Hey, no pressure!

So quite often the routine after spending any length of time away is for me to while away some time catching up on my reading.  I guess I could use the term “fritter” and it would be equally descriptive,  and I realise that when I go home,  this sort of activity will be cut right back.   There will be “things to do”. 

Or so I’m told.

So what is there to read?  Well,  there’s a certain amount of on line “news”.  And the reason I say “news” in quotation marks,  is because it’s tough to cut through the nonsense and actually find anything newsworthy.  The other slight wrinkle is,  with the six hour time difference,  if I want to check what’s happening in the markets,  I have to wait darned near all day for them to open.  Therefore,  in the mean time there are always blogs to read. 

And man oh man is that a slippery slope.

 

Now,  way back when the idea of moving to Europe started to percolate,  one of my pub buddies suggested that I write a “blog”. 

I can’t say for sure I knew what that was,  but I had a bit of an idea, since I had been following this guy,  from back in the time when we were living in Puerto Rico.  You might notice there is a bit of a “theme” there,  and it has to do with having a little too much time on one’s hands?

I should also say that,  when I use the term “pub buddy”,  I don’t mean that in a pejorative sense,  since a great number of those friends that I just so happen to meet up with at a favourite watering hole,  are people that I’ve met and who have extended the privilege of their friendship through either work or other activities. 

We do know where we all live,  and we didn’t just meet at the pub.  But for lack of a better term,  I like to use the phrase “pub buddy”.  So there.

Oh,  and I must say, I am indeed flattered that anyone would even think I could put two words together.  So for someone to suggest, “you should write….”  anything? 

Wow.  That’s nice.  Really.

 

So even though the suggestion was made way back in April or May of 2008,  and we had moved into the house in the Netherlands on the 15th of August,  not much happened on the blogging front until September.  Well,  by “not much”  I guess I mean “nothing”.

That’s a bit of a gap I know, and I hadn’t really planned it that way.  But I was procrastinating.  I mean,  where do you start?

When I finally got around to it,  not only was it that certain day that will be remembered for a long,  long time, but it also just happened to be the day after they were about to fire up the nuclear accelerator over in Switzerland.   So…since the earth didn’t get swallowed up into a black hole,  I figured I had run out of excuses,  and needed to get busy. 

That’s my story,  anyway.

 

But there was no pressure to write,  take pictures or in any way be “amusing”  “entertaining”  or anything else.  I think I had all of about six readers,  and they were all related, or possibly pub buddies.

And I was OK with that,  since it was mostly just an elaborate email,  and you can see by the lack of bells and whistles,  as you look to your left and right,  that this offering hasn’t evolved into much more.    Just words.

A picture every now and again. 

If I feel like it.

 

 

But then something happened as I was “catching up”  or “frittering” if you prefer, that made me just a tad nervous.   As I was perusing the blogs that I like to peruse,  one particular gentleman who lives in Bayfield, Ontario,  happened to mention that the Caretaker Chronicles was an “interesting,  funny read”.    I think I got that right.  

*Oh jeez*.

I think my heart skipped a beat there,  and I’ll tell you why.  See,  Al  (that would be this gentleman’s name)  has like a gazillion followers,  and so it was no wonder that half of North America was suddenly clicking on my little tiny corner of the web.  I might be exaggerating,  but not by much.

*Gulp*

I’m flattered.  Thanks.    But now what?

Is this going to keep me awake at night?    Oh Lordy!

 

But like I said.  No pressure!

 

And apparently “followers” has had a bit of a loose definition in the last little while,  since the guys and gals over at Google seem to be messing around with Blogger.  Sure wish they’d stop doing that.  Personally I’m not overly keen on surprises,  and even less so on change in general.

 

Which is why,  years from now,  long after I’ve run out of something to say, this blog will probably look pretty much the same.

 

And in the end,  I suppose “that”,  as they say,  is "that".

 

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