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My Inactivity ExplainedDec 11 '06 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line This is why I’ve written sod-all on Epinions this year.
Since I discovered Epinions in early 2003, I’ve written reviews on all manner of things, from travel to books – but mainly sticking to movies and music. It used to be that I churned out reviews on something of a regular basis, but those days appear to be behind me now. Why is this? Could it be that life on the outside world has finally dragged me out there? Well, in some respects, yes. I now have full-time work at the petrol station, but full-time doesn’t mean 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Wrong industry. It means I do two days on “Morning shift” (7am to 3pm), then two days on “Afternoon shift” (3pm to 11pm), then I get two days off. That’s six days of the week covered – the other day I get another morning shift, night shift, or day off. It also means that only about once every six weeks do I get Saturday and Sunday off. However, it’s not just life at a petrol station that has me too busy at the moment. I’ve also enrolled in a computing course. I wasn’t expecting to learn a lot from it when I enrolled – I thought I knew enough about certain programmes that the course was simply going to be a way for me to get the pieces of paper to say I know what I do. Since then though, I’ve discovered that the course includes modules of programmes I don’t use a lot – and some I’ve never even heard of. Nevermind, I’m up for anything they want to teach me as it’s a fairly low-cost course. It does however mean that I’ll be studying for it well into the middle of 2007, and once I’m finished with this course, there’s the next level to take. By the end of it all I should have another two qualifications to add to my CV, and that’s in the hope of finally landing a job in my dream industry – radio. It’s been over a year since I earned my diploma, and the radio industry is proving to be a very tough nut to crack. Still, I’m certain persistence will see me emerge as the victor. Of course, it’s more than just my professional life which is on the up at the moment. My Godson is now 15 months old, and starting to get very active. I don’t want to sound too sappy here, but I love him, and the more time I get to spend with him the better. He and his parents moved back into town back in August, so I’ve been spending as much time as I can with him without intruding on their space as a married couple. I don’t have any kids of my own yet – never even a real girlfriend to speak of. That’s a whole other story though, but I do feel like I’m destined to be a father so I am planning on it one day happening. But let’s be honest here. It’s not like my Epinions inactivity is just about to begin. I’ve written less than ten pieces this year. In some ways I feel like I’ve lost the passion for the written word that I once had. It seems like every time I sit down to write something, that’s exactly what I do, until my train of thought stops. Then it’s off to figure out how to get past the first level of Sonic Heroes (no matter what I do that bloody cannon just won’t point where I want it to), or to focus on whatever other computer game I’ve got going at the time. I just can’t be arsed writing as much as I used to. Sure, if I feel passionately about something I may be able to churn out a review, but I can’t really seem to write anything at the moment. I’ve tried one-star thrashings, I’ve tried five-star reviews. I’m even working on writing a review in a different style than I normally do. Nothing’s working, and when it gets to that point, I guess it’s time to take a step back. So… where to from here? Well, the point of this editorial is to announce that I am officially going on temporary hiatus from writing reviews. How long will it last? I don’t know. Until I get my mojo back I guess. In the meantime though, I’ll still be around, reading and commenting on my favourite Epinions authors – and as I do every year, I’ll be summing up the best and worst in music sometime soon. I’m giving the new Lostprophets song until the end of the week to be released in New Zealand. If the video hits before Friday, then I’ll be including it in my Top 50. If not, I’ll have to include it in next years. Either way, I’ll start putting the list together over the weekend, and I should have that editorial up by mid-January at the latest. That’ll be my last article before I come back for good. And believe me, I do intend on coming back. I’ve got too many reviews half-written to leave Epinions now, and quite frankly can’t imagine my life with it. When I return I’ll be bringing with me one and two-star reviews of such CDs as the latest from Evanescence, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and “Weird Al” Yankovic. I’m planning four or five-star reviews for Lily Allen’s debut album and the latest from My Chemical Romance (both of whom I’m seeing live in January), and just wait until you see what I do with my Brokeback Mountain review. And yes, it will finally happen – I’ll be publishing a review on the one remaining Jason Voorhees movie I’ve not yet covered. Not only that, but I’ll be making a (hopefully) triumphant return to the books category, thanks to a brilliant piece of work I’m reading at the moment called Marsha Mellow and Me. So this will be the last piece you’ll see from me for about a month, and after that I need to rediscover why I loved the written word in the first place and get my mojo back. It could take a while, but I think the time off will help make my return all the better. And it’s goodbye from me…  |
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