The Undiscovered Country

Sabbatical

While social media can be fun, it’s also a time suck and a dumpster fire in the middle of a cesspool. It can also be a bit one-note in that people keep talking about the same thing over and over again. In this case, the thing-that-shall-not-be-named. Why dost I not name this thing, and how are you supposed to know right off this thing that I not be naming? A clue: Facebook and Twitter always puts fact-check notifications whenever someone mentions said thing-that-shall-not-be-named. It’s the thing that has taken over our lives for the last two years.

When there are so many other, more interesting and less frustrating things we could be talking about.

Back during an election year, I kicked myself off for an entire year. I was just as sick of all the same talk, all the same arguments, the same hateful rhetoric about and by the then candidates as I am about the thing-that-shall-not-be-named. I ended up writing over 250,000 words and a boon to my mental health.

I decided yesterday—on my birthday—that a similar social media sabbatical is in order. I need to finish editing one book, and begin the sequel of another. I even wrote the first page of said sequel (a fantasy) last night.

Does that mean I’ll spend more time here? Maybe. Hopefully. I’ve always liked the atmosphere here. It’s a quiet yet interesting neighborhood with no cesspools or dumpsters on fire.