“Strange Notations from a Laborious Life” is a new name for my blog, the blandness of “Matthew Sumner’s Blog” finally becoming too much for my patience to bear.
The seed for this name change was planted earlier this week as I stood, laboriously labouring away at work, all colour and motion draining from my life, curmudgeons all about me, the road ahead slight and hazy and all uphill, the sun setting on the hopes and dreams of workplace happiness as I enter middle age. The notion dawned on me that I was stuck in the mire with the rabble for the rest of my working days and barring a miracle there is no hope for redemption, no light on the hill, no fair maiden of fortune to drag me away from the lonely toil which is my lot to endure. Traversing my private road to Calvary I carry my burden onwards on upwards, knowing my fate is a foregone conclusion.
I have no qualifications. Learning doesn’t interest me. I have neither the intellect or the inclination to obtain a job where responsibility is required and great deeds and work expected. I’ve not the stomach for it nor the brains. Which leaves me in a bit of quandary.
Feverishly, desperately, my mind raced as the imaginary shackles tightened around my wrists and the heavy boot of time forced me to the ground, ribcage crushed, breathing shallow as my lungs struggled to survive under the forceful weight of destiny.
What can I do to escape the bonds of this mind blowing place of evil, this cauldron of tedium, this coven of fools? Maybe I can become a professional writer!?
I certainly don’t have any pretensions to greatness and I realise writing a blog hardly makes me the heir to Charles Dickens and his literary genius but others on the net have succeeded from similar humble backgrounds so why not I? I have no formal training as a writer, only a few half finished writing courses. I will and do survive on my own instincts, my own imagination and my own ideas. If that’s not enough then so be it. I will live or die by my own sword.
But of course, one has to give themselves a chance to be noticed. So I perused the web, Googling,”how to write a successful blog” and it seems this topic is an industry in itself. Every second person with a computer seems to be intent on making themselves the next JK Rowlings and the number of blogs which proliferate on the internet is mind boggling and it certainly is a cut-throat business for anyone wishing to be noticed and stand out from the crowd on this spinning blue ball of six billion people.
I found a few reasonable tips and have tried to implement them. I have labelled all my posts, itself a time consuming job, rearranged gadgets and changed the font. Hopefully the layout is more attractive than what it was. Who knows when an unsuspecting publisher will stumble onto my blog, marvel at the design then, after being blown away by the words, offer me a book contract. Likely? No. Possible? Yes. We all live in hope.
The major change of course, one which I have been pondering for some time, is a change of name for the blog. I have always been a little bit annoyed by the title. “Matthew Sumner’s Blog” certainly hangs out there for all to see, putting my moniker front and centre. All other successful blogs seem to have humorous titles, much thought and wit behind them, and I felt mine should be the same.
As I stood guard at the Bar Code Sorter on Thursday I pondered a new name for my blog as letter after letter rattled through the machine like a never ending road train across the desolation of the outback and thought after thought flowed through my mind and a few ideas began to formulate.
“Journey Through the Mind’s Eye-The Life, Loves and Observations of Matthew C Sumner”, was the first change I considered. As my time on the barcoder wore on and my patience thinned and frustration mounted, “Rocket Sled ride to Hell-A Blog by Matthew Sumner”, began to be favoured. Finally, the idea that won the day became implanted and it is the one you will see at the top of my blog page today. But fear not. It is only a trial and anyone so disposed can comment “yay” or “nay” in regards to it or any of the other titles mentioned in this post. If you liked the simple yet bland, “Matthew Sumner’s Blog” then please don’t hesitate to mention it as well. I may even post a poll.
So a new era begins for my blog and it will be interesting to see if the changes have any effect. I still hope to add a few features so my experimentation is not done yet. Hope you all enjoy the changes and remember to post your thoughts or preferences if you feel inclined.
Have a good night.
Strange Notations From a Laborious Life 