Anyway, that’s not what I’m writing about. I’m writing about me, and how all that has affected me.

Recently an anonymous writer left a comment to my last post, which was written over a month ago, asking, “Eric, Where are you???” Well, the unfortunate answer is that I’m in the land of the over-committed. Reading anon’s question started me thinking, and I realize that not only is my time over-committed, but so is my mind. I’m so far lost in the forest of local issues, that I can no longer see any single tree clearly enough to write about it.

In early June, this over-commitment came to a head when I was asked to assume the role of co-acting director of the John Jermain Memorial Library. This came shortly after I was asked to serve as the treasurer for a local candidate’s political campaign. I agreed to both. As some of you know, I also serve in other capacities for other organizations and committees. Anyway, those last two additions to my schedule were the straws that broke the blog. I literally have no time. As I’m writing this, I’m also thinking of at least three other things I could/should be doing, and will have to do when I finish, and none of them are reading the latest Harry Potter, which I really would like to be doing.

So, as you can see, though I’m feeling a bit sorry for myself, I think I have an excellent reason for not keeping up with my blogging. But, the truth is that I really like blogging, and it’s important to me. Other things that are important to me have also been neglected of late: my family, my health, my home. The first two are the most important things in my life. The third is also way up there on my priority list. This blog ranks pretty high too. Yet, I’ve been ignoring them all. Not good.

It’s not that the things I have been doing aren’t important — I’m not just sitting around watching reruns of South Park. Even so, I see a need to reorder my priorities, if for no other reason than, as things now stand, I’m not really capable of giving each of my commitments the attention it deserves. That became obvious recently, when I found that I just couldn’t justify the time to attend the meetings of one of organizations on which I serve; so a few months ago I just stopped going. Now if I can just find the time, I’ll write a letter of resignation…

More relief is on the way. The library Trustees are, I believe, close to making a decision on hiring a new director, which means that soon I can stop attending Trustee meetings, and working every other Saturday, and start doing only one job during the work week instead of two.

As for the rest, I’m just going to have to find a way to communicate to each of the groups I belong to that my commitment there is of a limited nature. I will have to say no when asked to take on new responsibilities. I will not be joining your group, organization, campaign or attending your meeting, workshop or fund-raiser, so please don’t ask. This will be hard, because I really care deeply about our community. I want to fix Sag Hampton (the region), but not at the expense of breaking me.

If all goes as planned, I may even find the time and the perspective to fix Sag Hampton (the blog). We’ll see…
—————————————————–
Currently not reading: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
and certainly not watching South Park by Trey Parker and Matt Stone

I gather these statistics from a few different sources, which tell me how many readers I have, and where they are from, but not who they are. So, unless you leave a comment signed with your real name (not required), I have no idea who is reading the blog. It is fascinating, though to discover that I have had readers from all over the world, including what seem to be repeat readers in Germany, England, California and other far off locations.

It’s comforting to have these statistics, because as much as I enjoy writing these articles, it wouldn’t be half as much fun if no one was reading them, and, since not that many readers leave comments on the blog, without the statical reports, I just wouldn’t know if anyone was out there.

During the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to write about many interesting topics, some controversial, some not, some personal, some not, some informative, and some just for fun. Being the one who picks the topics is both challenging — I often have no idea what I’m going to write about when I start a post — and inspiring. Having the responsibility of  picking meaningful topics, has often inspired me to write something of which I end up being quite proud.

Herewith, the highs and lows (in my opinion) of my first year as a blogger:

Best Post: 98.6 Miles – Maybe the best thing I’ve ever written.

Best Comment: I wrote about an op-ed piece that Robbie Vorhaus wrote for the Sag Harbor Express and then he commented on my blog post. It was a real thrill for me to have someone I wrote about read and comment on what I had written. The post was called What I Learned About Love Today, and Robbie Vorhaus’ comment can be found at the end of the post.

Funniest Post: What’s In a Name? – This one was written by my wife, Bobbie. We got a lot of comments about this one, both on line and in person.

Most Childish Post: A Mess for S.G.  – Really pointless, although one reader did comment that he thought it was “hilarious.”

Most Rewarding Moment: This is a tie. My first most rewarding moment, came at a Sag Hampton gathering where I was introduced to the head of a local real estate company who, it turns out, had been reading Sag Hampton. He proceeded to let me know why my attitude about the gentrification of Sag Hampton (I hate it) was wrong. While I didn’t, and still don’t, agree with him, it was very gratifying to learn that he was a Sag Hampton reader! The other most rewarding moment was when the post I wrote about Robbie Vorhaus’ column (mentioned above) was in turn written about by Jennifer Jones in her blog, Goodness, Graciousness. I have a great deal of respect for Jennifer, so to have her pick up a topic from Sag Hampton was very meaningful for me.

Biggest Disappointment: Only 101 comments. (Unfortunately, that number is misleadingly high, since some of those are my responses to others’ comments.) As I’ve said before, one of the main reasons I started this blog was in the hope that it would evolve into a forum of sorts where everyone was welcome to express their thoughts and opinions on a broad range of topics relevant to the Sag Hampton area — and certainly we have had a bit of that going on. But, I hoped for more, and still do. Maybe it’s me. Maybe I just don’t write about the right things, or maybe I don’t write well enough keep you engaged. If that’s so, then I accept that I’m never going to see the volume of comments I had hoped for.

But, if it’s not me. If the topics I write about do interest you, and if I am writing well enough to keep you reading to the end, then I want to encourage you to click on the words “Post a Comment,” or sometimes “Leave Comment” that follow each post, and let me, and the other readers of Sag Hampton, know what you think. (By the way, if there are already comments on a post, the words “Leave Comment” are replaced by “X Comments,” where X is the number of comments already left. In that case, just click on “X Comments” to add yours.) Oh, and if someone has already commented, and you want to comment on their comment, you can do that too. You don’t have to register – that’s optional. You don’t even have to leave your name – just check the box that says “Post Anonymously.”

With that said, let me sincerely thank you for making Sag Hampton part of your world over these past months. With your encouragement, I’ve really enjoyed my first year as a blogger. Looking ahead…well, I’m not sure what I’ll be writing about, but I’ll do my best to keep it lively, and  I hope you’ll do your part too…go ahead, just click below and have your say.

—————————————————–
Currently listening to: The Late Greats by Wilco

Powered by ScribeFire.

5/8/07 Update: Here’s the link to the Riverhead Free Library’s new website that Corinne, Andre and I created.

—————————————–
Currently listening to: I Will Survive by the Puppini Sisters