Tuesday, June 8, 2010

The Crossroads

I have come to a crossroad with my blog. I have been doing it almost on a daily basis for a year and a half now. I have taken hundreds of photos. I have spent so much time on the computer that I have developed a pain in my right arm that never heals. In other words, I have become obsessed with it. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It gives me something to do. It connects me up to a lot of wonderful new friends.

When my son first set this blog up for me he said, You probably won't make money on it but you will make a lot of new friends. At that time I thought, Why would I want to make new friends? I have three good friends now. That is all I need. But I did the blog everyday and I started meeting people. I have always been a very private person. I spend a lot of time alone or with a dog and I like living like that. But this blogging has gotten me out of myself.

Yesterday I spent the morning at the Lake Chapala Society with a small group of women, several of them I had not met before, all through the blog. It was fun. One of the women at the table said she thought I had changed since starting the blog. She has been reading it almost since the beginning. Yes, I had to agree with her. I have changed because of it. Besides being a bit obsessive/compulsive about doing it, I have become more confident and social. I am not so dependent on those three friends for my social life. I feel more like I belong to this community. People recognize me from the blog and stop and talk with me. When I meet someone who has been reading my blog I feel understood. Included. I have always been an outsider. The observer. So this is a major change for me. Therapy in a way.

But now I am at a crossroad. I received notice from my blog account that I can't put on anymore photos. I don't understand it enough to figure out why. All I know is that I have to start paying to put on more photos. I am maybe making two cents a day with the blog. No one pays me to put on photos of their bed and breakfasts or their houses for rent. I have just been doing that for people. But now that I have this decision to make, I am going to change that. I have to delete many photos and blog postings in order to have more space for new ones. And now I am going to be extremely careful of what photos I put on. Not so many. And not things that are advertising someone's place of business. You can get that information from other sites on the web.

My son said to me that my blog has turned into a photo blog. As I have been going through them I see he is right. I have been taking far too many photos and many of them are repeats. That is because I am a creature of habit. I do the same things all the time. The markets, the Malecons, sunsets, etc. And my subjects are the same; dogs, cats, children, lovers, old people, beautiful young men and women, interesting faces...... I am not a travel photographer because I don't travel. I hang around town. Maybe that is one thing I need to change. If I didn't spend so much time taking local photos and putting them on the blog, I would have more time to travel. So maybe after this house sitting job, I will take a little trip somewhere and then I will have something new to add to this blog site.

The other choice is to just not do it anymore. For one thing, my arm might heal. That would be very nice. My mother always said I did everything in extremes. Moderation was her motto. But I have never been a moderate person. I could try it. Take less photos, not put on postings so often, clean up the blog by deleting the older ones, etc.

I also need to think about my ego. How much of this obsessive blogging is related to my ego? That is not a good thing. I have to remember that my blog is of very little consequence in the world and not to let my ego control how much time I put into it. Having an arm that doesn't hurt is probably more important than having a stroked ego. So, these are my thoughts this morning. I am going to spend the day going through the blog and deleting things. (That is, if my sore arm will allow it.) Time to make some changes......

12 comments:

  1. Patricia,
    I, for one, would be very sad if you decided not to post your photos and comments any more. I feel like I know the Lake Chapala area even though I've never been there.

    I think you are too critical of yourself. Maybe you so faithfully blog because you are a very creative woman who needs a creative outlet. Maybe you feel the need to be less of a loner. Oh, I don't know. These are only guesses. But, except for the sore arm, your blog seems so positive for you and your readers.

    What about taking donations? More photo space can't be that expensive every year. I would be willing to donate to help pay for that space. I imagine other readers would too.

    My thoughts

    Glenda

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  2. Please don't stop! For those of us who are unable to be there at this time, your blog is the next thing to heaven (being there). I LOVE the people pictures, you have quite a knack of capturing people. I love the malecon and sunsets (maybe not so much of them). Really, reading your blog and looking at the pictures IS like traveling for the rest of us who read it. Thank you for all your photos. I know how hard it is to pare them down. Do know that you (your blog) are the first thing some people look for in the morning. Of course, if you need to protect your arm, we can understand that, but selfishly want you to go on..

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  3. Pat, I've followed your blog for a year or so and I really enjoy it; mostly because I am hoping to move to Ajijic in the near future. I hope you will continue to post, but I understand your need to change.

    Why don't you take a month or so off and see if you miss it enough to put up with the sore arm

    karen

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  4. Hi Karen, That is a good idea. After this job I am thinking of going to the States for a few weeks. I may just write a little bit these next few weeks and then nothing until I return from the States. Thank you for writing. Patricia

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  5. Hi Glenda, Thank you for your positive feed back. It isn't the money that bothers me. It is my sore arm and possibly my obsessiveness about it. I like your positive spin on it. Feels better than my self talk. Thanks, Patricia

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  6. Hi Jen, Thank you for your positive words. I am going to cut back on what I do on it for awhile and see if my arm gets better. Then I will think about what to do from there. Patricia

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  7. Have so enjoyed your blog this past year, you've taken such beautiful photos and written very sensitively about people and places. Hope your arm heals, but whatever you decide to do about your blog, remember that it has brought a lot of joy to others and helped them learn about Mexico and the Mexican people. You have always, I feel, written very honestly and been very courageous explaining yourself to strangers. Thank You. Sylvie

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  8. Hi Sylvie, Thank you for taking the time to write to me. I really appreciate it. I will take a few days to see if I can get my arm to work a little better. Maybe I will write again after that. Patricia

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  9. There are many blog sites & I'm sure there are some that won't charge you to post pics. The owners of this site get paid advertising dollars so check out some other sites if they're going to start trying to charge you as well.

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  10. Hi Ginger, Thank you. I will look into it. Patricia

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  11. Oh now come on .. you KNOW you're going to post a few photos & talk a bit about your return to the States! You MUST! I agree that you might ask the businesses (B&B's especially, and the doctors) for a donation for the posts & recommendations. And set an amount for them: it'll help them to decide.

    It'll be interesting for your readers to hear how you see the USA after having been there for so long. And: please don't delete those really early posts! I cut my teeth on your blog! I'd really miss them. (But maybe you can cut out a few photos of the lake at sunset!!) Love ...

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  12. Hi Gayle, Thank you for writing. I always enjoy your comments. Yes, too many sunsets and lake photos. I am thinking about taking a little trip soon. Then I will have different photos to put on. Patricia

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