Life of a blog

I was checking in with the blogs that I have selected to follow on my own blog's "dashboard" and was interested to note that while two of them have regular and recent postings, one is updated only every other month, and several have not had a new entry in five months or more.

It started me thinking about the life-span of a blog. While I don't believe the act of capturing one's thoughts or writing about a new hobby is a fad, I do think that in most cases blogs start out as outgrowth of someone's or some group's specific situation. When that situation changes, either the blog changes or disappears altogether.

That is certainly the case in my situation. I began my Year of Musical Thinking in June of 2008. Over the next twelve months I posted 250 entries, roughly five a week. For the next twelve months I only have 58 entries, which is slightly more than one a week. And since June of 2010, I only have six entries--covering a period of more than six months.

This reflects a lot of other things going on in my life. In 2008, I was under-employed, disenfranchised from my industry and feeling at a loss where to go next and what challenge could re-invigorate me. While that didn't change directly during the first 12 months of my Musical Thinking, it did give me something else to focus on when the realities of employment and personal satisfaction were at their lowest point. The twelve months from June 2009 through June 2010 didn't change much in regard to the job, either, but I did start to focus on making changes to that; I "got myself out there" more, networked, applied for more jobs outside my industry, went on many more interviews--all of which prevented me from listening or watching to musical theater for this project.

In November of 2010 I started a new full-time job--the first full-time position I have held since 2003. The process of securing this job started in July of 2010. Although it was hardly all-consuming during the four months from application through start date, I did channel some of my under-utilized energy to something I saw as potentially positive and long-term. I have gone from performing arts administration to museum administration--certainly related industries requiring similar skill sets, but very different environments.

Do I regret leaving the performing arts behind. Yes--and no. I think I will always consider myself an arts professional, even while sitting in an office in a Museum, or social service agency, or health care facility, or university, or wherever my career takes me.

I certainly don't regret the situation in which I find myself employed now. I have specific tasks in the cog of the Museum's machinery--which is supported by a lot of other systems in the institution, and completely within my ability to accomplish. It is also an institution that can provide its employees with a lot of perqs I haven't had in a long time--health insurance, paid leave time, a pension (who knew those still existed!), as well as feel-good benefits like discounts at the Museum store and cafe. In the end, the theater or classical music industries wouldn't or couldn't give me many of those items unless I worked at a large-scale performing arts organization--and judging by the couple of interviews I had with "the big boys", they weren't interested in me.

With this life change and focus shift, I think now is as good a time as any to say "good-bye" to writing about my Musical Thinking.