Category: Life

Hello to my 4 — maybe 5 on a good day — readers! Welcome once again to my self-indulgent online experiment.

So here I am trying to dream up an exciting idea. I get paid at work to think up ideas so you’d think I’d be better at this than I actually am.

My issue of the day: I’m torn. I’ve had a website since — I think — about 1998 or 1999 and people used to read it. I used to get many more hits and random emails. When I moved to the blog format (my site has always been a blog but I did not use blogging software) the hits took a bit of a hit (ha ha). I am wondering if I should try and get listed on some blog sites and such.

But are most blogs not just self-indulgent drivel? A lot of what’s out there really is like eavesdropping on a bunch of high schoolers smoking and gossiping behind the portables (oh, the memories of Midland Avenue CI). And a lot is poorly written. (I’d like to think mine is not crap to read since I actually get paid to write things in real life. But that’s a matter of opinion — the collective opinion of all 4 of you, really.)

This blog is not about technology, journalism, marketing or fashion … it is just about things I think up after dinner. Perhaps not the most fascinating content for a wider readership.

But who cares. I don’t think I do or I would not still be here. I still think this is fun and it keeps me at home and out of the crack houses. And that’s what it is all about. Better to sit here with a martini than be outside looking for my next hit.

When I first heard the Barenaked Ladies’ song “If I Had a Million Dollars,” I figured the only way I’d ever see a million dollars is if I won the lottery. I was still in school then and I was happy if I had one hundred dollars for the week. Keeping my Acadian — Speedy — in gas was hard enough in those days.

I still think I won’t ever see that much money at once but I know it’s not that much. One thing’s for sure, if I had a million dollars I would not be rich.

Let’s see — buy a nice new house and maybe a nice new car….wait that’s it.

That would be it. I’d still have to get up and go to work. I’d still have bills. I’d still have to think about a budget and plan for a happy retirement.

So a million won’t cut it. In order to retire tomorrow I’d need about 3 million. That much coupled with some careful investing would be just right. Now, the trick is how to do it.

I need to come up with an exciting idea. Sitting here typing up stuff I make up in my head is not going to propel me into retirement any sooner. This site costs me money to maintain. But I can’t very well move to a subscription model, can I? My 4 readers would protest.