Time to Re-surface? Maybe Re-boot?

Was reading a friend's excellent blog and I'm getting an itch. I miss the writing.

Of course, the writing requires both the time to write, and something to write about.

I was just reviewing my last few posts. Lotta Bible stuff (which is fine), some sports stuff (which is poorly-written schlock), some news-y stuff (meh) and then a couple of funny opinion pieces.

I've been using my Facebook recently to post articles I've read and the occasional thought of the micro-blog variety. It scratches the itch of sharing, but it doesn't allow for actual substantial thought processes to be communicated.

I used to blog alot. The thing that slowed me down, in all honesty, was a semi-anonymous blogger's ultimate existential crisis: someone I blogged about showed up at my office.

This sucked.

It was a long time ago, about 5 years now, when I was contributing on a more-or-less defunct local blog, by local bloggers, blogging local thoughts. My thought for the day harkened back to prior work and a particular experience at that job, and mentioned part of the experience by name. The person mentioned was, at one time, a bit of a celebrity who had, it appeared to me, essentially disappeared.

I was disabused of that notion when the person showed up at my office, where I was just getting settled into a new job, to demand pennance and such.

To be clear, and to be fair, I didn't do anything malicious, nor did I do anything unlawful. In retrospect, I can see how, given this person's situation at that time in their life, they could take umbrage about what I'd discussed related to their past.

I took immediate steps to rectify things, but the whole thing chilled me. I soon-after quit the local blog, and my personal blogging slowed way, way down.

Probably the main issue is my ongoing desire to maintain some measure of anonymity. I write freely because I don't have to worry about the chickens coming home to roost. I try to engage in responsible discourse, but I'm more concerned about the silly stuff coming back to bite me.

Plus, I have tons of work now (back then, my load was a bit more forgiving), and a new(er) kid, and so on, which all tends to put a kink in my style.

I'm feeling a giant shoulder-shrug coming on. No, wait. I was mistaken. I feel a Doogie Howser moment coming on, with some dime-store philosophising about the journey I just went through. Ah, yes, here it comes:

Ultimately, blogging is self-indulgent in so many ways, unless (like my friend) you are publicly sharing an experience with others and writing in such a way as to provide a common place for people sharing your experience. Since I don't plan on being a public person, and this place is about me and not about you, I guess ultimately whether I write relies upon my urges.

I feel the urge. So, I guess I shall (perhaps) write.