Today, I almost brought a heart-shattering, epic end to the postaday2011 challenge here on The Jackie Blog.
As many of you know, this blog was fired up in January with the promise to post every single day until 2012. At least, I hope most of you know. I’m pretty sure that’s the reason you follow me. If we take away the challenge, there’s no thrill; no fire; no sense of adventure. It’s just someone blabbing on and on every day without end.
In order to succeed at posting each and every day, you have to accept that posting is the most important priority you have for that day. That means that above sleep, above exercise, above food, above entertainment – above everything else – you must submit to the chains of writing every day. Some days it comes without conflict. I may not have anything in particular to write about, but I can usually pick my brain for something, dust it off, dress it up, and throw it out into the great, gray nether that is the magical Interwebz. In fact, most of the times I’ve been challenged by the postaday calling have been related to lack of topics (or ones I feel like writing about anyway), not lack of opportunity.
Today, however, was a real problem.
I traveled out of state this weekend, and though I decided to post every day before I accomplished anything that was fun on my agenda, today I thought I’d tickle myself by waiting until the Megabus ride home and then posting about my surroundings.
Since that usually includes a loud-mouthed cell phone user, a rowdy group of hooligans, and an incredibly awkward situation with a seat partner, I figured it was blog post coal that could be fashioned into a rough diamond. But my bus was not a Megabus. It was one of those charter buses: the red-haired stepchildren of the Megabus land. Though it offers comfortable seats, a personable driver, and romantic mood lightning for the evening hours, it does not offer WiFi.
Poop.
Given that the bus left at 2:30pm and would arrive back to my city around 10:30pm, I had one and a half hours to get to an Internet connection and post this bad boy before I’d have to crawl up in a fetal position under a cold shower and rock myself to a deep, dark depression.
And given that on the way out Friday we had to wait an hour extra at a rest stop while the driver figured out how to open the luggage
I can see the light. Must...keep...posting...
door, I didn’t have much faith in that 10:30 estimation.
After 10pm, nothing was going to be open downtown so I’d have to get to my apartment as quickly as possible – the best option was a bus, which is a shaky plan based on their late Sunday evening schedules. What if I waited for the bus for 15 minutes, it took 30 to get to my neighborhood and then another 15 for me to walk to my apartment? I’d only have 30 minutes of leeway before I am completely and totally screwed.
I’m not going to lie: it was a close call, my friends. At 11:30 postmeridian, I published a splattering of my cerebrum to the world of Interwebbage and breathed a large, deep sigh of relief. I can’t even imagine having come this far in the year and missing a day. When I think of all the times I’ve forgone sleep, disappeared from family and friend get-togethers, and scribbled down notes throughout my daily existence all for the sake of this challenge, I honestly think the weight of failure would be so great that I’d go catatonic.
Now, of course, all I will do is fret about the remaining month-and-some-change that I need to post. There’s a lot of travel over the holidays. And food and friends and family and obligations and expectations. That’s a whole bunch of obstacles just waiting to render me catatonic from failure.
Things are getting risky indeed; here’s to the treacherous last leg of the postaday challenge. ♣
The Jackie Blog 
I was wondering where you were all day – well, okay, not exactly ALL day because it’s not like I’m at my laptop 24/7, but when I did check late this afternoon, you hadn’t yet posted, so I had to check again before I went to bed and there you were at last! Glad you made it, tight though it was! So I’ll now be sending positive blogging energy your way till the end of the year in the hopes that you won’t be rendered catatonic by missing a day at this late stage.
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I’m just so flattered that you came looking for me 🙂 And incredibly glad that I made it in time. I was freaking out on the bus. Unless someone has been along for the journey, it sounds so stupid to explain my need to post a blog before midnight. Thanks for the positive energy – I’ll need it through the holidays, when I’d rather be drinking Egg Nog than writing about it.
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I failed way back. I started out making sure I answered the actual challenge questions each day. Not many people do that. Then some of the questions annoyed me and I began picking and choosing. Also I like to not use the internet on the Jewish Shabbat and tried scheduling posts, but that that was too much bother and I finally just stopped feeling obligated to post every day and pretty much don’t post on weekends. Guess I am now in the post a week group.
I still love the challenge, love reading what others have said, my writing is improving, and I;m happy. . By the way have you noticed the person who just posts the same thing every day. I am part of the post a day challenge is all he says. Gives me a chuckle. So you are doing great and stay strong
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Post a Week is plenty commendable. It’s the sense of regularity that’s to be applauded. Even once a week is enough to improve your writing, just like you said. lol and no, I haven’t had a run-in with the robot blogger but I’m going to go look right now. 🙂 Thanks for the kind words – I can almost taste victory!
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I’m just glad nothing horrible had happened and that you weren’t so sick that you couldn’t post. I had checked for your post at 11:30 exactly and was like “Jackie, are you ok?…Jackie?”
So glad you made it, though. Wishing you the best of luck to complete your goal. The holidays are upon us and you might want to consider some sort of portable web connection for those get-togethers that are inevitably going to take you to the land of internet silence. Thankfully, I’m not in the position where it is a sanity-threatening must, but then again, how long can one spend with extended family before they run the chance of a psychotic episode anyways?
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I’m so tickled that you checked on me. I’m going to have to think ahead for the holidays and always be sure that there’s at least a cafe nearby in case of emergency. I should also probably write a few decent drafts for moments of weakness. A dud post can look awful beautiful when I’m pressed for time.
Thanks for the encouragement – here’s to the home stretch!
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You did it – good girl! Sorry your bus ride was depressingly free of characters, though.
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aaaaaaaaaaah characters!
I was going to tell you there were plenty and then I realized you were doing that clever thing again. Gets me every time.
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I’m sending much admiration your way… I know I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with daily posts, especially if it was under the gun like that.
Since you called my bluff and got me into the Post a Week challenge I wrote something on Friday and sat on it until Sunday so it would could toward a new week. (http://wp.me/p1LaJk-jJ).
That’s what makes me a horrible person and makes you unhorrible. haha…
Keep up the good work.
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I love lots of things about your blog right now. Like the challenge you’re taking up. And the NatalieDee shout out. And the term crack-of-ass Friday.
Also, get a Dyson. Get one. GET ONE. I could spend an entire post convincing you. That’s how much I love it. And some day when I’m hard up for a post topic, I just might.
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If you should find yourself in a similar situation again, consider cheating. Post when you can and then change the publishing date. You can do that by editing the article, somewhere on the top right it says “published on” and there is an edit option. So you can change that to another day or time, if you want.
No one will notice, if you were just little late in the middle of the night. You could always say it was an internet glitch. 😉
I have used it to sort articles.
I considered using it when I didn’t feel like writing my promised Sunday post on time.
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I had no idea that cheating was an option. No idea whatsoever. Yoooooooooooou sneaky devil! Thanks for the tip!
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