The hands-up display on the walk signals seemed to be telling me to "stop" and enjoy the magic of a NY winter's day.Out walking earlier this morning in the cold grey kind of day that somehow signals a snowstorm is coming.
Winter Storm Warning In Effect From 4 PM This Afternoon To 5 PM EST Monday... The National Weather Service In Albany Has Issued A Winter Storm Warning For Heavy Snow...Which Is In Effect From 4 PM This Afternoon To 5 PM Monday. Instructions: A Winter Storm Warning Means Significant Amounts Of Snow Are Expected Or Occurring. Strong Winds Are Also Possible. This Will Make Travel Very Hazardous Or Impossible.I was up early this day after Christmas morning. Just sitting down to the computer around 0900 with a hunk of homemade cherry cheesecake and a steaming hot mug of coffee. The Nutcracker Suite playing on a classical radio station. The situation is idyllic!
Oh, I had breakfast around 0445... My holiday actually began on the 24th, with calling and emailing old friends, preparations and church services. Today, I was up quite early, after one of the best Christmas's I've had in years! Xmas Day was jampacked, but so fruitful, with fun, food and gifts. And so much to be thankful for.
Today is my holiday "Part Three," as I always cook my traditional Xmas dinner on the day before or after, depending on the day of the week the 25th falls on in the calendar year. I'm expecting people from out of town... they're driving up and should be here by 4pm. Dinner is at 5:15 and according to the weathermen, a "significant snow" is due to begin falling in late afternoon. A day late for the traditionally longed-for and fabled "White Christmas," but this snow will be welcomed by all. Glad I got a few "chores" done and hit the store for last-minute items this a.m.!
I hope YOUR holiday is/was blessed as well. Some folks regard the entire period from 12/24-1/1 as "holiday." I go back to "ordinary" mode on Monday, but like everyone else, will mark the start of the New Year.
After arriving back at my place last night, bringing in the gifts and catching up on the news, I spent a couple of hours websurfing before finally turning in around 11. I don't remember how or where my starting point was, but I landed on blog after blog whose sole purposes were "How to make money online," "How to make your blog better" and "How to make your blog better so you can make money online." While the writers behind these blogs are without doubt sincere and good people, just a few are making significant income online via blogging. It struck me that for many bloggers, they're blogging to try to make money, and missing what a weblog really is supposed to be all about!
I left the following comment on one of the blogs I visited:
"This is just the cynic in me coming out : I've been websurfing today and see an overabundance of blogs and blog articles devoted to helping people write and produce better blogs. Is the dog chasing his/her tail? Blogging was originally a personal showcase. I've been blogging since around 2004, and I must say that one blogger who has stayed true to the original model (and has become very successful at it) is Wendy Cheng, who blogs as xiaxue.blogspot.com - there seem to be so many of us bloggers searching for traffic, like a march of men crawling in a desert, looking for a waterhole..."I cited Wendy because ever since day one of her blog, "her blog IS a blog." Although she fell into a pile of luck and made a career as a "blogebrity," Wendy has remained true to blogging's promise and purpose: she blogs about her life, her opinions, and posts photographs. She can have fun, she can be sassy, she can be controversial.
Wendy was a teenage in Singapore. An ordinary girl, who, had there been no internet, probably would have lived the life that any ordinary girl in Singapore might have lived. She started a blog, as many ordinary girls in Singapore did. But for some reason, the blog hosting platform known as "blogger" or "blog*spot" decided to make Wendy's "XiaXue" their "featured" blog on the blogger homepage.
Things went up from there. I guess you could say her blog went "viral" and then "international" and she was able to use her cute looks to attract sponsors. She also enhanced her beauty with Photoshop, and made no apologies for it!
All kinds of great things happened for Wendy, and all she did to get them was to be Wendy! She even met her American husband thanks to the net! Their story is a bit longer than that, but suffice to say once again, without the internet, none of that good stuff would likely have ever happened. And I don't think Wendy ever bothered worrying about "better blogging" or "increasing traffic" or "bounce rate" or any of that rubbish!
The moral of the story: go forth and blog, and don't get all crazy about it. There's no cause for alarm if you only have 10 visitors a day (unless maybe you quit your day job believeing you could be the next overnight blogging sensation - it ain't gonna happen!)
HaPPy HoliDays!