Blogging in the New Year
All my life people have told me I should write more, that I have talent, that I shouldn't waste my talent. Well that's all fine and good, but up until recently there was just this one problem: I didn't really like to write. Oh I felt good after having written something, and I would usually write when there was no other outlet, or when I just felt I had something to say, but I didn't like the act of sitting down, alone in a room with a keyboard, and just writing. But that problem seems to be going away now. I mean, I'm actually starting to like to sit down and bang out my thoughts on a keyboard. Yeah, what took so long?
So I've got two ideas for blogs I'd like to start this year. I could do one or the other, or both possibly. The first one I had would be about me going back to Cambodia this summer. I would really like to go back to Cambodia, and I was planning on doing so in the spring, but as you know, things always change. A couple of months ago I regained contact with a friend of mine who lives on Maui. I hadn't heard from her in almost five years. Her phone was cut off, I didn't know any other way to reach her, I didn't know if she were still alive or dead. As it turns out she went through some very severe medical problems and almost ended up dying, see, I knew something was wrong. But now we're back in touch and she's got an extra room in her apartment that she rents out for a very decent price. So, I can't really resist the urge to live in Hawaii for a while, and I'd really like to spend some time with my friend. After almost five years of no contact there's a lot of catching up to do, and besides, I really enjoy her company. So I will commit to at least two months on the island and if I can get any kind of decent income coming in I will most likely stay there longer, maybe as long as a year.
So it looks like Maui is already in the cards, I'm doing it. But at some point I will be returning to Cambodia. It feels like I have to go back and prove to myself that I can do it. So you are going to be reading some ideas I have about going back there and blogging about it, but it probably won't be happening this year, unless it's at the end of the year. So here's the idea about the Cambodia blog anyway, even though it's an idea that will be on the back burner for a while. But the other idea I have for the other blog might be something that could keep me busy while I'm in Hawaii. So, I'll tell you about the Cambodia idea first, even though I will most likely attempt the other idea before I go back there.
I would really like to go back and teach at the orphanage where we were teaching when we were being trained as teachers, because those kids really want to learn, they know the value of an education. The other little rich brats I was teaching at the international school will always have Mommy and Daddy's money to fall back on, so most of them don't really want to learn anyway. But there is one problem: teaching orphans doesn't pay. And although I will be going with enough money to last me at least a year this time, even if I don't take a job, at some point I'm going to need to be able to earn a living. So, I thought that maybe if I blog about my experiences, if I post pictures of the children I'll be teaching, updating my readers of their progress, letting my readers get to know them, maybe I can get some support for my blog. Anything that I would make by blogging would help me stay in the country and teach the orphans longer.
So that's one idea and it won't actually happen until after I've spent some time on Maui, but it is something that I really want to do.
The other idea is this: For a while now I've been telling people that we vote with our dollars everyday, that our corporate overlords pay more attention to how we vote with our dollars than what we do in the voting booth. And I have always wished there was a website that would post how corporations spend their money, what political causes they support, and what kind of environmental policies they have. Now there might be a sight out there like this already, but if there is I haven't been able to find it. But even if there is, it's not well known, it's not making a big enough impact on how people vote with their dollars. So maybe I should try to make this web page myself. But I'm a little afraid of this, because when I think about it it is a daunting task. There are so many companies, so many products, where do I start? When I really think about it I think there are a lot of places I could take this blog, it would give me an avenue to do some writing about politics. But it would also require so much time. I don't know if I have enough time to do it justice.
So, after all of this holiday madness is over, I'm meeting with a friend who has set up websites and blogs in the past. She's going to teach me how to use Wordpress and how to design a nice looking blog. I also know that I'm going to have to get better at research skills if I'm going to do the political blog. Just keeping up on all of the different companies and posting policies, and their changes in policy, if and when they happen, will be more than enough to keep me busy for a very very long time. In fact, I don't know how I could do it without some help.
So I don't know if these ideas will go anywhere or not. I've known people who blogged just as a hobby, I've known people who've made some extra money blogging, and although I've never met anyone who's done it, I know there are a lot of people who started off as part time bloggers but then started doing it full time. So who knows? Maybe I've got some good ideas here, maybe I don't. But the point is that I'm no longer adverse to writing, that I'm finding it more enjoyable and I'm searching for ways to maybe do something a little more constructive with it. It's not like cab driving is going anywhere, I can always return to that anytime I want, but I do want to finally try to get out of it. My first trip to Cambodia was an attempt to do just that, but I didn't really realize how hard it would be to pull myself away from something I've been doing so long. My biggest mistake the last time I went there was not having enough of a financial cushion behind me. Things got too close to the wire and I panicked and came home with my tail between my legs. I want to correct that. I don't know if I can do the political blog from Cambodia, but I sure as hell can write about my experiences teaching orphans who really need my help. If I could just make enough money to sustain myself in Cambodia, which isn't very much, I will be very happy and proud of myself.
Wish me luck?
P.S. And I have decided that once all of my travels are done, when I want to come back to the US, instead of coming back to New Orleans I am going to make Seattle my new home, where I will settle down and get high on legal weed and climb some mountains. But that's another post in and of itself, isn't it?
So I've got two ideas for blogs I'd like to start this year. I could do one or the other, or both possibly. The first one I had would be about me going back to Cambodia this summer. I would really like to go back to Cambodia, and I was planning on doing so in the spring, but as you know, things always change. A couple of months ago I regained contact with a friend of mine who lives on Maui. I hadn't heard from her in almost five years. Her phone was cut off, I didn't know any other way to reach her, I didn't know if she were still alive or dead. As it turns out she went through some very severe medical problems and almost ended up dying, see, I knew something was wrong. But now we're back in touch and she's got an extra room in her apartment that she rents out for a very decent price. So, I can't really resist the urge to live in Hawaii for a while, and I'd really like to spend some time with my friend. After almost five years of no contact there's a lot of catching up to do, and besides, I really enjoy her company. So I will commit to at least two months on the island and if I can get any kind of decent income coming in I will most likely stay there longer, maybe as long as a year.
So it looks like Maui is already in the cards, I'm doing it. But at some point I will be returning to Cambodia. It feels like I have to go back and prove to myself that I can do it. So you are going to be reading some ideas I have about going back there and blogging about it, but it probably won't be happening this year, unless it's at the end of the year. So here's the idea about the Cambodia blog anyway, even though it's an idea that will be on the back burner for a while. But the other idea I have for the other blog might be something that could keep me busy while I'm in Hawaii. So, I'll tell you about the Cambodia idea first, even though I will most likely attempt the other idea before I go back there.
I would really like to go back and teach at the orphanage where we were teaching when we were being trained as teachers, because those kids really want to learn, they know the value of an education. The other little rich brats I was teaching at the international school will always have Mommy and Daddy's money to fall back on, so most of them don't really want to learn anyway. But there is one problem: teaching orphans doesn't pay. And although I will be going with enough money to last me at least a year this time, even if I don't take a job, at some point I'm going to need to be able to earn a living. So, I thought that maybe if I blog about my experiences, if I post pictures of the children I'll be teaching, updating my readers of their progress, letting my readers get to know them, maybe I can get some support for my blog. Anything that I would make by blogging would help me stay in the country and teach the orphans longer.
So that's one idea and it won't actually happen until after I've spent some time on Maui, but it is something that I really want to do.
The other idea is this: For a while now I've been telling people that we vote with our dollars everyday, that our corporate overlords pay more attention to how we vote with our dollars than what we do in the voting booth. And I have always wished there was a website that would post how corporations spend their money, what political causes they support, and what kind of environmental policies they have. Now there might be a sight out there like this already, but if there is I haven't been able to find it. But even if there is, it's not well known, it's not making a big enough impact on how people vote with their dollars. So maybe I should try to make this web page myself. But I'm a little afraid of this, because when I think about it it is a daunting task. There are so many companies, so many products, where do I start? When I really think about it I think there are a lot of places I could take this blog, it would give me an avenue to do some writing about politics. But it would also require so much time. I don't know if I have enough time to do it justice.
So, after all of this holiday madness is over, I'm meeting with a friend who has set up websites and blogs in the past. She's going to teach me how to use Wordpress and how to design a nice looking blog. I also know that I'm going to have to get better at research skills if I'm going to do the political blog. Just keeping up on all of the different companies and posting policies, and their changes in policy, if and when they happen, will be more than enough to keep me busy for a very very long time. In fact, I don't know how I could do it without some help.
So I don't know if these ideas will go anywhere or not. I've known people who blogged just as a hobby, I've known people who've made some extra money blogging, and although I've never met anyone who's done it, I know there are a lot of people who started off as part time bloggers but then started doing it full time. So who knows? Maybe I've got some good ideas here, maybe I don't. But the point is that I'm no longer adverse to writing, that I'm finding it more enjoyable and I'm searching for ways to maybe do something a little more constructive with it. It's not like cab driving is going anywhere, I can always return to that anytime I want, but I do want to finally try to get out of it. My first trip to Cambodia was an attempt to do just that, but I didn't really realize how hard it would be to pull myself away from something I've been doing so long. My biggest mistake the last time I went there was not having enough of a financial cushion behind me. Things got too close to the wire and I panicked and came home with my tail between my legs. I want to correct that. I don't know if I can do the political blog from Cambodia, but I sure as hell can write about my experiences teaching orphans who really need my help. If I could just make enough money to sustain myself in Cambodia, which isn't very much, I will be very happy and proud of myself.
Wish me luck?
P.S. And I have decided that once all of my travels are done, when I want to come back to the US, instead of coming back to New Orleans I am going to make Seattle my new home, where I will settle down and get high on legal weed and climb some mountains. But that's another post in and of itself, isn't it?