I probably should know better by now but after reading Diabolics contribution to today’s daylogs, I feel somewhat compelled.
This is a good node.
To date, I have made several attempts at writing daylogs. The latest was as recent as January 27, 2004. Even though the server has been quite bouncy as of late, I’m still glad I submitted it.
Usually the topics of my daylogs are not of the angsty, nihilistic, existential self defeatism type. They are more likely to lean to matters of family, friends, issues of the day, concerns and good old fashioned fun. It seems that my attempts at this sort of thing have been received (for the most part) with open arms and open minds. I found that the more I revealed of myself, whether it be my personality, my social situation and my take on the world in general, has resulted in me making more and more friends here at E2. Many of those whom I consider friends share some of the same concerns or have experienced similar life events. To put it simply, we share something in common that extends to more than just writing. To me, that’s one of the building blocks that we use when we describe ourselves as a “community”.
Usually, before I pull the trigger on submitting a daylog, I’m a little nervous. I think that feeling goes hand in hand with the nervousness one might get when being introduced to new people. I wonder what I should say, how I should say it and how it will be received. Usually, my feelings are unwarranted. I’ve posted enough daylogs in my time here to know that even though they are subject to downvotes, I usually feel better for at least trying to express myself. This makes me happy.
As a result of all of this, I hereby pledge that I will continue to write daylogs as long as the powers that be let me and the situation warrants it. I consider this node not to be inferior to those fine factual and scientifically relevant nodes for the following reasons.
- This node contains real content and I am a real person, not some made up name and password.
- It contains the facts of my life, the thoughts in my head and the feelings in my heart. Hopefully, none of that meets the criteria of being scientifically relevant. I am, after all made of flesh and blood and possessed with a mind that needs to express itself in other forms.
- This node is socially relevant, if at least not for me, than for those who read it and share the ups and downs that life has to offer.
- Whether you believe it or not, this node is the nature of reality. It is natural for us humans to try and communicate with one another in way that extends beyond the trading of scientific or factual information. As far as I know, we as a species have not yet been turned into robots.
- This node contains no technical skill and maybe that’s a good thing. The telling of a good story requires more than technical skill. It requires the relater of the story strike a bond with the listener. That means holding the listeners attentions and maybe eliciting a response. Whether that response comes in the form of an upvote, downvote, or private message matters little.
- This node is not philosophically correct mainly because I don’t adhere to one philosophy. I’ve tried over the years to stick to a rigid dogma that would make me and others around me a better person and I’ve failed miserably. I made too many snap judgments, had too narrow a perspective on certain matters and had the belief that I was always right. I wound up alienating more people than I embraced. It got lonely.
- Any radical ideas I might have I usually try to keep to myself in the first place. Like I mentioned earlier, the writing of daylogs doesn’t necessarily include ways to change the world in some grandiose way, it usually starts at home and that’s what I write about.
- While this node might not be entertaining to some, I’m sure to others it might be. (Now there’s a radical idea). Entertainment takes on many forms. Maybe it’s the television shows you watch, the movies you decide to see or the books that spark your imagination but then again, maybe it’s the communication that exists within a group of people that goes beyond picking up the phone and actually commits words to paper so that they are there for others to read. While my primary goal is not to entertain, I’m sure (or at least I hope so) that some have my daylogs have brought a smile or tear to somebody’s face. Doesn’t that qualify as entertainment?
- This node contains no interesting or obscure words, it contains no colorful adjectives nor hyperbole and I don’t want it to. The beauty of plain and simple English, while sometimes hard to achieve, often speaks volumes and reaches across to more people. A good vocabulary doesn’t necessarily consist Zoroastrian terms and the overuse of adjectives used to describe daily events. After all, not everything is astoundingly outrageous or beyond all understanding. Sometimes it’s just day-to-day life that needs insights and explanations.
- This node is difficult to read because I made it that way. I had other choices but this is the format I decided upon. I decided to make it harder on the eye to read. I wasn’t bound by any predetermined format (except for what E2 allows) and I chose to write like this.
- This node does not contain an acceptable amount of pronouns because this node is about, well, this node. If it was about me, I doubt I could come up with many other pronouns to describe me.
- This node requires work to read. Sorry, nobody else will do it for you. I could’ve thrown in all sorts of imaginative, informative or sarcastic pipelinks but I didn’t. I chose to keep it simple and straightforward. Maybe now, whoever reads this, has a better mental image of the type of person I am and how my thought process works. Maybe not.
This might not be the best node ever written but I think it’s far from terrible. I don’t know what purpose it serves to anybody who might read it but I know I feel better for writing it. Maybe that’s what it’s supposed to do. I don’t pretend to know if we can do better than that.
Please message me with any typos, incomplete, or incorrect sentences that you might find. I am after all, human.