Happy New Year
As I wrote at the very beginning
of this year's writing odyssey, "all things end."
And so ends "The Daily Strick," after 100,000 words
and countless hours writing on a near-daily basis
about, as one reader put it, "political issues,
personal matters and whimsy." Has this experiment
been a success? It's hard to say. The intent was to
make myself write something every day of the year,
using the "blog" as a public writer's journal of
sorts. But the project quickly became something
bigger, as I often forced myself to write a more
developed, polished article or opinion piece. This
perfectionism transformed the project into much
more than I had bargained for, robbing me of sleep
on many a night as I composed the day's column at
the end of a very long workday. "The Daily Strick,"
thus, became more like a performance and less like
a tool.
This transformation was not inconsistent with
the project's original intent, however. The daily
writing exercise did indeed jumpstart my
creativity, and I did generate some worthwhile
pieces (some of which could be publishable with a
little adaptation, if I ever find the time). Best
of all, the composition of so many columns honed my
writing skills. So in that sense, one could
characterize the end result as a qualified success,
even if fewer than ten people read what I wrote on
any given day (after all, I was writing for myself,
right?).
As I look back on my life during this past year,
much of which has been chronicled in this forum, I
see lots of travels, lots of new friends, lots of
fun. But it is somewhat disappointing to find
myself asking some of the same questions I asked
myself last New Year's regarding the "Big Picture."
Like the San Diego Chargers, I made little forward
progress this year. One year later, I still lack a
real career, a soul mate, my own home—and I'm
not getting any younger. I certainly hope 2004
brings a lot more change for the better (and I do
realize that I have to create those changes
myself).
With the spare time I will ostensibly free up by
no longer obsessing on this "blog," I plan to clean
house, metaphorically speaking. My New Year's
resolution will be to take a long, hard look at
every aspect of my life and take action like a new
head coach coming in to turn around a failing
football team. I'll streamline operations,
eliminate waste, trim the fat and hand out pink
slips to most of the current coaching staff:
offensive coordinator Sloth, defensive coordinator
Procrastination and special teams coach Indecision.
Maybe we'll finally make it to the Super Bowl next
year.
To my loyal readers, as well as to the
occasional visitors, a sincere thank-you for tuning
in to read my daily rants and raves. It's been an
interesting journey, one that I've been proud to
make (despite the summer hiatus). Now it's time to
move on to bigger and better things. Best wishes to
all of you for health and happiness in 2004.
Do you have a favorite article from "The
Daily Strick"? Check out the Archives
and send
me your votes for a "Greatest Hits"
compendium. In the coming weeks, I'll review the
year's articles and post a listing of favorites.
Your comments are welcome, and will be posted along
with your "Greatest Hits" pick.
©2003 Michael
Strickland ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED
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