Life Update #5

I think a common misconception with niche bloggers among personal bloggers is that both have to post often, preferably on a schedule, and if the inspiration to blog at the time a new blog is due is lacking, then a post must be forced.

I used to believe in this, even though I’m not a niche blogger. When I began realizing how many shitty posts came from forced blogging, I immediately stopped doing it. When I lack inspiration to blog, I’m just not going to blog. I’m not going to apologize for not blogging, because too many blog posts consist of apologies for not blogging, and who really wants to read that multiple times in one blog comment run?

Speaking of comments, I haven’t felt up to par with returning comments lately.

I’ve been exhausted and in pain. I went to the doctor’s office today and had an x-ray done. The kidney stone is out now, and I think that last week when I was in so much pain, it was making its way to pass through.

I’d go to a person’s blog, try to focus on reading, and then become sidetracked by the excruciating pain on my right side in my lower back and hip. Kidney stones suck completely, and they’ve really gotten in the way of what I enjoyed doing this past week (blogging). They just make you feel so much pain to the point that you feel sick and nauseated, and the medication you are prescribed doesn’t help as much as you wish it would. …unless you’re getting the good stuff, AKA the stuff I’m allergic to.

Anyway, I’m going to try to get back into it. I’m still tired, though. I’ve realized I have much less patience and tolerance for things that peeve me when I’m really tired, which also means that it’s difficult for me to not have a meltdown. In trying to avoid meltdowns, my tics have worsened. I’ve considered going into full detail of these in the past, and what it’s like from my point of view, but people’s perceptions change when they learn someone has a mental illness. Since I hardly talk about Tourette’s, I’m not very sure how people who follow my blog would react.

I’ve also been bland lately. I’m assuming this is because of pain, though. I just honestly want to sleep, so I’m going to go and nap. I’ll return comments later, and hopefully I’ll be caught up by the end of the week. I need to start leaving them pending for approval and only approving them when I’ve returned their comment/replied. It was easier for me to keep up with that way.

If you loved this post, please share or buy me a pretzel:

Comments on this post

I think that you should only discuss what you feel is comfortable for you. I mean, I personally think that you’d be bringing a lot of awareness & perception from your point of view by talking about tourette’s. Luckily your kidney stone has been removed, so hopefully with time the pain will be less excruciating after you’ve healed up. I’m sorry to hear things are just always downhill for you. :/ Hopefully you at least have a great support system & a family that loves & cares about you. 🙂

Also, you shouldn’t stress yourself or concern yourself too much about keeping up with blogging or returning comments. This is your site, after all. Everything else is just common courtesy, but at your own pace, of course. Your real life comes before your online life. 🙂

I think that a lot of niche bloggers (at least much more so than personal bloggers) are into things like SEO and monetizing their content. And if they want to do that, posting regularly, even if it’s forced, actually seems to help quite a bit. But since I’m a personal blogger, I have no issues with dropping off the face of the Earth for a month if my life becomes boring.

I’m glad that the kidney stone is out! And as someone with mild Tourettes (my only tic is needing to twitch my belly once in a while, otherwise, it just “itches”), I hope that your tics get better soon, because even though my tics don’t impede my life at all, they are annoying enough! (I went 20 years thinking that I could hide my tics from everyone, but it turns out that everyone knew about them and just didn’t say anything because it wasn’t that bad…)

Aww, take your time! And you are right, you don’t have to apologize for not blogging, just blog when you want to 🙂 If you imagine a post where you felt you were forced to write, something you were not ethusiastic about, readers can really pick up on that, and they might not necessarily enjoy the post either.

And glad to hear your kidney stone passed. Do get some rest if you are tired though and come back to blogging when you are feeling better 🙂

And thank you for your comments and input! I installed the Better WP Security and Comments Reloaded plugin. I’m glad I got suggestions cause I really wanted to focus on making my and people’s lives easier. I have my new site up and running, https://gaucheously.net, I’ll update posterous to redirect people.

I really got bored with blogging when I was a niche blogger. So glad I woke myself out of the nightmare.

I hope you are feeling much better. I would hope no one in our blogging community would place a stigma on anyone because of an illness.
Have you heard of recording artist Jamie Grace? She speaks out about her struggles with Tourette’s really elegantly. Her efforts are how I first learned about Tourette’s.

@Cami, I’ve never heard of her before, but I’ll check her out.

And thanks. 🙂 Unfortunately, some bloggers do treat those with an illness (typically one that isn’t cancer) differently, as if they are one less. 🙁

I’m not a niche blogger and I used to believe in this too. Well, I think I still believe in it , but just a little bit. I realized the same thing about shitty posts due to lack of inspiration. From now on, if nothing’s interesting, then I won’t post.

Good to know that the kidney stone is out. That can be really painful. :S

You don’t have to return comments, love. Just concentrate on getting better! Why are you reading this? Go back to sleep!

@cantaloupe, I think the funniest thing about this comment is that five days ago when I was reading it, I was actually up a little late and feeling a bit tired, even though I’d slept practically the entire day. ^^; After I read it, though, I slept. Promise! 😉

Yeah, I hate it when people apologize for not blogging often, and to me, it just kind of silly to assume that you have “fans” from the internet who are constantly checking your blog everyday and get sad and disappointed if you don’t update. At least that’s what I think they’re thinking every time they say “sorry for the lack of updates!”.

Forced blogging is no fun either. You can’t be proud of your work when it’s forced and doesn’t come out “naturally”. I’ve read a couple of entries where you can tell it’s just forced and it makes it hard to read and keep focus. Don’t treat blogging like a job, if you do you’ll get burned out real fast folks!

Also, I’m curious about your ticks. You should write more about it if you don’t mind.

There are times when you feel, not just “not in the mood to blog”, but more of a can’t blog. And it seems like you’re in that position. So, it’s not like we’re going to suddenly start hating you. Take your time recovering, I’ve never had a kidney stone, but I hear they hurt like a mother!! I wish you a quick and painless recovery. <3
:]

I’m sorry that you are in pain. 🙁

I sometimes zone out and then write a blog that looks like it’s forced. Two days later I’ll come up with a better entry. I wish there was something that can prevent me from doing it. I don’t apologize for not blogging (yay me) but I feel bad if I’m reading someone else’s blog without commenting.

I’m sorry about your kidney stones – this is the first time I’m reading about it. But it looks like you are getting better. I guess there’s not much to do but get lots of rest. I am not informed on this topic – the only kidney stone case I’ve heard before is from my best friend’s cat. There was a scandal that pet food made in China contained chemicals that caused kidney stones … Okay now I’m just rambling.

If you do the return-comments thing, then leaving your comments at pending would be a good idea. =)

Oh, and I see you are supporting my cause. Yay! I’ll need to work on that soon because it’s so lame compared to how much work you put into yours, aha.