Focusing on the Right Five Inches

I haven't posted for 12 days. For some reason, it feels like it has been much longer. When I logged into my Google Reader account tonight, Clyde - who has been away from blogging for three months - had four posts up since my most recent post (welcome back, Clyde!). But a period of rest and rejuvenation can be good, too. Patrick is going strong again after a hiatus for the entire spring. It's time for me to go strong again, too.

For most of the past 12 days I have been researching televisions. Our house is 15 years old and suddenly needed a bit of a face lift. That original coat of interior paint had long since faded into the drywall. Cheap carpets were showing the wear of kids and our dog. And our entertainment center was from the time before HDTV.

So I have been researching TVs. Intensely. I wish there was some kind of quiz show to go on and show off my new knowledge. "I'll take plasma vs. LCD and LED viewing angles for $200, Alex." But really, I cannot tell you how many hours I wasted spent identifying the exact set that could produce a picture that was so good that...honestly my naked eye probably couldn't distinguish from a dozen other TVs. 

My point is that I've just put intense focus into something that will have a marginal return on my quality of life. Whether I buy a Panasonic, Samsung, or Visio, I'll be watching the same programs. And let's face it, a more "inky" picture quality won't make the jokes any funnier on Saturday Night Live. 

For the past week, we've had rectangles taped to our wall representing different set sizes in five inch increments. It's a strategy I recommend before purchasing a new television. But the inches I need to be focused on are around my waist. And now, that's where my focus will be. 

New blog approach

For the foreseeable future, I'll be blogging differently, with heightened urgency. I'll try to post daily, or near daily, but the posts will be more journal-like. These stream of consciousness entries will share my thoughts as they happen, rather than shooting for each post to stand out as a stand alone quality piece of writing. Some posts will be very short and I'm guessing few will have pictures. 

I think at one point I wanted to be a good blogger who lost weight. Now, I want to lose weight, with the blog as a tool to help me sustain focus. I hope you'll still enjoy reading. Mostly, I hope to find renewed focus and be able to process the struggles and lessons I encounter along the way here. 

And still be a little funny. ;-)