An Incomplete Explanation About Why James Didn’t Proclaim

It’s one of those conundrums that I think many of us bloggers go through. I’ve been through it before in previous incarnations of my online journal but this is the first time since ‘James Proclaims’ began.

Essentially I’ve had a sustained period of ‘not blogging’. It’s been almost three weeks since my last post, which if blogging were akin to substance dependency would be a cause for celebration, but the point of being a blogger is…well… to blog.

And that I haven’t for almost three weeks is a bad thing if I want people to keep reading the stuff I write.

And I very much want people to read the stuff I write because it’s good for my overly-fragile ego.

So the questions is, do I acknowledge my absence from the blogosphere, apologise to my loyal readers, offer my excuses and vow to post more regularly in the future or do I, instead, just dive back in and write a short satirical story about the everyday ennui that affects us all, exploiting my trademark humour to great affect and hope that my three-week sabbatical goes unnoticed?

Well neither as it turns out.

I’m not apologising for not blogging. That’s mental. No-one depends on this blog and if some people get some amusement out of my ramblings, well that’s all well and good, but no-one needs me to do this and to pretend otherwise would be arrogant and self-indulgent. Although I am frequently both of those things, I’m going to reign myself in and acknowledge that my absence from the blogosphere didn’t break the internet.

Actually it’s not true that no-one needs me to do this. I need me to do this. But I’m not apologising to myself. Because it’s my fault I haven’t blogged so I don’t deserve an apology.

Nonetheless I feel I should dedicate today’s post to my absence from these pages because, frankly, it might happen again and I need to establish protocols for when it does.

In future, if I disappear from the blogosphere, I’m not necessarily going to acknowledge it or offer an explanation upon my return. Unless the reason is interesting and blogworthy.

But it isn’t this time and, truthfully, it’s unlikely to be interesting in the future. Because I really don’t lead that interesting a life.

Mostly it was a combination of being busy at work, coupled with being a bit busy in other areas of my life.  Also I had a fairly unpleasant virus for about a week. And there was one unfortunate occasion when I got drunk, alone, in front of the TV.

I’m not sure what that says about me.

There were still numerous times I could have posted something, but I didn’t. Mostly because I couldn’t be bothered.

I think that’s ok though. This isn’t my job and even though I would quite like it if someone were to pay me to write irrelevant and irreverent nonsense for a website, it’s unlikely to happen anytime soon.

For now my job is to teach maths to teenagers and while it irritates me that it sometimes gets in the way of the lyrical online party that is ‘James Proclaims’ it does mean I can pay my mortgage.

And eat.

And buy beer to drink alone in front of the TV.

So to summarise, I’ve been away but it doesn’t really matter. I’m back now. I will blog again this week.

Hopefully it’ll be about something good.

But it might not be.