I had a funny feeling of déja vu just as I started to write this. Had I written this exact post before? On balance I considered it likely, so I've snuck a "ii" onto the end of the title.
I'm not well, and my grand plans for this weekend collapsed into nothing as I've spent the last two days in bed with aches, a killer sore throat, a headache, and if that were not enough, what I assume is the same disease is griding my intestines to bits. Woe is me. Is it Covid again? I have no idea, we have a load of those kits left but the liquid in those little vials has all but evaporated and I simply cannot be bothered to open half a dozen of them to get the one or two drops I need. Is that selfish? Maybe, but I see that the Government has abandoned Covid and Flu jabs for the under 65s, so it's not like they care either. I'll just carry on, but it is a right sod coming at what is a good time for birding.
Whilst not lying down and gently moaning I've been thinking about this blog (here is the déja vu part), thinking about how long it has been since I last felt enthused about it, and how it has changed beyond all recognition from the heady days of 2010. I've been mildly anxious about it lapsing, annoyed that even getting to fifty posts this year seems like a stretch (2010 = 267, natch), and frankly thinking that is all a big waste of time in 2023 when reading more than a sentence is viewed as a herculean effort. If I were an author, relying on writing long things for a living, I think I would be beside myself at how vacuous humankind has become. Everything is short, everything is bite-sized, seemingly anything more than 10 seconds and you will lose the vast majority of people as they swipe to the next tidbit of innocuity.
Am I going to switch to Vlogging, head out and buy a drone and some peachy editing software, join the YouTube and Tiktok generation? Er no, that too seems to be inconsequential in the extreme. I think it speaks to an underlying malaise with life, and that deep down these shiny happy people that assail your phone every minute of every day are all very unhappy. Apart from the ones who have become millionaires obviously, they're probably feeling quite good about it. Why do people insist on sharing their life, pets, house, toys, you name it, several times a day? Everything I see urges me to like it, to leave a comment below, to subscribe to the channel, it is an assault. If you were to fall for it you would do nothing but lie on your bed all day, scrolling. Oh.
Leaving Twitter has been such a blessed relief, for reasons that include some of the above. I am fortunate that mostly I enjoy writing for its own sake, and the blog is a medium that suits me. I don't care if I get ten readers or ten thousand, because thankfully that's not why I write. I think it was Stewart Sexton who likened blogs to magazines, which can be picked up and read at leisure. Not like the ephemeral, must-keep-up nature of Twitter et al! My favourite magazine would be incomplete without regular pieces by your good self.
ReplyDeleteI had not noticed you had left, likely a sign of how much I use it these days. I just think my life is not one that requires frequent updates! Cheers Gav!
DeleteDidn't know that under 65s weren't getting Covid shots this year...that's a shame. I enjoy reading your blog, so keep birding and keep writing! Hope you're now fully back to health
ReplyDeleteYep. all better now, other than the aches and pains that are now so normal I barely register them!
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