Category: blog inventory

Elaborations, explanations, and hand-wringing about blogging and this blog itself. Usually questions no one asked.

Posted on
by

When this posts, it’ll be a couple of days before the New Year, and we’ll be halfway through Kuchuqwanzaa, just about.

Or I can just post it right now! It’s been on my mind.

Next year, I’ll be the big ol’ Four Oh. 40. And when I’m 44, this blog would have existed for a decade. That’s ancient in computer times, right?

I began blogging when I was 34 years old, in 2019. That’s…

  • 3 years into tRump’s first presidential election
  • I’m about to move in with my partners-at-the-time
  • My favorite queer-owned sober third space shut down
  • still on OKC (and got my hopes dashed pretty bad, twice)

And this would be my second (or third?) iteration of having a WordPress blog specifically. The previous ones sputtered out and were deleted, but this time… it stuck. I still can’t put my finger on as to why, other than finally finding a groove and voice that I like. But, it’s always been about trying to get into– and stay in– the habit of writing. Letting go, grieving, and figuring things out. I’d have long lulls, but I’d be back. I’m happy to see that I have returned, and it looks much more permanent this time.

It’s been a fun year for this blog. I ragequit my dot-wordpress-dot-com and moved to my own space, dusting off all the cobwebs from my server administration days (and being eternally grateful for the customer service I received when I broke things). I had headaches, but I had fun too! ClassicPress has been great to use so far. This space feels more like "mine," and having more control certainly helped in that. I’ve migrated twice with minimal explosions, and proud of the smaller things like IndieWebRing and ActivityPub integration.

The only thing that appears to be holding me back is the lack of "spontaneous" and "not polished" works– I need to do more of those! What a convenient New Years Resolution!

Bloganuary is next month (next year), and on top of that sometimes I need to just Write The Thing. I write for you, and my friends, and folx that come across it, and so on– but primarily, I’m writing for me. So next year, I’ll work on that. Not everything has to be 500 word SAT essay, or have a point (or be educational).

WritingMonth doesn’t have to be November.

And there’s so many themes like this one I just searched for.

And, uh, I should probably start giving a shit about SEO…? The plugin says I should.

…

POST!

Posted on
by

It found me fine, I think. I have not written nearly enough poems for a poem-a-day goal (only 3-4 so far). The difficulty is to sit down and quiet myself, to listen to my inspirations long enough to actually write something. Stressors can get in the way of that.

But I use that.

Writing always helped me process my emotions, and what better way to help work through my worries than… writing some stanzas about it?

Soon I’ll play catch-up (I’ve been jotting down prompts, at least, as well as following the official blog) and post what I’ve come up with so far.

Posted on
by

So.

I moved my blog.

While the timeline I had in mind would be over the span of two months, tops, I managed to do this in two days. It helped that I’ve had ClassicPress in a pinned tab for quite some time now, and buying the domain name was the easy part. Hosting was where I dragged my feet, but it was quickly resolved by how easy it was for me to fall back into the server maintenence groove. But still, at first I was nervous. I don’t have the budget to have a professional on retainer, so it would have to be a DIY operation– and while I’ve managed Linux servers in the past, it was quite some time ago and I felt quite rusty. And in addition to the rust, I am also occasionally lazy. And impatient. I wanted my site moved now!

I settled on DigitalOcean. It came highly recommended when I first asked around for hosting solutions, with the caveat that it wasn’t exactly casual-friendly. "I’m just going to try it out, poke around it, shake the cobwebs off my knowledge" I thought to myself. I was also prepared to get my hands a little dirty if it came to that. Besides, there was this handy tool that set up the headache-inducing environment for me, brought to my attention from browsing ClassicPress Forums. So that certainly helped!

Like many things, it was like riding a bike. Once the wheels started turning, I remembered a lot more than I thought I would. I had to do some updates, set up ClassicPress, and I was done! Before I knew it, I was settling right in nicely as I customized, secured, and broke things (the deleted DNS records got better– yay for restore buttons!).

This feels like… wearing a beloved blanket. I didn’t want to move to a whole different blogging platform, after all. I’m a creature that enjoys the familiar and the nostalgic, and right now as I type this I’m transported back to 2005. During Web Developing class everyone was setting up their WordPress accounts for the first time, and I thought it pretty magical. Frankly, it still is. And now, I can develop my own theme. Since I don’t have to pay extra to do so, I don’t really have an excuse now. Besides time, anyway.

So, hello again! We’re back on schedule.

I can only wish my IRL move in the upcoming months will be as smooth as this was.

Posted on
by

For years I’ve been passively looking at alternative blogging platforms; I’m one of the many that were dragged kicking and screaming into WordPress’ Block Editing Gutenberg nonsense. I adapted, and even got used to it– besides, I’m not a developer, so it was easier for me to roll with it. There are options, like Classic Editor plugin and ClassicPress, which I kept on the backburner.


WordPress was on thin ice ever since.


I’ve also been keeping tabs of the current Internet climate, so I’m not in the least bit surprised when this happened:


Tumblr and WordPress to Sell Users’ Data to Train AI Tools,


according to 404media. The initial link is paywalled (nagscreen-walled, really), but other news sources have picked up the story. And on top of that, there’s rumors that AI training may have already been happening. [1] [2]


And that’s it, the final straw.


I haven’t expressed my stance on AI stuff on this blog. I can see how it can be helpful in most cases. But as a Creative (if only in writing), compounded with the current state of how AI is being implemented?


I’ll keep this short: Ultimately, not a fan.


And I do not consent to having my data trained on AI/LLM/Skynet. Sure, I can opt out, but why is shit like this never opt *in*? And, as Web 3.0 continues to algorithm its way into as much profit as possible, I don’t trust WordPress to honor my decision. And there’s just the whole principle of the thing.


So I’ve halted any scheduled posts, made my backup, and I will move in the next few months.


There are options– it’s just a matter of budget, and how and where I want to set things up. I practically grew up on WordPress, so ClassicPress is calling my name– and I can get behind their mission!


But this can also be an opportunity to pivot into a new adventure with new tools. That sounds exciting! I do have half a mind to jump into a whole ‘nother CMS.


And hey, when all else fails, there’s always DreamWidth. They have yet to let me down, unlike LiveJournal. I may even have it as a “mirror” of sorts.


So, that’s it. I’ll update one last time to let y’all know where I’ll be next.


Ja ne.

Posted on
by

I have a pretty solid finish to last month’s Bloganuary, and then I… disappeared. This time, it isn’t because I ran out of steam! But it was redirected elsewhere.

There’s the health issues I’ve referenced in the last few months, and that does cause some anxiety. I’ve been trying to eat better and work out (at least walk!) more, so I’m hoping that’ll help. And drink water!

But also.

Due to Reasons, I’ll need to move later this year. That’s always stressful, yes, but there’s also the added wrinkle of some relationship transitions (or alternatively, break ups) that also entail the shake-up of living situations. I’ve had some time to come to terms with it and prepare, but it doesn’t make it easier.

So that’s been stressful.

I’ve been relieving my stress with fanfiction. Writing silly things, for fun, and indulging in one of my favorite What-Ifs. And it has helped, but I think I’m ready to work on some blog drafts and my other projects more.

I’ve noticed that I tend to only update this blog when I have something big to say. An informal essay of something about three pages. I should relax and not be afraid of smaller, more concise entries.

Like this one.

So, yeah, another transition. New beginning and all of that. Nothing terribly profound.

I am not looking forward to uprooting and packing some memories away.

Posted on
by

Remember that writing is to put love in the world, not to use against your friends.

Harriet the Spy


I’m going to go ahead and nip this in the bud, because I’ve had this sentiment twisted against me whenever I speak up about something. Because some folks have it in their head that putting love in the world is to never, ever, speak of the bad things.


Don’t mention the pain you have to deal with. It’s not nice. It kills the mood.


Don’t upset your allies. They mean well, right? Even if they repeatedly fuck up and hurt you because they don’t listen.


How can you be putting love into the world by causing so much strife?


how can you


how can you


How dare you call me out?


Because I must.


I’m not going against you when I say that you hurt me. If anything, I’m with you. Rooting for you. Because you can do better. If anything, I’m doing more than putting love into the world. I’m protecting it, and helping it grow.


So, if anyone dares to twist that beautiful quote, I counter with this:


If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don’t see.

James Baldwin

Posted on
by

In my opinion, this post sucks.


It resonated with me only a little bit. Reading back on it now… it needs to be stronger. Something is missing.


In retrospect I was so hellbent on posting On Schedule and On A Recent Topic that I let other things fall to the wayside.


I scheduled it. And while running around that day, it posted.


And I hate it. Kind of. A little.


It will be revisited in the future; there’s something there. But next time, I’ll not worry so much about missing a day if I’m not feeling it.

Posted on
by

For six months, I could not think of a name for this blog. I wanted something serious, something profound, poetic, something that’ll be read and send a shiver down someone’s spine. A lingering, deep impression.


That turned out not to be the end result and I couldn’t be happier.


Because sure, I can be romantic and poetic, but it runs deep like still waters. Get past the weird and confounding waters for the more somber and serious me, I suppose.


I can be silly, and goofy. But most times, it’s a defense mechanism. A front, even. At worst times, a distraction from the unpleasantness of time. If I make you laugh, or confused, or both… I’m more at ease. Especially if I can make someone crack a smile.


The end result is something a little bizarre, I think, on top of being a certain callback I may explain at a later date. It’s me.


Get Rowdy.


Then.


I can be Serious with you.