A totally random look at the world --- thoughts, observations, musings, anecdotes, epiphanies and just some snarky comments here and there. All told by a husband and father, former journalist and pr dude, and photography hobbyist, living in Upstate South Carolina, who just happens to enjoy putting words to pen. (Well, words to keyboard anyway)
When I started this blog several years ago, I made it a point
not to keep it on one topic – and to post relatively frequently. To the first
point – I think I was pretty good about that. To the second point – not so
much, especially in the last two years.
I’ve decided that this will be my last post on Methodical
Mayhem. I’m closing the doors on this blog and opening up another.
My daughter provides a constant source of amazement, pride
and amusement – so I’m starting up another blog, specifically about being a
dad, being a parent, and stuff specifically about my daughter. I think I’ll
find more than enough material to write about.
And I promise my posts will be more frequent than they have
been on here. I don’t think that will be a problem at all.
They might be short posts. I think for the time being most
will, given my work schedule and opportunity to get on the computer.
But I want to thank anyone who has ever read anything here
on Methodical Mayhem. I’ll keep the site up for a while until I figure out a
way to archive the materials off of it and have the time to do that.
.... I haven't blogged in over year. It's been a very transitional year for our family. A very rough year, but a very blessed year at the same time. I've been out of work since May of last year. That's been really rough. At the same time, we've watched our daughter grow into a beautiful, energetic, comical, independent, stubborn, and awesome little 19-month old. I look at her and I see so much in her future. I see someone that my wife and I can't imagine not having in out lives. She's the best part of us. She has made this past year a very blessed one for us. I've been thinking lately about revisiting blogging. So here I am. Again. No more excuses this time. As in the past, you're going to find a variety of post topics, views and observations on here, going forward. But I let my domain name slip, on purpose actually. So I'm going to be changing the name of the blog sometime in the very near future. I just need to come up with something that adequately captures what I want to do, what I want to say, and who I am. Any suggestions would be appreciated. The layout is also going to change. I have some ideas but haven't decided on any. Again, suggestions would be appreciated. As for now, my daughter has carried her folding chair into the kitchen, sat down beside me and is playing with one of her puzzles. Time to get back to playing identify this animal and where does it go. See you at the next post.
2010 was one of those years. A lot really can’t be said for it.
Looking back at my blog posts for the year, you might wonder what was going on. Frankly, I am too. Not nearly as many posts as previous years. Kinda makes me wonder what I really accomplished last year.
I’m not really going to try to wonder why though.
I’m just going to start out the New Year fresh, with a positive outlook and happy for the life-changing miracle that God gave to my wife and I last year.
My daughter.
We’re currently in our final trimester, due April 7 – and totally ecstatic about our bundle of joy arriving healthy and ready to take on the world.
It’s definitely going to be life-changing. We’re both excited --- and scared and nervous too – but mostly excited about being parents. It’s something we’ve wanted for a long time.
We know we won’t be perfect parents. Nobody is. But we both already love this little girl more than words can say and are going to do our best to provide her everything she will ever need.
With that in mind, I’m going to start of the year with some resolutions.
I think technically you’re supposed to make New Year’s resolutions the first day of the new year, but I don’t think I’m really breaking any rules by making them a few days late.
So, here goes, in no particular order:
I resolve to be the best daddy I can be – and be there for my little girl when she needs me and more
I resolve to be the best husband I can be – and be there for my wife when she needs me and more
I resolve to lead a more healthy lifestyle – to eat better, to exercise, and to take care of myself better
There is a big sub-resolution to this: I resolve to lose weight...
I resolve to kick soft drinks
I resolve to watch our money more tightly, not to eat out so much (but there will be special occasions when I will want to take my wife out), and not buy stuff that we don’t need. No more sudden impulse DVDs will be the big one.
I resolve to spend more time with my wife – and focus on my family time more than time on anything else
I resolve to stop bringing work home all the time and to not have that be the focus of all my spare time
I resolve to stop getting on Facebook so much and to limit my time on it during my spare time
I resolve to keep this blog updated more as time allows. I have a feeling a lot of posts will be made this year about my daughter.
And I resolve to not stress so much over stupid things
Enough time for some of the worst legislation in U.S. history to be passed.
It's not that I haven't wanted to get back on here. I have a few times. I do this, or rather, I've done this a few times. Although I don't think that ever it has gone this long.
Call it a creativity funk. Call it laziness. Call it preoccupied with life and other things.
But I've had some ideas ramping up over the last few days so I finally decided to put them to the keyboard.
Just to provide a break from the seriousness and reflection of the last post and the several upcoming posts, I decided to go ahead and look and see what Google Analytics has to say about Methodical Mayhem in 2009. I did the same last year, so I guess I'll start doing this on an annual basis.
One good thing about this year is that it is the the first full year I have stats for. I’ll just follow the same format as last year. So let’s see here….
(OK, so that was five. But I'm not really counting the two from 2008)
And in case you haven’t checked out the following posts on my friends’ blogs, here's a list of my personal favorites from each, in no particular order -- all of which are very worth checking out. I have to give tremendous props to Otis though as he had two standout posts this year, neither of which I could choose between as my favorite of his.
One other post of note I would like to point out which is one of my favorite blog posts of all time is one published this year called "Sincerely, John Hughes" about the death of John Hughes. Please take time to read this. It's really heartwarming.
Come back in another 12 months to find out how 2010 went. Or come back more often. You might find something humorous to laugh at or a new thought to ponder.
When I wrote my last post here on MM, I was gearing up for what ended being a very busy fall. In the last three months, I have put together two magazines at work and have been working with some folks on redesigning our college’s web site.
So I didn’t really put a concerted effort into blogging – and imposed a hiatus, of sorts, on doing so.
“Life intervened,” to use a phrase from my dad’s blog.
I have missed blogging. There’s been more than one occasion when I’ve sat down to write something – I had gotten several paragraphs into a few topics. But not at any one of those points did I consider posting what I had written.
I guess my heart just wasn’t in it. I was too distracted by work. Or by the holidays. Or by praying this stupid healthcare bill would just die and go away.
Distracted by the economy. Distracted by our weird cat who is trying to eat a piece of twist -tie right now…
Hold on while I go take that away from her….
OK, I’m back.
Distracted by Twitter. Well, I got rid of that last week. I decided that I had no need for it. It was too different of an animal for me to get into. I just didn’t see the point in it.
Distracted by Facebook. I spend way too much time on Facebook. Kinda reminds me of college when I spent way too much time on bulletin boards and downloading Doom plug-ins. Except Facebook goes to entirely new levels to suck you in. Whether it’s updating my status while I’m waiting in the dentist’s office or getting on Mafia Wars first thing in the morning – I think it’s time to reign some of that in. So this week I’m trying an experiment.
I de-Facebooked a few days ago. No I didn’t anything crazy like delete my account. I just haven’t logged into it for going on four days now. I’m trying to see how long I can go before I start to have Facebook withdrawal.
Now that the holidays are said and done and the crazy fall semester is said and done, I’m hoping things will slow down a little. I’m hoping to get back into blogging on a regular schedule.
I was reading something recently thatsuccessful bloggers have to have a focus. That nobody wants to read things that don’t have some sort of message.
I agree with that – to an extent. But at the same time, that wouldn’t necessarily hold true to the title of this blog, Methodical Mayhem.
At the same time, I think that bloggers should have the right be a little off the proverbial wall. I’ve never really considered myself to be totally on the wall to begin with.
So focus, schmocus.
You may find a little more structure in posts to come here on MM. That’s really yet to be seen. But I do have some topics in mind that have been rattling around in my cranium for a few days or weeks, so keep an eye out.
There’s interesting stuff to come - especially in the next two days.
I got beaned in the head today with a volleyball. Not that that has anything to do with anything, it just happened to be the first thing that came to mind when I decided to sit down and try to blog tonight.
I'm trying to get back into the habit of posting more. I know the posts here on MM have been a little sparse lately. But life happens. And work happens.
Work seems to be happening a lot lately. It's just that time of year when we're busy with back-to-school activities and such.
That's what I was doing when I got bonked by the aforementioned volleyball.
I started the day running late to shoot a cross country meet. Luckily I made it there and to the side of the starting gates with about 10 minutes to spare.
No I did not get run over by one of the runners. It's pretty easy to stay out of the path of another human running in a generally straight line.
But I was assailed by renegade volleyballs on four occasions later in the day when shooting multiple games in a tournament that the college I work at was hosting.
I caught one in mid-air when I had the camera down for a moment and the ball sailed into the bleachers. Another landed right beside me as I was crouching down to get off a shot. Then I had one come in low, right at me, that I saw out of the corner of my eye and was able to dodge.
But the evil one -- and I don't even know who hit it, came along right as I was about to press the shutter. And all I could do what say "Where did that come from?" (as if it was any real mystery) and make a few girls sitting near me laugh.
This isn't the first time something like this has happened.
I've had to jump out of the way on several occasions during wrestling meets or basketball games when players have sailed over the edge of the court or mat.
I had a softball hit the fence probably less than six inches above my head the first weekend I started using my work Nikon. I jokingly told my boss about that the following Monday. He laughed a little and said "Just make sure the camera stays out of the line of fire."
Gee thanks .... So much for my head.
I should be thankful I at least haven't gotten hit by a 85 mph baseball. That would do some damage.
But I guess it's all a hazard of shooting sports photos.
So 'tis time to be more vigilant about renegade objects coming my way. Or get out of the way myself.
Eh, not likely to happen. I like a challenge.
Oh, and by the way, I think I just came up with the title and topic for my next post. It's called "A Tale of Two Idiots". Stay tuned...
When I started this blog two years ago I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it. I had some friends that were blogging and I had sort of been toying with the idea. A few of those guys suggested that I give it a whirl.
At first thought, Nah. I don't have anything really worth saying -- or putting out there - for people to read.
But my buddy Kamran and I had an interesting discussion one day about blogging. I think he was probably the one who convinced me to.
It's different from my former life as a reporter. Then the writing served a purpose. This at first I thought was something that I'd try and give up shortly afterward. Well, it's two years today (actually yesterday, by the time I finish and post this) that I started Methodical Mayhem and this is post number 111.
That's an average of one and some change worth of a blog post each week. From one aspect I consider that good that I've been able to take enough time to write that much. From another aspect, I think I could have done more.
I wasn't really sure at first what I wanted to talk about or to include in a blog. I've certainly discarded many ideas for blog posts over that time -- some of which probably would have done me no good and probably would have been to my detriment in one way or another because there are some things that are better left unsaid.
What would I feel comfortable telling people? There are things that I swore I wouldn't talk about on here that I have.
Like politics.
I didn't really want to open that can of worms. But I did. Do I regret doing that? No, not really. If it helps get my point across and my side of the aisle an additional avenue through which to be heard, then fine.
I've blogged about a lot of things on here .... American Idol, holidays, family, sometimes work, entertainment, all kinds of odds and ends.
But I still haven't really taken MM in any one direction either Not sure that I will. I like going from topic to topic.
And I've gotten some interesting comments. Alot more so via email or just things people will say to me in conversation. I guess there aren't really any people out there that have stumbled on my blog that I've either really excited enough to or pissed off enough to elicit some sort of written response from.
It's kinda weird when people find out you blog. I generally get one of two reactions "Really? Why do you do that? Why would you do that?" or "Give me the address ... I'd like to read it."
I kind of prefer the second reaction. People want to sound supportive. But people are curious too. I'm the same way. I find out that people blog and the first thing I do is ask for the address.
I find out someone I know well is blogging and I'll link to them from MM. That's just kinda how I roll.
But getting back to the question of "why"..... well, it's an outlet. I like to vent. I like to be saracastic. I like to write down observations. I like to narrate. I like to be creative. So it's sort of an all-encompassing outlet...
... for no one particular topic. For no one particular mood. I've blogged when I've been wanted to relay a funny story. I've blogged when I've been irritated with someone or something.
So there is really no method to the madness... or the mayhem. It's just me. Take from it what you will.
Oh, and for those of you reading this after it has been pulled by my "Notes" app on Facebook, come over to the real site here at methodicalmayhem.com and poke around. There's a good bit more in the archives here than My Notes lists. You might be entertained - or you might be frightened.
So here's my update. It's not much. Just an update.
The last - well - six weeks - have been pretty crazy for me. I'm working on a 44 page magazine that I will have done by this time next week.
My wife and I moved into a house at the end of February. It's been a project to get this unpacked ever since.
There are boxes all over the place. I still haven't found half of my CDs. They're in the garage somewhere.
We painted also. Three rooms. Turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. Alot better of a job than was done by the previous residents.
It's also been birthday season -- two nephews, a sister, a sister-in-law, a mother-in-law, and a mother. So we've done a little traveling.
Last year at this time I was blogging alot about American Idol. I decided not to this year, for no one good reason. I will make a comment about this year's contest though: Totally Adam's to lose.
I've actually been meaning to get back on here for awhile now. There have been a few efforts to post, but nothing I really liked after getting about halfway through.
Not that this post is anything to brag about....
It may be a few more days though before anything substantial. Probably mid-next week. I have a few topics in mind. Until then...
They say imitation is the biggest form of flattery, so Otis and Timmy, I hope you feel flattered. I'm copying the basic concept something both have done this week, although with my own little twist, in order to recap my experiences in the blogosphere this year.
(Keep in mind these stats are only from April 4 when I started tracking the traffic on MM)
Traffic Sources: 50% Referring Sites / 31% Direct Traffic / 15% Search Engines Visitor Locations: 13 counties including the US, 37 states in the US Returning Visitors / New Visitors: 67% / 33% Browser usage: 59% Firefox (this really surprised me in the IE world) / 35% IE / 4% Safari / 2% Chrome
