Trying to Decide

I SUPPOSE there must be many failed bloggers out there like me. Not sure what, now I think about it, actually defines "failed" but one easy measure would apply to those who have started a blog, but then give up. Give up for over a year, might apply. Never come back to it again.
But here I am, still pottering away at keeping this blogspot thing up. Why do it, you ask? Or might ask if anyone were to read this rubbish.
Which brings me back to "pretty" again. I seem to like writing my thoughts & experiences down, & for those musings to be presented in an attractive manner. Ergo, a blog with all its variables in formatting, the colourful or discreet backgrounds, seems to fit the bill.

But the problem is, (or just one of them) where do I record stuff?

This is a problem for me (& perhaps others) in this day & age. I can’t make a sensible decision, so I’m all over the place. I mean, I have bought some very nice, leather-bound journals to record my “memoirs” in, rather akin to the books you see in romantic films & also like the lovely – even after 100 years – diary that my mother, Flora wrote into, in 1926.

But unfortunately, the ones I’ve got, although they look very nice & even feel lovely to hold, aren’t so easy to actually write in. I think I’ve got about 3, by the way, & none of them sit flat when open for entry. Nor is the paper that you write on in all of them, very emotionally appealing to me, being reminiscent of recycled paper.

Not so long ago I did buy a pleasant orange covered booklet & even used it for over a year. The size is convenient being about 8 inches by 6, but I’m often frustrated by the way the paper seems to pick up oils from fingertips so that the pen marks don’t actually record!

I’ve got a Moleskin or 2 as well, tucked away in drawers or cabinets somewhere, but don’t really want to have little snippets of stuff spread around over just a few pages in each.

In some way, technology has come to my aid, in that MS Word is very easy to access nowadays, seeing as stuff can be stored in the cloud & thus is accessible from each of my computers. As well, Word files can now be converted automatically to “Doc” (Google Docs) & so are obtainable from any of my PCs that have access to the Web.

So, what’s the problem, you may ask? Well, the dilemma arises from the conflict of the idea of writing in the paper journals being harder than the convenience of typing the words into a computer. At my age, 73, a journal should be paper based, for posterity, you understand .

As well, my handwriting is terrible, really poor in both formatting, shape, consistency & the occasional dyslexic indication. It’s also too slow for me..too tedious. So, I tend to yearn for writing my stuff into a lovely, sensuous journal, sitting on our deck in the sunshine, but more often fall back upon plumping myself down in front of the computer screen & being able to get the words down in a reasonable speed. Not that I’m a very good typist – I do make lots of mistakes, but at least I can type without looking at the keyboard, apart from symbols.

Finally, there is the matter of reading my stuff. Will anyone, after I’m gone, care enough about me to want to read my reminiscences? Will they be able to, if stored on a long-gone computer, in an outmoded format? Will those words even exist in later years, or will my hard work & reflections on life be thrown away along with a dead hard drive?

So that’s where a paper-based record comes in. And, on top of the minor irritations mentioned above, there is another. I just don’t find it very comfortable to sit in a chair with my paper notebook on lap, & to write away. It’s just a bit uncomfortable.

cess to the Web.

So, what’s the problem, you may ask? Well, the dilemma arises from the conflict of the idea of writing in the paper journals being harder than the convenience of typing the words into a computer. At my age, 73, a journal should be paper based, for posterity, you understand .

As well, my handwriting is terrible, really poor in both formatting, shape, consistency & the occasional dyslexic indication. It’s also too slow for me..too tedious. So, I tend to yearn for writing my stuff into a lovely, sensuous journal, sitting on our deck in the sunshine, but more often fall back upon plumping myself down in front of the computer screen & being able to get the words down in a reasonable speed. Not that I’m a very good typist – I do make lots of mistakes, but at least I can type without looking at the keyboard, apart from symbols.

Finally, there is the matter of reading my stuff. Will anyone, after I’m gone, care enough about me to want to read my reminiscences? Will they be able to, if stored on a long-gone computer, in an outmoded format? Will those words even exist in later years, or will my hard work & reflections on life be thrown away along with a dead hard drive?

So that’s where a paper-based record comes in. And, on top of the minor irritations mentioned above, there is another. I just don’t find it very comfortable to sit in a chair with my paper notebook on lap, & to write away. It’s just a bit uncomfortable.