Eric’s Blog

I thought today was Saturday. When the wife woke up, got out of bed, and started getting ready for work, I realized it was only Friday. The next thought I had was that I was going to be home by myself all day long with the dog. At first, I felt the same old feelings of disappointment, anger, and betrayal.

Then, I decided it was time to have a change of heart and quit moping about. It wasn’t her fault I was going to be by myself all day long. So, I made up my mind to put my best foot forward and do something creative and spend some time working on me. That’s when I stumbled across a blog about how to be a blogger and the ins and outs of blogging in general. Isn’t that a fun word, blogging? Bloggity, blogging, blog. Okay, it doesn’t have any meaning anymore.

For a few weeks now, I’ve felt this general malaise about life in general. I wanted to create something instead of just consuming things. I read, listen to music, watch TV and movies, and I talk to people. I just absorb things that other people have created. What I don’t do is create anything myself. I’d looked into getting an embroidery machine so I could make patches, caps, and all sorts of swag for my Navy buddies. Those machines are really expensive! I thought about buying a lathe and making pens out of blocks of wood. I already have a buddy who does this, and I didn’t want to steal his idea; I want what I do to be mine. I thought about what arts and crafts things I could make, but I’m really only good about following directions, not about creating and making things from scratch. That’s when I had the idea about becoming a writer.

I’ve written in a journal for years. I still write all my notes in cursive (they’re just for me anyway). I have even done calligraphy from time to time and have been known to pen a letter to old friends on occasion. There’s nothing more satisfying to me than a properly formatted letter in an envelope with a fresh stamp stuck to the outside. Previous workers have called me a wordsmith, because it’s easy for me to edit writing to be more effective. I’ve proofread all sorts of things for co-workers, my boss, my children, and even my wife when she wants an extra set of eyes on something. I’ve even started calling myself a word-nerd because I am a stickler for using proper grammar and punctuation. Recently, I’ve noticed how so many people seem to be losing their ability to write coherently and effectively.

After reading through the beginner’s guide to blogging, I thought, why the hell not? I’ll give it a try. I logged onto WordPress, created an account, and started making my blog. But what to blog about? I’ve no idea. I guess I could keep it like an online journal that people could read, but I have no idea who’d want to read my journal entries except for my little sister. But here I am, I’m doing it. Just plugging away at the keyboard like I’m a writer. I’m actually doing it! Maybe people will read my writings, maybe they won’t, maybe they’ll like my ideas, maybe they’ll hate them. Either way, I’m still getting my ideas out there and creating content. I feel better now that I’m doing something productive instead of just consuming other people’s things.

So many thoughts in my head, and now I can put them all out in the world for others to read. Amazing! We live in the best of times. This truly is our best life. I’ve certainly turned my day around from how I thought it was going to go.