Writing

What do you write about when you don't really have anything to write about?  I've been thinking for the past few days that it's been a while since I posted anything here and I want so much to be a regular contributor to my own blog.  I thought about politics, since the race for 2016 seems to be on and Hillary finally announced officially that she's running.  Yes, I'm a Hillary supporter, but I also respect those on the other side of the political spectrum.  I can't say I always understand it, however there are certain things I find myself leaning toward the conservative point of view.  Not enough for me to switch parties or support a Republican candidate, but I do feel there's a middle or moderate position that draws from both sides of the aisle, so to speak.  I'm a news junkie and always seem to have either CNN or MSNBC on in the background, even when I'm doing or focusing on some other task.  Maybe it's because I feel like I'll miss something if I don't have it on.  I never really used to be that much into watching current events but I think I've become much more in tune with having the news on since 9/11.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not hoping for anything bad or catastrophic to happen by any means; but if it does I want to be one of the first ones to know.  I suppose there's something a little sick and twisted, a morbid fascination with negative national and world events.  Come to think about it, maybe it was the first Iraq war, Desert Storm, that sparked my addiction to news and current events.  That was the first time war unfolded live on TV and I was riveted to every scud missile alert.  Still, I didn't have the news on all the time then, and there was no internet to speak of at the time either.  Nowadays there are a plethora of news channels to choose from, so maybe it's just default programming when there is nothing worthwhile on any of the hundreds of other channels.  Interestingly enough, I've noticed the past few weeks that there are times that I don't even turn the TV on.  It's kind of nice to have the silence or listen to the background traffic noise and birds chirping away.  I also enjoy putting on some classical music sometimes while I'm working at the computer.  My preferences lean toward Renaissance and Baroque periods.  My brother burned a stack of CD's for me that I find exceptionally enjoyable, even if it's just in the background.  It's not quite the same on the computer.  At some point I need to invest in a CD player that has really good quality sound.  If I had such a thing maybe the TV would stay off more often and I'd be more inspired to write more regularly, which might be nice for a change.

One of my new friends has been checking out my blog and suggested I write a book, which is very flattering.  I always kind of thought maybe, once I've been doing this for a while, these postings might somehow be turned into one.  She suggested, however, that I should start writing my memoir and talk more about my life from childhood and growing up.  Granted I've had some really interesting things happen in my life, but I am not sure there'd really be any (or enough) interest in little old me.  I will certainly give it some thought though.  I already have a working title, Being Flabulous or Furry and Flabulous:  Diary of a Fat Gay Teddy Bear.  I have a feeling once I start the Communications program at Purdue I'll have a lot of academic writing to do, so any kind of book will have to be put on the back burner for now.  There's also the questing of just how much to include.  Many of my experiences, especially some of the more scandalous ones, took place in a small rural town in Ohio.  Not that I'd name and names, but I have no doubt that much of what I'd be talking about regarding growing up there would be considered controversial to say the least. Who knows?  Maybe some exposure is needed as to what really goes on behind closed doors in a seemingly idyllic sleepy Midwestern village.  I'm sure there are a lot of people who think certain things only go on in larger metropolitan areas and little hamlets like my hometown are immune from such things.  Light would certainly be shed on those mistaken utopian beliefs.  I wish I enjoyed and was better at handwriting.  I could carry around an actual journal and use free time wherever I was to just put down what I'm thinking about or at least work on an outline of my life that might give me more structure for a possible future book.  Truman Capote I'll never be I'm sure, but I guess there is at least moderate interest in who I am, where I've been and what I've done over the years.  I still contend that perhaps it would be better to fictionalize the story to add some spice to it.  When I sit and think about my life it seems pretty boring to me.  I have to wonder who would be interested in such a boring guy, but I am starting to learn that there are a lot of people who don't find me boring at all.  Maybe my self perception comes from settling into a pretty quiet life.  I don't go out to bars anymore, I don't perform, I don't even raise much hell like I did at various times in my life.  Now I'm a pretty simple homebody, content to spend time with friends and family, work on my education and career path, and exist in a more quiet and subdued world that seems so much more comfortable to me now.  Perhaps if I start really thinking about what I've experienced over the years and begin to write them down, some form of coherent and interesting story will emerge.  We shall see.