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Warren Shea

Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category

Blogging about blogging

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 at 7:11 pm

I started blogging a month ago today (okay, I’m 2 days early, I was too impatient to wait). A month of blogging. It might seem like longer (at least to me) because I’ve got such an abnormally high volume of posts. I started out very strong, doing as much as 3-4 posts per day. I quickly began to love writing. Now, a month later and I’ve been pretty much posting a blog a day. I have been slowing down which is probably a good thing. I still write a lot everyday, many of my posts unfinished and going into the Drafts folder to be continued later. I do slightly worry about not being able to come up with posts interesting enough that my readers will continue to return. I have really sh!tty, poorly thought out, random posts sometimes (see last few days). I like those because that’s how I feel when I write them but that stuff won’t be enough to sustain a long time reader. My readers will get bored. Which brings me to my next point.

Originally, I said that I was doing this blogging thing for me but I’d like to think that I’m doing this for my readers as well. That you might look at something differently or understand me better. As a relatively shy and quiet person (at least compared to my friends), I find that I tend to observe social situations and interactions rather than be involved in them. As such, I assume that I probably know my friends slightly better than they know me. I feel that with this, my friends can learn about me if they choose to. That we might have something in common that wouldn’t come up in a regular conversation and that the next time we meet, it will be more comfortable and more of an interaction rather than an awkward silence.

Of the few blogs I follow, I’ve discovered many things about said blogger that I would never have discovered through other means. I feel closer to them even if they don’t feel the same. I believe that this one-sided familiarity leads to comfort and with that, a deeper friendship. I know some of my readers have learned more about me in this last month than they have in the few years they’ve known me. Even if I don’t know about them in return, I’m sure that the next time we meet, things will be a little less awkward and a little more friendly :) Well, that’s what I hope at least!

While I’ve stated that writing has never been a goal of mine, I am slowly looking up grammar issues, things that have confounded me for years that I just never learned because I was too lazy or didn’t care. It’s slow but I do feel better about myself and my writing the more I learn. I still don’t know how my content flows from the reader perspective. When I read other blogs, I feel dwarfed in comparison in their structure and flow. I’m impressed at how they write, the creative and knowledgeable use of the English language, and feel that I don’t measure up to any of it/them. I want to get better and become an equal to them but have little motivation for it. I would feel so much more productive if I were getting better at say, asp.NET than writing. Still, it’s insanely frustrating using the same words to describe things or not being able to find the words to accurately convey my thoughts. I’ve run into this problem so many times already.

Anyways, I think I’ll get back to this hockey game that’s been muted for 2 periods while I wrote. GO CANADA! â–ˆ ♥ â–ˆ

It’s and Its

Sunday, February 21st, 2010 at 1:22 pm

Soooooo………I’ve been writing emails, blogs, twitter…under the following (incorrect) assumption.

I thought “It’s” was written to convey possession. e.g. “It’s monkey butler disobeyed even the simplest of commands and threw feces everywhere.”

But “It’s” does not convey possession….I’ve been oh so wrong.

Its is a possessive pronoun meaning, more or less, of it or belonging to it.

I think I’m going to go back and fix all these errors.

Self-learning = Win.
Years of incorrect grammar remedied in 2 minutes = Fail.

EDIT – In the post below, there were 6 instances of incorrect use -_-; sigh.

My mind is empty + The best purchase ever.

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 at 1:35 am

I’ve hit a writing and thought dry spell. I haven’t had any urge to write in a few days. My girlfriend has been around for a few days too, I’m not sure if that’s proof of what I discussed here or coincidence. Regardless, I don’t want to slow down in my blogging otherwise 3 days turns into 1 week, 1 week to 1 month and next thing you know, I don’t blog anymore.

I’m going to dig up one of my old drafts and write about it – that’s what they’re here for. Bare with me, there’s a lack of passion to the following post and writing without passion feels really…bleh. I don’t like it.

The best purchase ever.

I think one of the smartest things I’ve ever done was spend an extra few hundred dollars on my mattress/bed. My girlfriend and I tested out (by lying down on them – get your mind out of the gutter) mattresses from Sears, Sleep Country, The Bay, everywhere that we could do some tests. The mattress we purchased from Sleep Country was a bit more expensive than we wanted. About a 1/4 of the price more. But I have to say, the investment was definitely worth it.

We (everyone) spends so much time sleeping. Ideally at least a third of our lives. The other two thirds rely heavily on this one third. My sleeping habits have become better lately without WoW and with my new change in lifestyle. No more sleeping between 2:30am to 8:30am on weekdays and 13 hours on weekends (totally 56 hours/week ~ 8 hours/day). While the numbers add up correctly, the sleeping pattern is…I wouldn’t say unhealthy, but could be better. No more being highly irritable during the weekday, bless my co-workers for forgiving me on my less polite days. No more coffee needed to function properly. I’m trying to maintain my standard 8 hours/day, everyday. It kinds sucks because even on weekends, I wake up before noon, something I haven’t been accustomed to since elementary school (yeah, my sleeping patterns have ALWAYS been frakked up).

Sorry, I got a little side tracked. Getting back to this bed thing, I suggest that when you buy your next bed, don’t rush it. Choose carefully and be willing to pay considerably more for a better mattress. You deserve it and trust me, it will return the favor ten-fold. I love my bed. Sleeping on an air mattress and occasionally the couch makes me appreciate it even more. I would jump in-front of a bullet to save my bed. I would rescue my bed from a burning building before I would rescue my girlfriend. I would rather be alone with my bed than be with my girlfriend and my bed. Hey, three’s a crowd.

I know what you’re thinking:
Best. Boyfriend. Ever.

Ironically, this post will probably prevent me from being with my bed for a couple days and I’ll be forced to spend some much needed quality time with my good friend, the couch, of which I usually only game with.

I need engrish lessons

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at 11:36 pm

Putting the you in impri-you-vement is unpossible amirite? (sorry, that’s 2 Simpsons quotes in one line…making no sense whatsoever)

In my last post, I felt both limited in vocabulary as well as…unable to express my thoughts and emotions well enough in written form. While I said writing is not a goal of mine…I am currently unsatisfied with my skill level in this matter. I just need to improve a bit. So far, http://www.synonym.com/synonyms/ is my most used site while I write.

I need to read a dictionary and a thesaurus. And a book on Grade 8 English for Dummies.
All 3 sound very boring.

I’ll just continue reading Monster…I don’t know what the point of this post was.

So tired.

An “Å“abnormal” amount of blogging

Saturday, February 6th, 2010 at 8:44 pm

I can explain. 4 months prior to this, I had been living with my girlfriend. Not only living with her, working with her as well. We would walk to work together, we’d leave work together, we’d eat lunch together. Literally 23/7 time together on average. I’m serious, 23/7. That’s a lot. Because of this, I always had someone to bounce random thoughts and ideas off of. A second presence or mind beside me. Suddenly, she left (for school! not cuz I’m fail boyfriend!).

The sudden independence and silence resulted in a lot of thinking and depression. My head was bursting with thoughts and ideas with no outlet. Thankfully, I started this blog. The release of my thoughts really help the sudden loneliness I have been experiencing. The (one way) communication is still significantly better than none. I have absolutely no doubt that when my girlfriend returns from school, my blogging will dramatically decrease. Also, the key with irrelevant content is that I could probably go on forever. And you, the reader, don’t have to read anything…I’m doing this for me. BTW – I love my readers and their comments <3 So yes, admittedly an abnormal amount of blogging. I’m sure I’ll revert to a normal amount soon enough…