Gratitude: Day 19

Pretty things to see. I recently added a few blogs to the blogroll I read just because they are pretty. I enjoy looking at the pictures. No need to make anything or buy anything or be told to buy something because everyone else has one. I love that there are people out there who dedicate their blogs to just looking at things, seeing the beauty in them and sharing that with other people.

Ending and beginning

I'm finishing up nablopomo with this post. It was a fun challenge, but now I'm on to the next challenge.

I signed up for the 29 day challenge. The idea is to give away 29 things in 29 days. You can start any time, but I decided to start on Thanksgiving which mean I will end the day after Christmas. It seemed like an appropriate time of the year to do it.

Already I've found that it's a bit difficult to decide what and who to give something to each day. I might have to do some brainstorming. I am sure I will learn a lot by the end of the 29 days.

Seeing the finish line

Blogging every day has been challenging. Actually, that's not accurate. I do pretty much blog every day normally in one place or another. It's been the blogging consistently on one blog that has been challenging. It's a nice outlet for randomness though, so I will try to continue writing here in the future. Hmm, maybe I should have saved this post for tomorrow...

I love comments

I am so excited!

Tumblr has long been one of my favorite things on the Internet.

However, one thing has always made me sad. No comment field. None. Why?!

But today, I added a comment section through a service called Disqus. Yay!

I hope random strangers leave me notes.

Oops

I did not get around to posting here yesterday, but I did post on another blog. I am a bit sad about the fact that I missed it, but there was a lot going on yesterday and I ended up falling asleep. But a good conversation with a good friend is a good reason to let blogging slip my mind.

I am reposting my tumblr post below (and using the time stamp from over there). I hope it's ok to "fudge" a little bit.

• Reporter: I know a lot of homeless sleep on heating grates in cold areas of the country. Does that harm them in any way?
• Doctor: No, they are just sleeping on them to try and keep warm.
• Reporter: So it doesn't get too hot or cause any kind of complications?
• Doctor: No.
• Reporter: When you practice "street medicine" do you try to keep them from sleeping on the grates?
• Doctor: [pause] No, it can really be a matter of life or death for people living on the streets in cold climates.

I usually like to keep tumblr light but my last few posts over there have been things that have shocked me. I really can't understand how the reporter could miss the point so completely. I suppose when you are warm and well-fed it's not so easy to understand the immediate problems other people might be facing.

Something new

I decided to start this blog because I have participated in nanowrimo for two years but this year I need a new challenge. The first year of nanowrimo I was ecstatic to have started and finished a novel. The second year I was happy with my story more than the first. But it is very, very draining. And I have not taken one moment to edit either one of those drafts. So this year's attempt is going to be half-hearted. I can already feel it. I have thought about participating in nablopomo since first hearing about it (the same year I heard of nanowrimo). So this is going to be the year!

Finding a name

In trying to come up with a name for this blog, I tried wordbite and then wordbites. Both were taken and have been defunct for three to five years. I can't help but wonder if blogger needs some system of recycling urls. I am sure there were many enthusiastic people in 2003 who thought they would become regular bloggers who soon lost interest. And you know those people have all the best names out there.

Fortunately for me, I settled on Word Byte because it's actually more fitting since I'm writing words on a computer. Maybe others out there have not been so lucky and live in anguish of the url that never was. This may become a cyber-pandemic at some point.