All i've got to say today

Quit Twitter

I quit Twitter. Oh shock!

Never really thought a lot of it. Its a good example of when social networking doesn't work; I didn't have any friends on it, I didn't like the people I "followed" on it, so its gone.

Now to get rid of the oul Bebo and Facebook... That's another story.

So ah...

Sitting up late-ish, strangely calm. Usually i'm pretty stressed out this time of night, but I had fun the last evening and day, probably since I stayed away from the city centre all day. Yay for no hustle-bustle!

The city grinds me down. It's way outside of my comfort bubble. I can handle it, now. It look me the best part of eight months that Dublin was not Galway - and never will be. Of course I miss my home. I'm not heartless. Just a bit out of touch; ultra-rational. But you can't rationalise everything.

Don't I know it.

I've never seen myself as "a culchie". And I fuckin' hate the Dubs that will play on that horrid, catch-all, us/them mentality. Yeah, I hate ya. There's no need for it. What, so I didn't grow up in a place where you have to step over and around the strung-out junkies on the streets? Where every main thoroughfare is now a procession of Chinese restaurants, Carroll's Irish Trash shops and Londis shops - is it self-pity or pride that's going on here?

The Yuppies.

The yuppies kill me. I feel my lungs clench up and embrace my heart in my chest as if to protect me from them. I want to help them more than the homeless. Maybe its one positive thing of what’s going on in the world right now - maybe being let go from their companies will free them from their horrifically hollow and unimpressive lives. Then again, I’ve got other friends who are in no way yuppies, but also feel the need to express everything as the most impressive. Maybe I’m just not easily impressed.

But what I like about Dublin is - once you know how to handle it (and I’m a long way off, but at least I’ve got a foothold), is the craic. There's a world of craic to be had. It’s not as up-front as many parts of Ireland, you have to pick it out and make it your own. And when I say up-front, I don't mean the marketing, 'cause that’s there in spades... but the range is good.

It’s real good.

One thought I had lately that gets me through a bit, needs a little refinement maybe:

"Life is like the middle of a sentence; it rarely makes sense until it’s finished."

Night.

Blogging about Blogging

I don't really "get" the blog thing. I don't know how these people can write all the time. Especially the new "professional bloggers" who actually do this for a living. But, they do it and do it well, so here's some of the ones I subscribe to.

Seth Godin (self-titled "Marketing Guru") blogs numerous times a day. He evens blogs about how to blog. Steve Olson writes in an interesting and informative bitesize self-help style, promoting realistic thinking and the power of hindsight. His many posts detailing life lessons learned from recalling past memories at times reek of those "unlock your inner (insert goal here)", but are generally insightful and at the very least, entertaining to read.

For the tech (and not so tech) heads theres blogs like Chris Pirillo's frequently updated text/video journal on the little hacks that are helpful everyday, from "How To Buy an mp4 player", "How To Save Money" to "How to Choose the Best Airline" and what to eat for the munchies. His video journal is based in his chatroom-slash-command centre, with open input from his many other subscribers.

Finally, there's Karl Hungus' film blog. I enjoy his humour and his honest reviews of current and classic films. His rather encyclopædic knowledge has opened my eyes to a few diamonds.

For the quick humour fix, theres always the webcomics:
xkcd
Dilbert
Piled Higher and Deeper
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