21 April 2006

Worrying Trend

I must admit I've worked out why my blog is such a mish-mash. Sometimes I get political; sometimes its about the family, sometimes its all memes and sometimes armchair philosophy or humour. Sometimes (rarely these days) its stories or even poetry. Well, I say poetry with my tongue in my cheek - things that rhyme, in any case.

I know I could split it out and increase my readership by doing the sensible mono-subject magaziney thing, but then that would tie me to thinking a certain way on a regular basis and so I have steadfastly avoided it.

I am already terribly bad at remembering LunaNina's word association list which comes out every Sunday. Guilt of guilts, I am listed on her blog as a participant and feel beholden to honour the contract, but I admit that there are weeks when I look at the words but just don't feel inspired to find answers.

I guess the bottom line (as Zilla indicated in her comment one post down) is that blogging is my bar of chocolate. Its my little sneaky luxury, my procrastination project, so as soon as I tie any sort of format to it its going to switch from the naughty treats list in my brain to the one marked 'Must Do'.

That, I think, would be the death of it altogether; at least until I establish a replacement sin. Nonetheless it would become work.

Its rather mindboggling then, that, impetuous fool that I am, I have just signed on the dotted line to join TLC's Thursday 13 game. It just looks like so much fun that I couldn't resist.

This week's Thursday 13 game is a list of "13 Things That I Probably Won't Get Around to Doing Today, and Five That I Will". Maybe it will be the same remit every week, but hey.

As a double whammy then, both to catch up and to express a little necessary defiance which will make me feel perverse enough to enjoy this, I am doing my list now, so today is my Thursday 13 Friday. Ha.

Thirteen Things I Probably Won't Get Around To Doing Today, and Five That I Will
1. laundry
2. ironing
3. vacuuming
4. a haircut (can't remember the last time I had one!)
5. a wardrobe clear out
6. writing a book
7. saving the world
8. patiently explaining to my 23 year old daughter that her memory of her childhood is completely warped and up the wall
9. patiently explaining to my 23 year old daughter that her martyr's memoirs are fictitious, insulting and hurtful and draw a huge gap between us
10. patiently explaining to my 23 year old daughter that I damn well know she's on way more whacky backy than the 'just the one to get to sleep' that she professes and I am tired of her thinking everyone in the world has eyes and a brain except her mother
11. calling my mum (I usually do, but she has visitors this week)
12. putting on my yoga video and puffing along
13. being remotely Stepford-style domesticated
Things I Probably Will Do Today
1. Cleaning the cat box, the rat cage, the two guinea pig cages
2. Blogsurfing
3. Same as TLC: dishes, dishes, always dishes. Seems to be the sole reason for my existence around here
4. smoking ultra thin rollies with ultra thin menthol filters
5. reading a really good book

This is a double cheat because I've already walked to town, bought plant pot trays, savaged two huge rosemary bushes with the secateurs (they love it, sadly, every time you butcher them they just make more branches and come up, well, bushier), stood guard over a man changing the electricity meter, fed the cats/rats/g-pigs/kids, exchanged long and very carefully worded emails with the Caseworker who is dealing with Son's education, and sent Son to school in trainers because he misplaced his school shoes, but completely forgot to send him with a letter of excuse for breaking uniform code.

Oh yes, and his chosen topic of conversation on the way to school, courtesy of having seen the news, was whether China etc were really going to join forces with America (because they had a war once, you know, says he) or whether they want to take over. Whether the takeover will be in business dominance or whether it will involve transplanting politics and communism, and whether, as the UK didn't go to war with them and we had a deal about Hong Kong, and we're sort of friemds with everybody, might we be able to stay neutral and friendly and not get communised/blown up/put out of jobs. At 8.15 on a Friday morning.

And my 23 year old daughter says that time has whizzed past her and she's (gasp) 23 (!!) and nothing has changed since she was sixteen, that she is feeling terribly depressed and misused and panicked, because, God forbid, if she doesn't pull her finger out soon she will end up just like me and that would be disgusting and nauseating and a fate worse than death. But don't tell her I said so, because she changes her mind more often than she goes to the loo and will accuse me of getting half the story and adding my own ending and showing her up and generally being useless and a bit mongoloid. Again.

I love my life.



10 comments:

Lapierre Médias© said...

hi
your blog is very interesting
keep on going!

Ally said...

I like your 'mish-mash'. Maybe it's because I'm a 'mish-mash blogger' too; but I think your writing is interesting, funny, thought provoking and informative, sometimes all at the same time, which is definitely a feat I would like to emulate.

How terrible for your twenty three year old to end up exactly like you :). *flounces dramatically out* :).

twiga92 said...

Well, I think a mish-mash makes a blog interesting. My blog is the same way. Who wants to talk about the same thing all the time? Variety, I say, is the spice of life. Well, maybe not me but somebody said it. LOL! Great TT!

Anonymous said...

Oh wow, your list reminded me of all the things I will have to do over the weekend because I did NOT do them this week, lol. Happy TT!

Doug said...

Yeah, let me tell you from experience that splitting blogs is a bad idea. I tried that when I split my "buddhist nerd" blog into a buddhist blog and a nerd one.

It failed miserably as it split up my readership (2 people total), and as you pointed out, it locked me into talking about certain topics.

I finally collapsed them back together and I am happy to see how things worked out since. :D

Norma said...

I'm so glad you had that disclaimer at the end. You had me going there.

http://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2006/04/thursday-thirteen-thirteen-things-i.html

Mine's a mish-mash too--politics, poetry, recipes, family, church, rants.

Greg said...

All the best blogs are a "mish-mash". Half the fun of reading blogs like yours and Ally's is not knowing what I'll find. Blogs tied to one subject are all very well but cater purely for their own niche market and end up being pigeon-holed. I'd hate to be pigeon-holed, not being a pigeon.
Every 23 year old dreads turning into their parent. I know I'd have dreaded turning out like my Dad when I was 23 but if ever anyone says I remind them of him I'm quietly chuffed. She'll get over it.

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

I love your blog just the way it is. Today's post was a wonderful read. There is something that is considtent. That warm wonderful writer--you.

Ivy the Goober said...

If I did Thursday 13, my list would have turned out very similar to yours. I hope things get better with your daughter soon. P.S. I love your so-called mish-mash blog. Definitely never boring that way!

Unknown said...

"Sometimes I get political; sometimes its about the family, sometimes its all memes and sometimes armchair philosophy or humour."

Me, you, and I am sure hundreds of other bloggers have discovered the same phenomenon. Just keep doing what you doing what you’re doing. Otherwise you’ll end up like me; trying, and failing, to keep three blogs going at the same time.