Carpe Diem

As you may have gathered from my recent reading, I'm feeling a bit of social media fatigue. I honestly think that the internet *feels* fundamentally different for me in the last couple of years. The decease of Google+ and the incredible RPG community that existed there is one of the primary factors. We just haven't quite gathered in other places like we did there. And, frankly, none of the other options excite me nearly as much.

There's also the matter of having a lot of things on my "want to do" list that don't get done because it's just way too easy and comfortable to slip into the worlds of social media where I don't need to do much work to be entertained. But, you know, I miss having to work to be entertained. And I've got a lot I want to do, some analog, some digital.

Last summer, my wife and I took a trip to Europe. While I didn't completely disengage, I did take a big step back. And it felt great. I was more "in the moment" than I had been in a while. I realized that I really miss that. I need more Carpe Diem in my life, and I can't find it when my eyeballs are on the screen all the time.

Now, this isn't a Swan Song to online life. Far from it. In fact, many of the projects I want to work on will show on this blog. I need to document our trip to Europe, for example. And I now have all the patches I need for my "esoteric denim" project that I've been teasing on twitter. I keep a bullet journal, and there are three or four projects, some of which will only take a matter of a couple of hours to do, that keep popping up as undone. These things, which I find incredibly rewarding, are slipping through the cracks of time. Ironically, many of them will manifest here on this blog, but because of my social media time, they don't. get. done.

So, it's time to do. During the month of February, my social media will consist of two things: Goodreads (because it is a part of my core belief that reading is fundamental to an enjoyable and informed life) and this blog (because many of my undone projects have to do with blog posts I've been wanting to do for years now). You won't see me on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. I may never come back to Facebook. In fact, it is likely that my account will sit there, moribund, for a long time. I still want it up so that old friends can regain contact, but I'm nuking the app from my phone, for sure. Twitter I like, and I will be back, though I've cut the number of people I'm following from over 4,000 to (just) under 1,000. And Instagram - I'll stay there, but mostly as a lurker to watch my favorite artists, tattooists, etc. I suppose I will post comments on youtube once in a while, since I listen to music constantly on there. But the only real "social media" I'll be using in February will be Goodreads. So, if you really want to hear from me, those who have my snail mail, my phone number, and my email addy (you know who you are) can contact me, no problem.

And, of course, you can check back here. I promise there will be more content here. And when I'm not working on blog projects, I'll be working on that esoteric denim, working out (I've caught the exercise bug the last few months and I feel great!!!), writing gaming materials (watch the blog!) and short stories, and finally nailing down the handful of songs on guitar that I've begun working on, but haven't put in enough discipline to master. Oh, yeah, and I need to get ready to run games at Garycon!

So much to do, and, as I learned when my parents both passed away within a couple of months of each other back in 2018 - LIFE IS SHORT!

Carpe Diem, indeed!!!

As a reminder, if you want to contact me via real, hard, physical mail, you can do so at this place, minus the carrots, of course!:

9^0^3^E^i^s^e^n^h^o^w^e^r^A^v^e

J^a^n^e^s^v^i^l^l^e, W^I 5^3^5^4^5

U^S^A

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