Why one should never stop writing (or blogging)

Are blogs a thing of the past? "Weblogs" were created in 1997 and shortened to "blog" in 1999.

Let's see. While my blog should absolutely be no indication, a rough skim through the archives showed that I wrote the most entries in 2002 - 2003, and 2007.

2002 and 2003 were the years I spent in Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Blogs had just popped up and were the rage then. We spoke of nonsense and blogged about the frivolous and mundane. 2007 was a year where I slipped between being jobless and doing unsatisfactory work. Granted that topics discussed were less mundane, one can also attribute that improvement to mental maturity.

Then I had one lonely post in 2009 and two miserable ones in 2010. This was a period where I was so caught up with work I was barely home. So in my case, posts were relative to the amount (and interest) of work I had. And this time, it is no different. As of 31st May 2011, I left my job in hope of pursuing a Masters degree. And as it turned out, here I am, posting an entry.

So are blogs a thing of the past? Judging by the new means of media today, I would say no, but it is highly threatened by the likes of Facebook and Twitter. The mundane in daily life has found an outlet as incessant 'updates' on Twitter. And Facebook is a well-thought, intelligent and under-constant-improvement form of media for people to provide, share and distribute thoughts and content.

Twitter and Facebook should be a solution for me, to post thoughts even if I'm busy at work. After all, it doesn't take very long to post a short message. And I don't disagree. In fact, I login to Facebook nearly every day and I enjoy instant connection to it on my iPhone. However, Twitter and Facebook (status updates) are likely culprits to the dearth of mental exercise people participate in.

I thoroughly appreciate the amount of information I receive through Facebook every day. Its system creates a visually appealing presentation of a link, instead of a text link, making information spread fast and wide. I've spent many hours watching viral videos, reading on cures of AIDS, learning about Osama's death, etc all through the constant feed from my friends. But you can see the pattern of high input and low output. With Facebook doing all the work for you, the mental and creative capacity once regularly used are now dangerously unfit. Any discussion about why you like it, how much you like it and how you can apply this, is stifled to a 'like' button. Sure, leave a 140-character comment, because we're all about superficiality aren't we?

This General Election Singapore 2011, we saw our ministers and opposition leaders take up (more) interest in blogging and communicating through social media. The Online Citizen and the Temasek Review must have seen an all-high pike in visitorship. Interestingly, only blogs would satisfy the huge demand, seeing that political discussions obviously cannot be settled in 140-character posts.

Writing and blogging forces you to exercise your vocabulary and grammar. Writing an entry also makes you think if you're writing about something that's worth the time and effort. And just before you click that "Publish Post" button, you skim through your article to check for errors or embarrassing typos. In a way, it's a form of leaving your mark in the world so you do what to ensure you can stand by what you write.

To be a really big hypocrite, I'm not really going to edit my post to reword my sentences like I usually do because I have 6.5 books waiting to be read. Instead, I'm going to hope my incoherent sentences may be of some sense to someone who reads this lonely blog. Cheers!

Perfect Day

One day, there will be a perfect day.

The perfect day will be when I have a little two-storey house by a clean beach.

I'd wake up at 8 in the morning and feed Kimi, and the dogs and make myself some breakfast like eggs and toast, or pancakes with a syrup drizzle. Some days I'll go for a swim instead.

Then at 9, I'll start drawing, or writing until noon. Then I'd have lunch at 12:30pm while watching a few shows. Then I'll start on work (whatever that is) at 2pm until 6pm. Then I'll take Kimi or the dogs out for a walk/run and go out to have dinner.

When I get back at 8, I'll continue working or I'd just read my book. When it rains I'll blast some music.

Then I go to sleep at 1, curled up with Kimi and my dogs. I'll sleep to the sound of the sea, wind chimes and I'll dream of all sorts of things.

Of pen and paper

When I say, I don't want to talk about it, it's because I'll get upset thinking of it.

Then you insist talking about it, regardless of how you should be familiar with my grumpy and negative side.

Then you say I can't think of the positive side, but you forget there is no positive side.

Then you complain that I am getting upset and that I shouldn't be.

So that is why I said, I don't want to talk about it.

Some peaceful moments

Have you ever took a deep breath and sank to the bottom of the pool?
I'm sure many people have done that...

But then next time, lie flat on the pool bed and look up into the sky. For a while, you'll hear an occasional symphony of bubbles or the slosh of the water surface. But just hold your breath, and you'll hear nothing. You'll look at travelling clouds roll across and the thoughts in your head will just disappear.

Then you'll see that you're in one of the most carefree and peaceful moments of your life.

What Is This Mess?

My blog needs a facelift. Which graphic designer has such a plain* blog?!

Um, let's not answer that.

Anyways, I finally got my ass down to Cherating and had a blast of a time with Nadine surfing! Yup, definitely something I'm going to do often...

*in order not to offend the orginal designer of this blog, I chose to use an ambiguous adjective! Me quite smart sometimes!