A reader named Chris has sent in an email inquiry. Chris writes...
I see we are past the 5 month mark on the last time you posted. Aside from some new home improvement project I can only think of 2 things that would keep a long time blogger away from their blog.
1. You have had a new baby.
2. You have discovered the joys of World of Warcraft.
If it's # 1 congratulations, if it's #2 tell me what server you play on so we can meet up sometime. lol
Seriously though where have you been? I miss your blog and I still check once a week to see if anything new has been posted.
Thank you for the letter, Chris. It made my day and gave me the kick in the butt to finally post something. Believe me, I'm well aware that it's been five months and it's really been bothering me. I've taught blogging workshops on two occasions and one of the major things I tried to impart to future potential bloggers was never EVER to abandon their blogs. I told them "If you want to stop blogging, be a man and say `I'm taking a break and maybe won't come back.' Don't just leave folks hanging." But that's precisely what I've done and which has been the guilty weight hanging over me for months now.
First things first: I'm not abandoning the blog and as of now will begin posting far more often. I have some material built up and it's time to get it out, not to mention several pretty major events in my life over the past couple of months.
To answer your specific questions: 1) Yes, we do have a baby. In fact, we have two. However, they're not human, so that's not a reason for failure to blog. And, 2), no, I've not yet joined WOW. I've avoided all the MMORPGs and video games in general precisely because I dearly love that sort of thing but it eats huge chunks of time. I used to be a big MUDder back in the early 90s, but eventually gave that up not only because the MUDs I played kept dying, but also because it was just killing my schoolwork. (Any DeathMud or HeroMud folks out there still? Lizard? Thundrcheez? Anyone?) However, the wife recently became addicted to OBLIVION IV for the PC, so barring a home gaming system purchase, it's not inconceivable that we could make the leap to WOW down the line.
As to where the EFF I've been... eh, mostly here. I've been doing more fiction and dramatic writing, which has led to an anthology publication as well as a couple of produced plays in 2010.
I think, though, that my blogging absence boils down to one major thing: the continuing MIA status of our cat
Avie. When she first vanished in April, I was certain that we would find her soon enough. Either we'd find her during our searches of the neighborhood in which she vanished, or she'd get captured and taken to the pound where I was a daily visitor, or she would exhibit that pet-homing sense you hear about on occasion and her little kitty radar would guide her back home. And when she returned, I'd be able to post about it here and all would be right with the world. But, she never turned up and every time I thought to write a blog post the lingering question of Avie's status just depressed the hell out of me and sapped all energy for writing anything light, potentially funny or of importance to our lives. Her absence was just a dark hole and I didn't want to publicly get near the edge. This is not to say I've not written anything bloggy in the five months of down time. I've actually penned drafts of a few entries, but could never find my way to post them because of the kitty malaise. Which has been a shame, because the past few months have been pretty full of life-altering events, even beyond the two non-human babies we adopted. We've had health scares, health crises, automobile scares and crises, ongoing pet breed mysteries, and other stuff I'm sure I'll remember. Hell, I never got to tell the tale of our vacation in Florida, which is where we were when Avie escaped her cat-sitters. (I probably still won't tell that one, cause other than the ending that you already know, the trip was spectacular, nearly without incident, and therefore not all that dramatic.)
So, in addition to the ongoing current events of Borderland (including an impending home renovation project that I promise not to drag out as long as the last one), I've got five months of Lost Tales to mine. Which, I guess, means my new year's resolution is to spend more time blogging.
I'm back.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
