Soul Sucker

I just deleted a post I just wrote gushing about my new iPhone. It wasn't even up for 5 minutes, and I was thinking merlin, what did I just post? No one cares! and deleted it. These three sentences basically are all you need to know about it - I got one, I love it, wanna suggest some free apps?

Now the actual reason for this blog. I have been thinking about the internet lately. More specifically, cutting back. (Ironic, because I just got a smart phone which will give me unlimited access.) I never use tumblr anymore, even after I've allowed myself to go back on it. I just don't care anymore. And I rarely go on YouTube after my month-long absence. Again, I just don't care. I think I'm going to clean out my subscriptions when I get home, and basically just start following Hank and John. And probably Mike Lombardo and maybe a few others, but honestly, Hank and John are pretty much the only ones I actually watch anymore. The rest I just delete. So. There's that.

I've also unconsciously cut Twitter down a lot. I rarely use it for my personal account anymore. I use it for the HPA a lot, but I don't go on Twitter a lot at home. Again, I just don't really care. I think I might go through my followers and cut some of them out too - not to piss people off (which I hope doesn't happen), but because, I'm sorry, I just don't care. But then again, maybe I'll just sign off for a while and see what happens.

Facebook I don't really enjoy, either. I go on it because a) I'm bored and b) a lot of my IRL friends that I don't see often are on there, and I want to keep in touch with them. But I don't care. I haven't liked Facebook for quite a long time, actually. I like it for sharing photos, but...honestly, that's almost it. I wouldn't delete my account, because of all of the photos I have on there that aren't mine, but I like.

So as you can see, I'm considering just signing out of social networking sites for a while. Unplugging. I've been so plugged in for so long, and it's cut into my creativity. I am either a) on the internet or b) watching Doctor Who (at least, that's how it is right now). I want to write. But every time I say that, it never happens, because the internet happens, or Doctor Who happens, or reading happens, or something. After I finish Series 1 of Doctor Who, which I have borrowed from the library, I'm going to lay off the tv shows for a while. I'm going to concentrate on reading and writing. Maybe some other crafty type stuff. But also seeing friends and hanging out. Maybe watching some more films on Netflix, which may seem a lot like watching tv, but it's not, I promise. It's inspiring for me. So, I'm going to finish my screenplay. By the end of the month. That is my goal. And then maybe start on another writing project. We'll see how July goes. So. Starting now (well, after I post notices on Twitter and Facebook so people don't get concerned if I don't respond) I am signing out, unplugging, for a week. See if I miss it or not.

2011 Goals

Alan Lastufka inspired me to write this. He wrote a blog recently on his to-do list for next year, and I thought that that was a fantastic idea, especially if I got to look back and see everything that I accomplished at the end of the year.

Short Term
- Exercise every day. (I struggle so hard to exercise, but I know it's the key to keeping the weight that I lost off. So this is number one on my list.)
- Finish updating my website. (It's almost done! I just need the gallery in there.)
- Get my own domain for said website. (I don't want to be sith.headlock.ws anymore or jbutler16.gcsweb.nait.ca or whatever my school website was. I just want a jodi.a.butler.com or something.)
- Read more offline. (I read a lot online. Blog posts, Facebook notes, fanfiction...I want to take that reading offline. Well, some of it.)
- Ask Remus for coffee. (Remus happens to be the guy I like. I'm not going to actually tell you what his real name is, but he is the Remus to my Tonks. Or at least, that is my hope.)

Long Term
- Write a blog at least once a week. (I really enjoyed VEDA, so I'd like to try to start posting again. About real stuff, mind you. Not me venting and all that nasty stuff.)
- Finish a big writing project that is not fandom related. (I love fandom stuff so much. But fanfiction is pretty much all I've been writing lately and I have so many ideas that aren't fandom related. But they never get written because fanfiction is easier. So I want to write a novel, play, screenplay, or hell, even a series of short stories that has nothing to do with a fandom.)
- Meet the Vlogbrothers IRL (...nuff said.)
- Do more for the HPA (I feel like I don't do enough for this amazing amazing organization. And I want to change that.)
- Maintain my weight loss. (I'm terrified I'm going to gain all the weight I lost back. So, that's why this is both a short term and a long term goal.)
- Less time doing nothing online. (I spend so much time just clicking and clicking and clicking and doing nothing. I could be accomplishing something during that time!)
- Read every book on my bookshelf. (I have a lot of unread books on my bookshelf. 15, actually. So I want to read those, and all of the ones I've already read, because they're good.)
- Attend LeakyCon 2010. (I fully plan to, but money is tight, so this is still a goal, and not quite a given at this point.)
- Go to my first wrock concert! (LeakyCon will take care of this baby for me)

Fandom-related (aka goals for LeakyCon)
- Go to my first wrock concert!
- Meet as many HPA peeps IRL as possible!
- Get photographs with every single HPA person I meet.
- Fill up my fandom journal.