Random Thoughts–Little Time to Write While Preparing to Move

I’m disappointed that I haven’t been able to post very often. Writing for this blog takes a lot of time, and I’m still conflicted about what I should write about, the format, the intensity, the length of posts, etc.

Should I tell you all how Arthur not only ate his breakfast from me but ate two mice as well and then dinner? (I would post the video of him eating the first mouse, but I don’t know how yet and don’t have the time to figure it out.)

How about that I’ve been sleeping in my tent for the past two weeks and loving it. I’ve heard a deer calling out (sounds kinda like an asthmatic cough), owls, frogs, crickets, animals creeping through the grass, odd bird sounds, grunting at the compost pile. I sleep through morning traffic but am instantly awake and alert at the weakest sound in the grass. I am experiencing my environment: the cold, the damp, the creatures that live around me.

I’m amazed at how light it is outside at night, even without a moon, and I am enthralled on the nights when the full moon allows me to see everything. I don’t want to sleep inside anymore. I actually look forward to going to bed now. My organic cotton and wool comforter is so warm. My ears are cold in the tent so I drape my hair over them. I am grateful for my hair.

And each night my cat Boy comes into the tent and we love on each other for half an hour, and then I take him into the house so I can sleep. (I started letting him out after dinner because he howls at the door. He’s my little wild boy.) Head butts, claws reaching out and grabbing and raking my body, trying to chew a button off my shirt, biting, never licking. He walks on top of me, then crawls under the cover, plops on his side, rubs his whole body against me. Constant purring. So much affection in such a little package. Why does an entirely different species express an emotion with me that he doesn’t even express with his own species? Where does that emotion originate? No other cat would tolerate such familiarity and contact.

I’m wondering when the bank will take my car and leave me without transportation. My payment was 30 days overdue on September 22.

People have ordered four books from Amazon through this blog. I’ve made almost $5. It’s a start. Thank you!

So far I’ve written some labor-intensive articles that get me traffic from Google. But these people usually never read the articles. I’ve provided great information and links on inflation and sunbathing, to name two, which bring me traffic every day. Most of my Google traffic leaves before reading anything. (And so I don’t seem to be adding to my readership.) It’s truly baffling to me. Perhaps they’re looking for something with a different format or something written by a degreed professional. “Blog, shmog, what does she know?”

For a while I was getting a lot of traffic on my Real Reason for Inflation and Deflation post from a discussion board in Pakistan. Someone there enjoyed my article and referred people to it. In Google Analytics I would see that someone came from Pakistan following the link provided and stayed a long time, but most just left without reading anything. They decided by the look of the site, I suppose, that it wasn’t worth reading. But why click on the link in the first place? No doubt they returned to the discussion board to comment on something they never bothered to read.

Did I mention that I’m now a redhead? Does anyone care? Should I post personal things or keep this blog as information-rich as possible? Should I post short articles as well as long? Should my writing be perfect or ad lib, informal? Does anyone want to know the difference between lose and loose, effect and affect? Any fans of English?

Do you want to know what the fireman told me? About how the firemen go out in advance of a fire reaching an area to check out the houses to see which ones are worth saving and which ones they’ll let burn?

Do you want to know about the new marketing model in veterinarian care where the vet goes for quality of client instead of quantity? So they write up a $600 bill and if you don’t want to pay they recommend euthanasia. I’ve met two such vets. One cat died. I took the other cat to another vet where the bill was only $300. So they build a small customer base of rich clients. No more riffraff and low-cost procedures.

Hey, happens in the hospital, too. How many women really need hysterectomies. Instead of “cut back on the fat,” you get “You’re through with your childbearing years. You don’t need that organ anymore. Let’s be on the safe side and take it out.” Ka-ching! “Oh, and you’ll now need a never-ending supply of this hormone.” Ka-ching! Where do you think the word hysteria comes from? It’s based on the Greek word for uterus. Male doctors have been screwing with our wombs for a long time. Check out the great article on The Sad Story of the Hysterical Uterus.

All the blog masters tell me that I need content-rich titles that draw in readers. I need to begin my first paragraph with those same keywords to get Google to index my site. It’s all about grabbing your attention, because you’re so busy and distracted with eking out a living and you’re so braindead from processed foods and environmental chemicals. So do I write for you or for Google? Marketing. Promotion. Another necessary skillset.

Should I write a bad review for a famous author? I see so many authors praising the works of others, works that I think are pure fluff taking advantage of a loyal readership. What better way to promote myself than align myself with the “greats.” And what better way to kill myself than say, “Yo, this book sucks.” I find myself swimming against the tide yet again.

Would I ever be invited to speak at a natural hygiene convention if I said that most of them are dogmatic? Would the raw foodist “pros” want me if I said many of them are would-be gurus looking for a following whose greatest accomplishment was being fat and now being thin? Or that most vegans I have experienced seem temperamental and histrionic? Of course, I’m speaking in extremes just to be cute. But I really don’t want to align with any of these people. I’m tired of dogmatism in others and in myself. Especially in myself. And I’m sick of us versus them.

I can’t play along, especially when I think these authors are manipulating people. One of the areas of manipulation that really bothers me is in the topic of manifesting. Manifesting, or creating what you want through intention by the transformation of energy into matter, is really hot right now, and books are being spewed out every month. Each author praises the next and they all rake in the dough by promising you that you can have anything you want, including two homes, a fancy sportscar, the lover of your dreams, and great big wads of cash. Who wouldn’t invest $14.95 in that promise? (In church all you have to do is love God and be obedient and you can have all those things too. The wealth of the wicked is, after all, saved up for the righteous.) And so begins the Amway-like search for the never-ending emotional high to keep those vibrations positive Hicks style. Manipulating both thoughts and emotions.

I’ve heard it said that most people would rather be right than happy. Well, I want to be happy. Don’t you? And I’ve been wrong so many times that I just don’t give a shit anymore. I want to be happy and healthy and free. And I want to understand how things work. And so I read about molecular cell biology. Because it’s fascinating.

I think if I want to become rich I need to start a blog on teaching others how to become rich by starting a blog.

Two days ago I read a long interview by one of these blog gurus with a famous business coach. The coach kept saying he was going to be brutal and honest about the coach, but all he did was say how great the guru was–over and over and over. It was nauseating. I’m sure his cut of the profits is high.

But if I want to join the program, I’d better do it now, because there are only X openings still available. If I don’t join now I might have to wait several months after which the price will probably be higher. Maybe the registration will close tonight and reopen in a few days, maybe not. I better pay my $16,000 NOW just in case.

I know! Find someone making a lot of money and then become her biggest fan and marketer. Tell everyone how wonderful this person is. Then maybe you can get a cut of whatever it is she is selling. You don’t have to do anything meaningful. Just suck up to the right person.

So I hear that the television is trying hard to convince the American public that high fructose corn syrup is good for them. And people will believe it because they want to eat those sugary foods devoid of nutrition. More manipulation. I stopped watching TV. I buy DVDs. I haven’t seen a commercial in over two years. I like it that way. No more jittery leg syndrome. No more constant hammering that I need this or that drug or this or that trash food. No more mindless sitcoms that dull my brain. But then, I’m a sci-fi addict.

Did I tell you that I hate manipulation? You got that, huh?

So what category am I supposed to file this post under?

My feet are cold.

What do you think about this stream of consciousness post? Is it okay? Boring? Waste of time? What kind of posts do you like? The informative ones? The chatty ones?

There’s a pressure to write a certain way. For example, if I write a long, informative post, I feel awkward writing a short post. If I finish a series on a complex topic, I don’t feel right posting a picture and story of my cat. I’m still “finding my voice.” Must it be consistent? May I be flippant and chatty as well as sober and concise? (The gurus tell me to pick a topic and stick with it lest I alienate my audience through inconsistency.)

I hope to be moved and in Pennyslvania by October 25 or 26. Once the move is off my shoulders I should have more time to post and delve into various topics. I have so many books to read and review. I’m thinking of writing some eBooks, too, to generate an income.

I’m still trying to figure out how to make money with this blog. Sure, people buying books through this site makes money, but very little. I’m going to need a huge following and hundreds of book reviews before that comes close to paying my rent. Which means massive marketing.

Do I ask for donations? Do I write eBooks? Do I create a paid membership site with exclusive educational modules and discussion board? Perhaps an opt-in paid email class on physiology, diet, whatever? I’m willing to work really hard to make this a most informative blog by educating myself and then passing that information to you in easy-to-understand chunks. It’s what I love to do. Learn and then pass on the information. For example, if I read six books on acid/alkaline diet and then wrote a short eBook summarizing the information, would you buy it? How do I make money with this blog so that I can devote my full energies to it?

The gurus tell me that I’m hurting myself by not including Google AdSense ads. And I’m encouraged to charge money for the information I provide. Is it possible for me to give all content entirely free from commercialism and without cost and be supported by the community that relies on it?

Okay, it’s 11:07 already I have to pack 20,000 books.

Tagged as: musings