I began this blog nearly a year ago. I recall thinking that it could be a place for me to sort out my feelings about all that has been going on in the world for the last 4 years during the now-prior American presidential administration. Of course it was the pandemic that was the last straw that allowed me to overcome my fear of failure and get things down on paper, so to speak. I realized that even if I didn’t stick with it, something I put out into the universe might eventually be seen by the one person who just needed to read my thoughts in their time of need and feel that they weren’t alone. That connection to the universe through creation is what keeps me writing in this blog today.

To that end, you may see some changes in format or style coming up to my site. I finally decided to pay for it, so the ads should disappear. I know that WordPress gotta get paid, so I’m now going to be taking that burden on, relieving you, dear readers, from having to cough up your personal data to connect with me. You’re welcome!

I plan to explore new themes and such over time too, I hope, my attention-span permitting. I may even start to do a little more promotion, connect with autistic groups and others who may want to add my blog to their list of resources. Don’t expect the actual content to change too much, though. As I am not a “professional” writer, most of my thoughts and musings posted here are pretty fresh and unprocessed and honestly, written during my bouts of insomnia between 2-4am. I feel like that level of authenticity needs to continue to be part of my “personal brand,” whatever TF that means. I am not a polished human being. That’s one of the things that attracts me to the ethos of the software industry (even though I HATE IT in the context of my job): the Pareto Principle or the 80-20 rule. This principle states that generally, you get 80% of your goal accomplished with only 20% of the work you put in. Any increase of my time investment to this site would be emotionally unsustainable for me, so 80% is what y’all get.

Actually, this is a little tip for all you perfectionists out there. You CAN just stop, because nobody cares. That’s not meant to be rude or anything, but the truth is that it is far more likely that nobody will notice if you have a typo here or there or the seam isn’t perfectly straight or you dropped a tiny splatter of paint somewhere and even if they do, WHO CARES? If a stranger would actually bring something like that up to you, it says way more about their personality than your lack of attention. If you create and bring to fruition SOMETHING, ANYTHING, you have done so much more than others have accomplished. Keep it sustainable for you, carry on and, in the end, take the victory lap. You did it!

Apropos of nothing previously stated in this post, I took the day off Wednesday to witness (on TV) the inauguration and subsequent pomp and circumstance in Washington, DC. I laughed, I cried, I took multiple catnaps. The last 4 years have been emotionally and physically exhausting. Even though federal government can be seen as sclerotic at best, the lack of leadership and vision about how to tackle the nation’s and the world’s ongoing problems was downright torturous. And yet we survived to live another day. May we continue to survive the rocky road ahead. And may we all find a way to use our talents and contribute to making this world a better place.