Just Another Writer

I’m sure I’m not alone with experiencing highly variable traffic. I got thousands of page views for a couple of days after my Three Little Blogs post was linked to by several other bloggers, but usually my stats look more like this:

Yesterday was better than usual. Thank you StumbleUpon people! I also accidentally submitted my own post to Reddit while I was jacking around with those buttons at the bottom of each page. I got about 50 page views from that little adventure.

So, what will Monday bring? Your guess is as good as mine! Leave your estimate in the comments, and the person who guesses the closest will win a copy of The 4-Hour Workweek. I’ll take a screenshot of my stats again on Tuesday, and you can see how close you came.

Happy Monday!

I’m not feelin’ it right now. I had one back-up post, and I’ve used it. The post I tried to write last night is crap, and shouldn’t be posted. I can’t think.

Here’s the deal. I found out Saturday morning that my closest colleague (my co-teacher) died. I am sad, and my head is spinning with the whole concept of returning to work on Thursday and him not being there. I ask myself how I will process it with the students. I’m dealing with my principal telling me details I wish I didn’t know about his death and somehow being in the position of being a contact person for others in this regard.

I remember that I have a blog, and that I want to make money as a writer, but I don’t care all that much at the moment. Writing articles about ways to increase online popularity right now just seems frivolous beyond belief.

Of course, I realize that it’s not really frivolous. It just feels that way to me. Which is where the question comes in–how far am I willing to take things with this blogging thing?

If I was working at say, Glamour magazine, and I had to write an article about the trendiest eyeshadows or else, you bet I’d be doing it. But without a boss cracking a whip over my head at times like this, I’m just not motivated.

How do the rest of you deal with your own business endeavors when the stuff in your head or your life becomes overwhelming? Are you able to compartmentalize? Do you take days off? How do you manage?

It is kinda funny that I’m guest posting over at Anke’s blog, where the Buy Me A Beer plug-in originated. That I dissed. And yes, there it is, right under my post! Check it out, it’s called Creativity 101: 5 Ways To Get Your Writing Groove On.

Okay, let’s heat things up a little around here. Anyone up for a game of strip poker? You’ve got the fan going, but it’s still hot, so why not take off some clothes? It’s a great time of year for it, unless you happen to live in that unbelievable part of the world where it is cold right now, in which case you can simply crank up the heat.

Here is what you need to do in order to play.

1. Get out a pack of cards.

2. Log on to Bloggrrl.com

3. Take off one item of clothing.

4. Deal yourself a hand of cards.

5. If it sucks, take off another item of clothing.

6. Deal yourself a new hand. If it’s good then celebrate by reading a Bloggrrl post.

7. Keep on dealing hands, reading Bloggrrl and taking off your clothes until you feel cooler.

8. Log on to your own blog and mention this contest and your favorite post.

And why should you do this, you ask? Well, because it’s hot, and it feels good to not wear clothes when it’s hot. And because you like Bloggrrl.com.

And, because you should have nice underwear when you play strip poker. Do you remember the underwear post? I was looking at underwear because…guess what you can win for participating in this contest? That’s right, new underwear that won’t embarrass you during a game of strip poker, or anywhere else for that matter!

The Prize:

A $50 gift certificate to Victoria’s Secret if the winner is a lady (or a gentleman who enjoys giving sexy gifts) or…

A $50 gift certificate to Amazon for the guys. Remember, they have a very wide selection! Of course, you girls can opt for the Amazon instead if you wish!

The winner will be selected by an impartial party who will send me a random number. This person will be identified at the end of the contest.

Caveat: Sucky blogs that only post prize entries and don’t provide any service to their readers will not be entered into this contest. I will personally contact bloggers who I believe run good contest blogs and request that the contest be featured.

So there it is. The very first (I think) online strip-poker blog contest. Have fun!

This contest lasts until August 31, 12:00 a.m. Central.