First up an introduction. This is Joschka (in typical sleeping mode), named by her previous owners after the German ex-politician. There's so much to say about her but I think it's a bit like blogging about your child. Where do I start? Do I tell you about the time she broke the same window three times in a row and I was so frustrated and despairing that I tried to give her away? Or about the fight that I had with my girlfriend at the time which boiled down to a variation of "It's me or the dog"? Another time maybe.
I could also tell you about a blog challenge on another blog I visit here. It's mostly a fun, social-type blog and from time to time we give each other topics to write about. My inspired title for this week was "Those three words". I still have no idea what I'll write about but I really liked Franky's post about her dad.
And then there's the newbie blogger thing. I've actually been blogging off and on for about 2 years but this is my first serious attempt at blogging. I know I'll grow into it and that I should just be myself rather than trying to get all hyper and impress people. After all, the only person I need to impress is myself since this is primarily for my benefit. As Alan Bennett says, you don't reveal yourself in writing, you find yourself. I suppose the same could be said for therapy.
Reading wise I've been making progress with Divisadero and the audio version of War and Peace and I've also started J.M. Coetzee's Boyhood. I have mixed feelings about Coetzee but I like this book enough to blog about it (at some point).
Job-wise, I'm starting to feel a little more settled. I'm relieved that this new psychology position is not overwhelming but a bit sad that it's so dull. It's only for a year and I've got lots to keep me busy in the meantime. But there's still some regret that I opted for the easy option (in cape town with the military) rather than taking a more challenging position elsewhere.
Weather-wise it's pretty cold and rainy. So it's perfect weather for a hot mug of something comforting and the rest of that Ondaatje (if the blogs don't get me first). Happy reading.
9 comments:
Hello! I'm mostly wanting to say welcome! I'm a newcomer myself (as of April 20th). I enjoyed this post very much and look forward to reading back through your earlier ones when I've a bit more time. I have Ondaatje's Divisadero in my new book pile and hope to get to it soon. I'll be back!
Thanks TJ, belated welcome to you too! I'm interested to hear your take on Divisadero when you get to it. I find it beautiful and thought-provoking but it's also keeping me at a bit of a distance.
I liked this quote: "Already he protected himself with words, with the small and partial clarity they brought."
I suppose we all do that, protect ourselves with words. I'll come back to this.
Incidentally, technical glitches on Blogger mean that I'm currently unable to add more links to my blogroll. Seriously thinking of switching to wordpress!
Great quote! I'm excited to start this book. But of course there are a dozen on top of it on the TBR pile. By the way, a few blogging friends report constant issues with Google Blogger. I highly recommend wordpress and I know others who are very happy with typepad.
It can be hard to keep from trying to write to impress others, but it really does make sense to write just for yourself, to please yourself. I think if a writer does that, people are more likely to be interested. I love the idea of finding yourself through writing!
TJ, thanks for the tip. Will probably switch over to Wordpress soon, once I've tested out the waters.
Dorothy W, thanks for the comment. Yes, it's hard to strike that balance between just writing to please yourself and not being so self-absorbed that you're out-of-touch with others. I tend to err on the people-pleasing side. Will have to be more focused, and selfish ;-)
I think the fun about blogging is that you can't help but have a little bit of an alter ego thing going on with your blogging persona. But you shouldn't try and stop that from happening - all the interest lies in seeing who you become in writing. Litlove is by far and away my best self.
I'd like to hear the story about the dog and the windowpane at some point.
I just discovered you through TJ - I love the web - it looks like we have some similar interests in reading and the mind/brain. I'll be back.
Litlove - you've got me thinking about alter egos now. One association would be Winnicott's ideas on the true self and false self but I think prefer the self psychology notion that we have a number of different selves. I'm interested to hear you say that your blogging self is your best self and the psychologist in me wants to pick that apart. But I'll resist that impulse.
Ted - Thanks for the visit. I had a look at your blog and I'm intrigued to read more. Poetry, neuroscience, theatre, music and then my favourite city of NY. Looks great.
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