"I bid you a very heartfelt good night." *(See September 19th note below--and the October 6 note with a link to my new blog.)
Millions heard those words from Johnny Carson as he ended the final show of his 30 year career (it's hard to believe that was in 1992). Those words seemed like good ones to use for the title of my last "A Slice of Frank's Life" post. Of course my post is going out to about ten people instead of millions.
To say that the blog has "fallen victim" to my photography would be inaccurate. The time I spend on the photography is my choice and when things have dropped out of my life, such as tennis, travel, reading, television, and now the blogging, it is me choosing to reallocate my time in a different direction. These reallocations may be difficult ones to make, but they are the result of me weighing what I enjoy, what I want to accomplish, where I think there are needs, and what gives me a sense of satisfaction at the end of the day.
I've really enjoyed writing this blog for the last three and a half years, especially over the last couple of years when it focused on photos and a wide variety of subjects. Admittedly, it should have continued to focus a little more on the diet aspect which started it all, but maybe now I'll have some extra time to do something about losing the weight instead of writing about what needs to be done.
The enjoyment of writing the blog has centered around having enough time to write. That often means two or three hours an evening by the time I look up information, write and rewrite, find photos to post, look for appropriate links to supporting information, etc. The end result may not look like it has taken several hours, but I've said over and over that writing isn't a skill that comes naturally to me. It takes a lot of time and work to distill my thoughts into what you read here.
It's become evident that the time needed to write this blog vanished starting on September 1st, the first day of this year's Millsaps photo project. As mentioned yesterday, there are currently photos from four sporting events and two other events that need to be edited. There's a football game this Saturday followed by a Junior Varsity game on Monday. Maybe I could do the photos and the blog if the blog posts were reduced to a photo and a paragraph--except that the point and pleasure of the blog is lost if I'm not writing about bigger events and thoughts. Maybe I could do the photos and the blog if I cut way back on the Millsaps photography--except that my vision of the Millsaps project is lost if I cut way back on the photos.
There are a handful of you who have been reading the blog from the start. I'm extremely grateful for your readership and also for those of you who have joined in since that beginning. The blog has been a positive thing for me, but it wouldn't have lasted long without readers. I certainly hope that the blog has been a positive thing for you, not necessarily every day because I've written my fair share of lousy posts, but from time to time I hope there has been a photo that you've enjoyed and a post that was somewhat entertaining or informative. It wasn't the best writing ever, just the best I had to offer.
And now that I've spent the last 15 minutes or so trying to come up with an ending, I guess nothing could be more appropriate than to end the blog the way I end most of my emails--thanks again and take care,
Frank.
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* (Note added October 6th--Okay, I changed my mind. Not doing the blog was putting a big hole in my life so I started a new blog that is both similar and different to "A Slice of Frank's Life". I think you'll like it and hopefully you will check it out at: fle-pics (and fle-thoughts) (that internet address is: http://fle-pics.blogspot.com/ )
* (Note added September 19th--Okay, some of you might have checked back thinking that I'd change my mind and start blogging again. You are partially right. I'm still doing the weight loss blog that has gone under 6 or 7 different names, writing more about trying to lose weight just like you would find in the posts from 2006 on this blog. ALSO, there's a "Blogging Below the Line" section where I throw in stuff that catches my interest and isn't about dieting. It wasn't suppose to be a lot of extra writing, just a thought or two every now and then, but you know how I get carried away all the time.
That blog has really become "A Slice of Frank's Life--Lite" without the photos. I'm not sure if anyone would find that interesting and since there's no sitemeter option on that blog, I don't know if more than a couple of people are reading. Maybe it's better if I don't know the number of hits. If you do want to check it out, here's the link to my other blog.)
Faded face
14 hours ago
12 comments:
Wow!
I am stunned.
I understand, but still I'm........
S.T.U.N.N.E.D
Where will I go after I've checked hotmail and yahoo and Mitford and Facebook?
I hope you won't give up e-mail.
Take care yourself,
Anne
Like Anne, I also understand, Frank--I like to write, but it takes me forever to make it past rough draft. I can't even imagine what it's like to make such a commitment to a daily blog.
Can't say I won't miss my visits to yours-I always felt like I was taking a little trip home, you kept me connected to Jackson. And you've taught me some stuff, shed some light on a few things about the city of Magnolias.
My best to you, Isabelle, and your wonderful mom, always.
~Alan
After a busy morning at work, a much needed nap, and a much more needed trip to the Laundromat, I can finally post a response to Anne and Alan's comments.
While I try to never disappoint anyone, there's naturally a part of me that hopes the end of the blog is disappointing to some. It's going to be an odd transition for me because I'll still composing posts in my head and now they'll never get out of my head and into writen form. That's more of a loss to me than to the world.
One regret I have about the blog was my inability to ever find the right formula for creating something that was interesting to a lot of others as well as to myself. Even though the daily hits climbed over time into the 20's and 30's, that's really just a increase due to a few older posts that show up in search engines. Right now the majority of posts each day come from the March post comparing the Finetune and Pandora music sites.
As best as I can tell, no one who randomly found the blog ever stayed on as a regular reader. That made me wonder about the quality of my work and the interest of my topics. But then again, there are many, many, many talented writers in the world and I understand why my work would be way down a strangers priority list.
And really, this decision isn't in any way about number of readers. It's purely about lack of time. The blog took 10 hours a week minimum, time well spent when it was there to give. It just isn't there to give at the moment and freeing up these hours for other things will really help my life.
And of course, it took a minimum of 10 hours because I haven't learned to use a minumum of words--as proven by this comment. Hopefully this blog will have a revival at some point in the future, or maybe it will be replaced by some other project. I'll let you know if and when that occurs. In the meantime, as always, take care.
Frank.
Frank, I guess all good things must end. I've enjoyed your blog. Hope to hear from you or see you in the future.
Your pal,
Brant
Crap Frank, that was very Bjorn Borgish. No warning, just walk away. I have enjoyed it. If you resurrect the blog let us know
Bob Lawrence
Brant, one of the great things about the blog was that it did help me reconnect with friends from the past such as yourself. The one-way nature of blogging doesn't make that connection ideal, but it's better than nothing. Thanks for reading and your many comments.
Bob, I understand the choice of Bjorn Borg because Bjorn and I both were blessed with incredible good looks. Maybe Kim Clijsters would work as well because of the Belgium connection and because I hope to make a successful comeback to blogging at some point down the road.
It's tempting to make a comeback just to write about the Clijsters and Serena Williams match yesterday. I just read the story and on Yahoo and a sampling of the comments. It's amazing how race always seems to work its way to the forefront of the comments. This ties in with a post I was going to write on the question of what it has done for race relations in America to have a black President--I'm not sure if this some in this country will ever be able to drop that subject.
Oh well, I'm up early because my hip hurts. I'm on the computer because there are a lot of photos that need to be edited. And now I'm now getting the editing done because of work on the blog--it's amazing how my life is so repeatitive. Hope all stays well down in Crystal Springs and maybe I will get down there some day for a few beers and some conversation.
Frank.
Gads, several typos in that last comment that garble the meaning. Don't know why Blogger doesn't allow a person to go back and edit their comments--or why I haven't learned to proofread my comments before hitting the publish button.
Frank,
I will mis my daily dose of "A Slice". It has been great to be able to be a part of your life through the blog. I do regret not responding more as you really provoked me to think a lot and just to give you some encouragement. Well that goes back to we take things/people for granted and don't say thank you enough and then we wonder why they stopped. Anyway I understand your decision. I don't know many people who would have kept going for so long with so many other things you have going on. I will truly miss my time reading the blog. Hopefully this will allow you more time for physical activity to rejuvenate your energy and just recharge doing something for yourself that you enjoy and know it will do you good. We would love for you to come up sometime for a visit. So glad you are keeping up the other blog and I will be sure to write more.
Rusty
I watched almost the whole match. I have never liked the Willliam's sisters. They act like spoiled brats. As world class athletes that have been at the top of their sport for 10 years doesn't seem to have brought any maturity or class to their game or their personalities. Serena was playing terrible and I agree with your statement. She didn't want to get beat by someone only out of retirement for 7 months to beat her and her sister in the same tourn. I probably will never understand the mind of a world class athlete.
Rusty
Whoa! Whoa! You can't stop writing the blog on September 11. My bi-weekly check of "A Slice" and many other readers would like for you to take a few days off and reconsider. After a few days off, I think you'll find that there's a loyal following that needs "A Slice". I know the loss to MC was tough.....but .....it's not the first loss to MC and hopefully not the last. I think October 1 would be a great day to re-kindle "A Slice". It doesn't have to be so long. Also, it doesn't even have to be daily. You won't lose many readers if you make it every-other-day. later,
Choctaw fan
It's Saturday September 19, and I'm trying to catch up on comments, email, facebook requests, etc. You probably noticed the note I added to the original post, mentioning the uptick in activity on the weight loss blog which barely had a pulse while I was writing this one.
Sometimes I write a lot over there about things that having nothing to do with losing weight--things that would have been here in the past. It's less formal, doesn't have photos and there's less work looking up links or trying to write something that amounts to a short essay. It's something where I feel okay about not doing much extra, and where I'm glad to have a spot to unload thoughts from my mind. Maybe it's what this blog should have been all along except that I do have to find an outlet for the photos. Not posting my photos is like having a killer suit to wear but having no special occasion where you can show off the threads.
Frank.
Like Anne, I also understand, Frank--I like to write, but it takes me forever to make it past rough draft. I can't even imagine what it's like to make such a commitment to a daily blog.
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