Blogging with Discipline

Posted on February 11, 2010 by Joanna

I like this idea.

I can relate to what Beth talks about. I have tended to be one of these writers;

There are times when my mind is filled with more blog posts than there are days in the week, when everything in my life can be easily put into a witty and/or meaningful bit of writing.

I remember just before I “seriously” started blogging a friend looked on the domain of my email address at the time (it was puzzling), expecting I think because it wasn’t a telco account that I might have a blog and telling me that it’d be a fascinating read if I did blog. I’m glad she did. I wonder though if like most bloggers, I feel a pressure to be fascinating every time. Indeed the catch cry that “content is king” is championed on many a blog. I have often waited till I had the post in my 3rd draft stage with a beginning, a middle, and an end before I have started typing or I have just ranted.

I recently applied for membership of BlogCatalog; a blog directory similar to Technorati. It was hard for me to find which category of theirs I would “fit in”. (Oh where have I heard that before?) I was rejected. I’m fine with it. I think they look at the blog on a few days in a row and it might have been during my last “bloggers block”. The email read in part:

Your blog is brand new and/or doesn’t have enough content to make it truly valuable.
If this is the case, please resubmit after you have made more postings.

Ouch… But getting more disciplined is something that I want to develop anyway.

I’ve always used my work and confidentiality as an excuse. That’s true, but it needn’t be an excuse.

So;

Blogging with discipline doesn’t mean you have to blog every day or that you can’t ever take a break. It means blogging regularly–whatever that means for you. It means sitting down and trying to develop a blog post idea instead of waiting until a perfectly-written post is already floating around in your brain.

Given that what about this for a trial? I’ll write 5 blog posts a week and commit to putting at least three up per week till the 15th March. Some may be very brief, other dull. But we’ll try it and reassess.

Lets talk.

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100 posts.

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Joanna

In September 2005, while traveling I started this blog. That was a long time ago in both time and headspace.

I have had many hiatuses from this medium, hence the four years to get here. I have had a variety of topics, many self serving muses. But I’m still here and I enjoy it.

The choice of The View from Down Here as a title was always designed as an autantonym. On the one hand the reference was to the fact that I hail from, and in fact live “down under” in Australia. Certainly then and in many ways now the blogersphere felt very “top heavy”. Discussions of current affairs seemed to occur in a lively fashion in America and to a lesser extent the UK. I wanted to be part of intelligent issues-based dialogue, and perhaps to contribute to some aussie led conversations. While I’m now aware of more Aussie bloggers, I don’t think we engage in the same way or as regularly. However we are part of the dialogue now. Many who may not be bloggers comment privately or offline, so the discussion starts. even if technorati doesn’t seem to know i exist at the moment. (by the way any linking you feel like doing to raise my authority — greatly appreciated. Having no “authority” in technorati terms after 3 years is pretty sad. )

On the other side of the coin is the reflection that as a woman who views the world waist high, that is from a wheelchair. I guess my perspective might be different on a whole range of topics in the very obvious way and in a whole lot of subtle ways. In the ebb and flow of life those differences are sometimes a lot more obvious to myself and others than at other times. That has been reflected here. All that notwithstanding, my perspective is my perspective, regardless of what informs it, just like everyone else. There are as it turns out a few people who use wheelchairs who are bloggers now too, but I didn’t know that then.

So after 100 posts and 4 years that’s why I blog. A shout out to Jaqi who once asked why I didn’t blog, Rebecca who answered a question and others like Tony who showed me how to do it with grace.

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identity matters

Posted on November 5, 2009 by Joanna

This is a good post about identification as a person with a disability, for a women with a mental health issue.

It brings up some interesting thoughts for me about “what actually is disability?” That’s medical vs social model stuff, but its not just that. Its about the labels we as people with impairments use to define and describe ourselves. What boxes we put ourselves in and how easily or not we communicate with those in the other boxes of disability.

I find myself now straddling two of those boxes more often these days. So now the whole question is “to tell or not to tell” is a live question where before I did not really understand it; except as I defended theoretically an individuals right to non-disclosure. I could not understand, untill recently how people could choose not to “give details” and yet still want to use the political, social and practical elements that come with the tag. i fought for the right to non-disclosure because it is an option and I’m all for individual choice. I have many friends with non-aparent and often non disclosed disabilities whose choice I respected. As is often the case though it is not until one is given the choice that one is aware one has a choice….

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Installing Love

Posted on September 8, 2009 by Joanna

This is so nice….

Tech Support: Yes, how can I help you?
Customer: Well, after much consideration, I’ve decided to install Love. Can you guide me though the process?
Tech Support: Yes. I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?
Customer: Well, I’m not very technical, but I think I’m ready. What do I do first?
Tech Support: The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located your
Heart?
Customer: Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Is it okay to install Love while they are running?
Tech Support: What programs are running?
Customer: Let’s see, I have Past Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge and Resentment running right now.
Tech Support: No problem, Love will gradually erase Past Hurt from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory but it will no longer disrupt other programs. Love will eventually override Low Self-Esteem with a module of its own called High Self-Esteem. However, you have to completely turn off Grudge and Resentment. Those programs prevent Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off?
Customer: I don’t know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?
Tech Support: With pleasure. Go to your start menu and invoke Forgiveness. Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge and Resentment have been completely erased.
Customer: Okay, done! Love has started installing itself. Is that normal?
Tech Support: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need to begin connecting to other Hearts in order to get the upgrades.
Customer: Oops! I have an error message already. It says, “Error 412 – Program not run on external components.” What should I do?
Tech Support: Don’t worry. It means that the Love program is set up to run on Internal Hearts, but has not yet been run on your Heart. In non-technical terms, it simply means you have to Love yourself before you can Love others.
Customer: So, what should I do?
Tech Support: Pull down Self-Acceptance; then click on the following files: Forgive-Self; Realize Your Worth; and Acknowledge your Limitations.
Customer: Okay, done.
Tech Support: Now, copy them to the “My Heart” directory. The system will overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching faulty programming. Also, you need to delete Verbose Self-Criticism from all directories and empty your Recycle Bin to make sure it is completely gone and never comes back.
Customer: Got it. Hey! My heart is filling up with new files. Smile is playing on my monitor and Peace and Contentment are copying themselves all over My Heart. Is this normal?
Tech Support: Sometimes. For others it takes awhile, but eventually everything gets it at the proper time. So Love is installed and running. One more thing before we hang up. Love is Freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everyone you meet. They will in turn share it with others and return some cool modules back to you.
Customer: Thank you, God.

—author unknown

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