Wednesday, April 6, 2011

List #16: Excuses

Okay, fine then.  One megastoat demanded it, so here is a list of pathetic excuses for why I haven't updated this blog for so long, ranked by how likely you braying coyotes are to actually believe them:

(7) I am a modern Renaissance Man, with a variety of interests and passions, and cannot be tied down to any one pursuit for too long.

There is a grain of truth to this one, in my humble opinion, but it's more directly tied to inherent laziness and lack of focus than anything quite so noble as the pursuit of intellectual diversity.

(6) Compulsive perfectionism keeps me from releasing all but the best-formed Platonic ideals of lists out into the big bad world.

...and obviously, it's not like keeping to a schedule and regularly producing output would help hone my writing ability.  I mean, let's not be crazy.

Also, the idea of this blog having standards....well, come on, right?  You have read it?

(5) I fell out of the routine during the Arizona trip and didn't feel inspired to return to it.

Posting *during* the trip where I was actually cohabitating with upwards of 80% of this blog's readership seemed needlessly redundant, and then once I got back I figured we had still all had enough of each other for a while....

(4) I'm running low on good ideas to blog about

Like that's ever stopped me before, amiright?  While things weren't really grabbing me in a I-Must-Make-My-Feelings-On-This-Subject-Known-Forthwith kind of way, the whole point of this exercise* is to engage the ol' brain to think through things in a slightly different way and to hone short-form writing skills,*** and it's not like I am (or anyone is) at a lack for random opinions on all matter of things.

* Wait wait wait - there's a point to this?**


**  Whew, I was worried that we wouldn't have any self-indulgent asterisked asides today.  We are saved! 


*** Yeah, don't tell me how that's working out.  *sigh*


(3) Work has gotten busy

While I tend to think about and pre-form these things in my head while at home, driving around, etc, the actual writing is generally done from work.  Thus, with a big uptick in business the last few weeks, there are fewer intermissions during the day within which I can write, revise,* and the like.

* Yes, I actually go back over these and re-read and revise them before hitting publish.  Sad, isn't it?


(2) Those darn kids

As astonishing as I know it must be, and as much as CPS really should crack down on it, I do have an active hand in raising the two smallish humans that share my living space.  They've both started up swim team recently,* which means more travel to and fro** the local pool and waiting time there, and there is homework to be graded, and lunches to be packed,**** and all of the other day-to-day joys.

* Aside to those of you living in the Northeast and other places that cannot even conceive of having weather warm enough in early April to permit swimming outside: I mock you with my monkey pants.


** Said pool is actually the perfect walking distance for an early-evening stroll with Toby and The Boy, which is good exercise for all of us, so I don't begrudge it at all.***


*** Not that I begrudge any of this, actually.  Kids is teh awesome.


**** Normally they do the "hot lunch" thing, but being kids they crave change and thus get tired of that sort of thing after a while and crave hand-made stuff from dear old dad that he makes in a groggy blur at 6:30.  Honestly, it's amazing that I haven't just sent them in with a container of fish paste and a bottle of cayenne pepper.


(1) It's the beginning of baseball season (and fantasy baseball season)

Thus, actual Games That Count (tm) to watch, box scores to read and obsess over, a mlb.tv feed to optimize, and all that good stuff.  Also, because I'm a moron, I have multiple fantasy leagues to set up, pitching rotations to double-check, road managers to calibrate, and all that such and whatnot.  In theory, the fantasy stuff is largely done now and everything can just go humming along on that end and I can resume servicing you, my adoring public.*

* Well, other than because of all of the above reasons and a number of others that I undoubtedly forgot...

4 comments:

  1. doesn't "homework to be graded" merit an asterisk?

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  2. Well, you know, it takes a lot for me to feel that an asterisk is warrented....

    Parent-grading is some kinda freaky Montessori thing. There are no actual "grades" per se anyway at this level, so it's really just checking and then making them do corrections for any they missed.

    On the one hand, it does feel like a bit of a shaft like we're doing the teacher's work, but on the other hand B is a teacher at the school, so it theoretically keeps her from having to grade things too (although her 4-6 year olds have as much homework as you might expect).

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  3. "cohabitating"....

    And you know, not like you'd get 1/3 of the way through Buffy season 1 then bail on us all.

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  4. We were all sleeping and eating in the same house - what would you call it? It's not my fault that you've repressed Eric climbing in that open window every night...

    As for the long-lamented BtVSRRP, I'll have you know that I made it 1/2 way through season one thank you very much. I'm also thinking about starting those up again with all my free time. SO THERE!

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