read all this?  Thanks, as always, for indulging my little online periodical!
-Michael5000

3 comments:

mrs.5000 said...

This reminds me to be grateful, as the staunchly supportive spouse (sometimes dazzled, sometimes simply dazed), that at least we are free from the tyrannies of dog fancying.

Jennifer said...

All right! I'm used to you having more elaborate and explicit rules for voting, but I think having a play-in vote for your extra hobbies is a great idea! I vote for elevated levels of novel-writing, music, and quilting... with whatever blog-reporting measures are appropriate for those endeavors, of course.

Many happy returns, and thanks for so much fine work!

Michael5000 said...

Jennifer weighs in against running, gardening, and home upkeep!