It's Winter Again

It's that time of year again. The crystals fall from the sky and glisten in the moonlight as they settle on the ice-covered pond behind my apartment. The icicles hang everywhere there is an edge to grab onto and the white snow stretches as far as the eye can see. Winter can be seen everywhere and more than anyone else I hate it.

I despise winter down to the very core of my being. I hate it. Hate it. Hate it. I hate being cold. I hate being bundled up with extra clothing and layers. I hate space heaters (I'm always worried they'll catch fire). I hate the increased chances of slipping and breaking a bone. I hate the dangerous driving conditions. I hate the decreased visibility. I hate the extra time that must be considered to get to work, to prep your car before leaving, to get dressed before exiting the house and the extra time required to shake the outside off your clothing so you don't bring it inside. Not taking these things into consideration can and do result in death in for many people every winter and I HATE IT.

WINTER SUCKS!!!

I have felt this way my entire adult life and really don't know why I haven't moved to a warmer climate. I did live in San Juan, Puerto Rico for one year, but my son was allergic to the island and we had to come back. It was so much better to look at palm trees at Christmas time than dirty snow piled on the side of the road.

I now work for Amazon which has fulfillment centers almost everywhere. Maybe if I give them a little bit of time, I can transfer to a climate where I won't have to worry about my hand freezing to something I touch. In the meantime, I will spend my time making sure my car is stocked with rock salt, sand, kitty litter, candles, blankets, drinking water, granola bars, lock de-icer, a first aid kit, a shovel, jumper cables, road flares, a fire extinguisher, MREs, and basic tools.

I'm ready for spring.

Will Tweet For Money or Any Reason At All

After being out of the blogging habit for over a year, I am finding it difficult to know what to write about. When I was writing all the time, I had no shortage of topics to choose from. Inspiration was all around me. I wrote posts based off a commercial I saw or off the tail end of a news story on the radio.

I kept a notebook in my back pocket to write down ideas as I had them. And I always had them. It's amazing what building a habit can do for you. All week long, I knew I had to write a post this weekend and a topic never came to me. So, now it's time to write and I've got nothing.

While it has been painfully obvious by the gaping void in my blog that I haven't paid much attention to it in the last year, it doesn't mean I haven't been writing at all. I have have been, but it has just been in much shorter bursts. 140 character bursts to be exact.

I spend a lot of time on Twitter. I love Twitter. I get excited when I get new followers. I love it when one of my favorite accounts retweets me or follows me back. Or when a known celebrity (not an internet celebrity) comments on something I said. It gives me a high that lasts for days.

If Twitter has taught me anything, it's that people outside the world of Twitter have no respect for what we do here.

— Minor Character (@brettminor) December 1, 2015

I understand that it's shallow and doesn't really have any meaning in everyday life, but I'm addicted. I can't wait to grab my phone each morning before heading to the bathroom to get caught up on the last Twitter trends while I evacuate my bowels.

I sat on the toilet playing with my phone so long this morning, my legs are just now waking up.

— Minor Character (@brettminor) January 2, 2016

I have to confess. If I've ever retweeted you, I was probably on the toilet at the time.

— Minor Character (@brettminor) February 8, 2015

During my lunch breaks at work, I head to my car to get back on Twitter.

If Twitter has taught me anything, it's that being off Twitter for a few hours to go to work will cost you followers. #constanttweeting

— Minor Character (@brettminor) December 2, 2015

As soon as I get off work, I'm back on Twitter.

I forgot my phone this morning, so when I was driving home after work I didn't know what to do with my hands.

— Minor Character (@brettminor) January 5, 2016

If you can't already tell, I am a little obsessed and I enjoy this obsession. I may be back in the blogging world now, but I have no intention of giving up Twitter. I'm getting to the point that I have an impressive number of followers and several of my tweets have gotten the attention of other websites. As someone who loves attention, I can't help but enjoy this.

I love the hashtag wars. I love participating in new joke formats. I love taking the days headlines and trying to find some humor in it. Plus, with all the negativity out there that is so easy to find, having this release is refreshing.

They say "Revenge is a dish best served cold" But that was before microwaves. I think revenge is best served warmed & poured over ice cream

— Minor Character (@brettminor) August 22, 2015

When we're trying to order a pizza and one guy keeps insisting on adding pineapple. pic.twitter.com/voKKedIPvd

— Minor Character (@brettminor) October 20, 2015

Hey, I just met you And this is crazy But here's my number Spelled out in Barbie heads on your front lawn

— Minor Character (@brettminor) August 8, 2014

I wish Indianapolis had a subway. I think it would be so much more fun to flash people on the subway than in front of Lucas Oil Stadium.

— Minor Character (@brettminor) January 7, 2016

The day I get so fat I can't see my penis will be the day I start adding vegetables to my nacho toppings.

— Minor Character (@brettminor) January 5, 2016

If you have a Twitter account consider giving me a follow. I can promise you won't learn anything from me, but I'll try to give you a laugh. I also retweet a lot of other funny people on my account.

Hey, cooking directions on the sides of packages: Nobody knows the wattage of their microwave.

— That Carly Girl (@thatcarlygirl) January 4, 2016

Careful, the circular motion you make with your hand to tell someone to roll down their car window is giving away your age.

— Erica (@SCbchbum) December 11, 2015

Customer: I'll have the veggie lovers breakfast, but add baco- Me: *hit customer on nose with rolled up newspaper* NO! BAD! GET OUT

— That Rascal, Puff (@ThatRascalPuff) January 8, 2016

I love Twitter if you can't tell.

This is NOT a New Year's Resolution

Let's see...carry the one.

The last time I posted was November 30, 2014. 2014! Not 2015, but 2014. And thanks to our friends at the GCC (Gregorian Calendar Commission), it switched to 2016 a few days ago. Plus, if I understand the mission of the GCC, their intent is to keep time moving forward like this for all eternity, so we just have to live with it until another viable competitor can offer other options.

November 30, 2014 was 398 days ago! 398 days is the length of one year, one month and one day. That was the last time I posted. I think I've eaten an entire cow's worth of cheeseburgers since then. That is a long time for someone who earlier that year stated that he was back in the blogging world.

To make it even worse, I only wrote three more posts after that one before taking my 398 day hiatus. I think this is one piece in a long list of evidence that shows I have trouble doing something just to do it. I need a bit more of a reason.

So, here's my reason. I loved writing my blog once I was writing regularly. I found myself thinking about posts all the time. I took notes and pictures during the day for something that would be included in a post later that night or week. I loved it. I enjoyed the creative outlet. However, it wasn't just something I liked. It was part of my daily habit and now that my schedule has changed, I have time to make a new habit. That's why I can claim this is not a New Year's resolution. The timing is just good right now. Resolutions are doomed to fail anyway.

I loved coming up with topics and fashioning my thoughts into something I believed would be worth reading. I would get so excited when I picked up new followers and really enjoyed many of the new friendships (several of which I still maintain) that grew out of this endeavor.

However, the part I enjoyed the most was seeing how my writing was improving because of all the practice I was getting. There was a definite difference between my early posts and the posts two years later. Just like anything else, if you want to get better at something, it takes practice and since I still have the dream of being published one day, I need to practice.

As much much as I remember how much I enjoyed all this, jumping back in doesn't just happen. Those happy memories are not part of my practice anymore. They are just happy memories. I can recapture them, but I have to develop the habit again. So, I have a plan.

For the time being, I am committing to one post per week. Currently, I am off work on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday, so I will use one of those days to write. I will eventually bump it up to two days and then we'll just see where it goes from there.

I figure I have lost the vast majority of my followers who I left behind and will have to earn them back. I also know that in order to do that, I have to do more than write. I also have to re-establish my presence in the blogging community. So, I will be sure to start reading blogs again. That I can do all week long.

So, for the few of you that are left to even notice this post (since it's been over a year since my last one), I look forward to speaking with you all again.