Monday, December 29, 2008

End of the Year... End of the Blog?

So 2008 is coming to a close. Will this be the end of the Year of Yes?

I'm still undecided.

On the one hand, did this blog actually accomplish anything? It forced me to write more, which is a good thing, though it was a time-eater, and I could've used that time on more creative endeavors or wasted it on nonsense. And I need a serious amount of nonsense in my life or I fade away.

But did I inspire other people to get psyched and say Yes (one of my original goals of the blog)? And more importantly, my point of view about life change for the better? I don't think so. I continue to be like this dog...


...in the sense that I'm wearing my wonderful pink bunny rabbit suit and no one appreciates it properly, and I'm like, "What the heck is wrong with the world? I hate everything... and I'm thirsty."

Also, for every event I wrote about, there were probably two or three that I didn't mention, for whatever reason. Sometimes I'd forget. Sometimes I'd think, "Well, I don't wanna blog about something until it happens," but then once it did happen, I'd think, "It's old news by now, who cares?"

That's a pretty weak reason, though. Over the past 12 months, I'd learned that the best way to blog is to write before the event (to get psyched), and to recap afterward. Even if it sucked, it's enough to say, "It was sort of sucky."

But the main reason I omitted certain events are because I'm an incredibly private person, and I have no desire to talk about my medical misadventures or personal tragedies with my friends and family, let alone the Faceless Internet. Even blogging about my wisdom teeth was a struggle. For a long time, I didn't include my real name and picture until I realized it's pretty easy to find me, so why bother hiding?

Other Reasons to Stop: Laziness. Saying "No" to things is easier. That Yes Man movie kind of killed it for me.

And, to be honest, I don't take great joy in blogging. I've never felt like "WHOA MAMA I CAN'T WAIT TO WRITE ABOUT THIS!" with the exception of Disney World.

Finally, the year is written in the URL. Isn't that passe? Wouldn't I have to change it and deal with all the crap that such an effort would entail? 2008 is the past, man, I gotta quit living in the past! But I don't wanna start over on a brand-new blog, want to keep all these posts and stuff. Maybe I can just change the title or something. Is that legal?

Reasons to Keep on Bloggin': On the other hand, being responsible for the Year of Yes ensured that stuff would get done. I wouldn't waste all my time on nonsense, I'd go out and do things that aren't usual for me. Or I'd do easy Yes things (Friend: Want to eat this cheezburger with me? Kirk: OK.) and get an easy sense of accomplishment.

And (is this one lame?) I like having a record of my year. Even though I don't like blogging, I like having a blog. I can look back on past months and be like, "Oh, yeah, I did that!" instead of forgetting the mundane pleasantries of, say, eating a cheezburger with a friend.

In the past, I'd categorize each year by a month-spanning project: My Wife, the Ghost one year, Cakey! The Cake From Outer Space the next, then a Halloween karaoke musical. This year, I didn't do anything creative other than this blog. And that's OK, 'cause it was also a little personal project, too.

So will I continue it? I guess it'd be the ultimate No to be like, "And that's 365 days, I'm out, suckers!" However, it would be kind of funny.

Thoughts?

5 comments:

sandybadlands said...

Can't you look back on your calendar and be like "oh yeah, I did that"? Sometimes I even write things in my calendar after they happened just so I'll have a historical record.

Regrettably, my opinion is that your blog cannot continue in 2009 with this URL. I'm not trying to invite a reader backlash, nor am I saying you should abandon your endeavor to say yes more often, but maybe it's time to examine what good came out of the blog and explore future iterations of this project.

ruby sneakers said...

i vote (?) for more writing, i enjoy reading your thoughts :) i think you will need a different url though. otherwise you'd be LYING.

Michelle said...

I have enjoyed reading about your exploits! more in 2009 would be swell.

Michelle said...

And here's an incredibly specific and labor-intensive challenge in case you still want one:

http://justbento.com/get-started-bento-challenge-will-start-january-13th

. said...

That sounds really cool, but is a little too hard for me, Michelle.

I'll probably stick to "Should I get a haircut today or take a nap?" in 2009, though I will definitely look at pictures of those bento boxes.