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11:49 am - Sun 6/16/02
The Diaryland Entry That Almost Wasn't

The Diaryland Entry That Almost Wasn't

The thing that bothers me most about the process of getting older, slowing down

and even eventually--Dare I say it?--dying, is that I�m the only one it�s

ever happened to in the history of the world.

So naturally, I feel a little put-out by the whole thing. Unfaired-upon, if you will. I

mean, what did I do, to be singled-out for this rather undignified treatment?

I just don�t understand why, in a world where no one ever gets sick, no one ever

gets old, no one ever dies, and most importantly, no one ever loses their hair, that

I should have to go through all this.

When I think about it, no one has ever suffered any of the setbacks and

obstacles in life I�ve had to endure. Not one.

And it just doesn�t seem right, Dammit!

_______________________________________________________________

I recently heard that Angel (One of my �stories�, as it amuses me to call

them), is moving to Sunday nights at 9:00 p.m.

This would be a rather mundane bit of news, if not for the fact that

Alias (Another one of my �stories�, as it amuses me to call them) is

also on Sunday nights at 9:00 p.m.

�Jim, did you know they have this new invention? It�s called a VCR, and

with it, you can record your favorite �stories�, as it amuses you to call

them, and watch them at your convenience.�

Actually, I do have one of those newfangled VCRs, Mr (Or Ms.)

Smarty-Pants, but the thing is, I work on Sunday nights, so I�m still

in the position of having to make a choice of which �story� to tape.

This type of cutthroat programming annoys me no end. �Counter-programming� I

totally understand and can get behind (�Counter-programming� is when a network

will put a show on that appeals to, say, teenage boys, opposite a show that

appeals to, let�s say, middle-aged women. Everyone gets what they want, and no

one gets hurt), but this sort of network thinking makes me angry; There�s

so much crap on television, that I don�t understand why I should be in the

position of having to choose amongst the few great shows out there;

Given the opportunity, I would watch both shows--I do watch both

shows--but now it seems the WB (Warner Bros, the network Angel is on)

has decided to take a gamble, that they can poach enough viewers from

Alias--a show with essentially the same audience demographic-- to make

this little �raid� worthwhile

I�m actually thinking about writing Warner Brothers, for all the good it will do, to

complain. At the very least, they should know that as much as I enjoy

Angel, I�m considering dropping it from my television itinerary, in protest of

this annoying practice (I know it�s not the most important thing to be taking a

stand about, but you take your moral stand, and I�ll take

mine, okay?).

______________________________________________________________

I�ve been trying to think of essay ideas for Personal Journaling magazine.

One isn�t fully formed yet, but has something to do with the response I�ve

frequently gotten from people when the subject of my keeping a journal has come

up; Often, they act as if I�m doing some great thing, something that must be kind

of hard but good for me (Like eating right and getting plenty of exercise).

They�ll tell me how they �tried keeping a journal once�, but �didn�t have the time�,

or �didn�t have enough to say�, or just couldn�t follow through with it for whatever

reason.

Now, I don�t think it�s in me to be some sort of missionary for journal writing,

because I�m not convinced it is for everyone. And I tend to agree with the

guy--Whose name I can�t remember right now--who said, �If the desire to write is

not followed by actual writing, the desire is not to write�.

But that said, I imagine there are people out there who would enjoy keeping a

journal, and would get a lot out of it, but are blocked by their inhibitions, by their

preconceived notions of what a journal is �supposed� to be or how they�re

�supposed� to do it (In one particular case, I know someone who thinks

about keeping a journal, who seems to have a desire to do it, but won�t allow

herself the time to do something that�s �just for her�).

And from there, I don�t know exactly what I would say. Just something about how

you don�t have to make writing a journal another chore you have to do,

because the fact of the matter is, you don�t have to keep a journal. You

can do it when you have the time, when you have the inclination, in whatever

format you like, and say whatever you like. It�s not a term paper, a masters thesis,

or the Great American Novel. It�s whatever you want it to be.

I�m a lazy, lazy man. And if I had started writing a journal with the idea that it was

hard, that I had to write in it every day, in some particular way and say

some particular thing...Well, let�s just say I would not still be keeping a

journal, twenty years later.

The other idea would be something about my experience of keeping an

online journal. Not so much a �how-to�, but just a recounting of my experiences

with it so far, what I feel like the plusses and minuses have been, that sort of

thing.

_______________________________________________________________

It�s almost time for me to start getting ready for work...

I sat down at the computer for this session of writing intending not to be

writing another Diaryland entry, but then as things progressed, I realized that was

what it was turning into. Oh well...

I�ll be getting home comparitively early tonite, and won�t have to go to work till

tomorrow afternoon, so I think during that period of time, I can set up the old

computer and start doing what I need to do on that front, do my laundry, and do

something I haven�t done in quite some time now, which is check Backstage

West.

And maybe try to write something that isn�t a Diaryland entry...

 

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