February 2, 2009 5:25 AM

So let it be written. So let it be done. Unless you've got a better idea.

Making It Up As I Go...Chapter 1....

Taste my tuna casserole -- tell me if I put in too much hot fudge.

  • Woody Allen

Since several of you were kind enough to take the time to share your observations, opinions, and feedback with me, I thought it would be the decent thing to do to respond. First of all, thank you. It's refreshing to be reminded now and again that people actually do pay attention to what I have to say, some of y'all on a regular basis (man, don't y'all have jobs or families to occupy yourselves??). Anyone wants to recognized for being good at what they care about, and I'm as much about validation as anyone else. Knowing that people are paying attention not only makes the writing more fun, it also pushes me to hold myself to a higher standard. I understand that most blogs are barely-readable, self-serving excuses for mental masturbation. Hopefully, I've managed to rise above that more often than not. This is where I take my mind out to play, I love writing, and so far things seem to have worked out reasonably well. Now if I just just figure out a way to make living at this.... ;-)

Some of y'all probably already understand this, but the personality who strings together these words is NOT who I am in real life. Oh, there are parts of my "normal" personality wrapped up in this, but this is where I give free reign to my inner smartass. The snark and barely-concealed contempt for virtually all things stupid and Republican is not who I am. Without this outlet, though, that might not necessarily be true. I can be a complete dick here and go back to being my normal respectful self without feeling as if I'm missing out. It's worked for the past eight years, and I see no reason to give up on that now.

Going forward, there will be some changes here at WWJD, most subtle and barely noticeable, some quite substantial. I don't necessarily know now what all of these changes will entail, but sometimes I have to change things up in order to keep things fresh. I have a very low threshold for boredom, as most anyone I work with will confirm. I will tell you that the number of posts will be dropping slightly. Frankly, I've had to come to grips with the reality that I just can't write about everything that piques my interest or outrage. I need to, and will be, backing off a bit in an attempt to spend less quality time with my MacBook and more with real, flesh-and-blood people.

After November 4th, my desire to focus almost exclusively on politics is waning. I fought my part of the battle, we won, and as with any hard-fought victory, the challenge lies in determining what comes next. My life-long interest in and obsession with the breadth and depth of human stupidity promises to come to the fore more often, if only because there is a never-ending supply of material to work with. Beauty may be skin-deep, but stupid goes straight to the bone, knowhutimean??

I also plan on being a bit more open about myself on a more personal level. You're not likely to ever see my baring my soul here, but in the past I've discussed my off-and-on battle with depression and my divorce, among other issues. The past year and a half has been a parade of pain and varying degrees of personal struggle. My life is what it is, and while I don't feel the need to hide anything, neither do I want it to be an open book. Part of that has been out of respect for my former wife, and part of it has been out of a desire to protect myself. After close to a year and a half, though, I recognize that my life goes on because it must, and that it's turning into an interesting process rife with possibilities.

Just recently, in fact, I did meet someone. Yeah, it's early. Don't know what the future holds. Not about to assume anything before it becomes a reality, if only because there are far more questions than answers at this point. Gotta tell you, though, that the present is a pretty sweet place to be...and after the pain and turmoil in my life since I left Houston, it feels good to have something different in my life, something sweet and tender and comfortable that I can anticipate with a smile and reflect upon with a feeling of contentment and wonder. I've learned that I can't change the past and I don't know what the future holds...but I can live in the moment and enjoy the present...and trust me, I'm relishing the present. Beyond that...well, I don't want to get ahead of things here, and sometimes you really do need to simply let things reveal themselves when the time is right. When is that? How in the Hell would I know? What I do know is that I've found a possibility that I want to explore deeply and thoroughly. I want to enjoy the present and enjoy what I have in front of me. Perhaps if I can do that successfully, the future will take care of itself in due time.

The beauty of life, I suppose, is that it comes with far more questions than answers. Stay tuned....

I'm grateful for the part that y'all have played in my life over the years. Most of you I will never meet, which is sad, but it's the nature of the beast. There is something resembling a community here, and I like to think that I've made at least a few positive contributions along the way. I still dream of making a living off my writing, but even if I never manage to get there, I can still do my part to leave this world better than I found it.

Ah...and before I forget, I'm on Facebook, so if you want to connect with me that way, feel free to send a friend request. One can never have too many friends, eh??

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About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on February 2, 2009 5:25 AM.

Introducing the first two "summa cum (&^%up" graduates.... was the previous entry in this blog.

Dewey defeats Truman...in Milwaukee, anyway.... is the next entry in this blog.

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