Really? An ox? A stubborn fool-hardy beast of burden? Yeah yeah, they’re responsible hard workers, whatever.

I’m a SHEEP. I want to be left alone to my own creative devices. I want to be late to parties. I want to sleep in. I want to graze in the fields. I don’t want to work hard. That stuff is for THE MAN, man.

Oh, but the economy is bad. Hmm, okay. Oh, but I’m turning 30 this year, and it’s time to step it up in the personal goals department. Okay, that’s another one. Oh, and there’s this really niggling conscience part of me that is telling me to kick it into high gear this year or I could be out hitting the pavement like much of the country. Right, so there’s a really good one.

Okay, ox. You win this time. But six years from now? It’s my turn to shine.

Also, I live too much in my head.

This blog is another venue where I need to play catch up on. What with social networks like Twitter, Pownce, and Facebook grabbing my attention every which way, I’m almost wondering if there’s even a point to keeping a blog. Do I really need yet another venue to waste away my words? Can my thoughts really be summed up in short pithy sentences? As my experiences with the aforementioned social networks show, apparently it can.

Then there’s work. I’m feeling intense pressure right now to step up and be, well, better. Those who keep up with the news will probably understand where that’s coming from. Part of it is just being more organized and all that, but a tiny bit of that is also improving really mundane things like personal appearances and socialization.

And let’s not get started about catching up on one’s finances. Oy.

I think the fact that more people are subscribed to me on Twitter than on my own blog shows that, really, long-form personal blogging is a forgotten art. Everyone else is blogging about work, or pseudo-work, or funny jokey posts, or just succumbing to the short-form style by getting tumblelogs. I still have that personal Vox blog, but I hardly ever check it any more.

Heck, since it seems that only 12 or so people read this blog, maybe I should start writing on here again. Time to escape from all the nanoblogging craziness.

“Please turn off all electronic devices.”

In the last few years, I’ve heard this:

“Please turn off your cell phones, iPods, BlackBerries, laptops, and all other electronic devices”

I’d say about five years ago, I also heard “Gameboys” in there. I don’t hear it anymore.

There are a few things I’ve gleaned from this little observation: 1) iPods and BlackBerries are firmly in the cultural lexicon, and this will remain until they fall out of fashion, 2) that few other gadgets have attained such significance, and 3) these cultural markers are indicative of the current state of technology awareness. These named gadgets have also historically been groundbreakers — the Gameboy was THE handheld gaming system, the iPod is THE music player, and the BlackBerry is THE corporate communication tool. I can only think of a few more that have crossed this cultural barrier: Xerox is THE copy machine, and the Tivo is THE digital video recorder. That’s the mark of a truly successful marketing campaign (plus having a quality product helps).

It’ll be interesting to see if any of the gadgets we see at trade shows like CES ever attain that status.

• I’ve been to the dentist three times this year, and am about to visit her two more times (one to fix a problem, another for a follow-up filling). Five dentist visits in a year! That’s a record for me.
• Working for nothing is great when the nothing becomes something.
• I love the iPod nano’s form factor, but am frustrated by its storage capacity. Podcasts are currently taking a huge chunk of the space.
• I was on TiVo for a limited time.
• I love coming home when there’s still daylight (which is like 7 or 8 pm). It’s cheating my brain into thinking I got off work early.
• My main WoW guild is the bestest guild evar.
• I like going out for dinner as much as anyone. But there’s something wonderful about having dinner at home that can’t be beat. Even if it is just take-out.
• I’m feeling a little odd at my job. Hard to explain without incriminating myself.
• I really like being in the office alone, late at night. It’s so peaceful and quiet. There are days when I wish I could live here, like Bartleby.

That’s mostly it.

PS. The more I think about it, the more I think Bartleby’s situation applies to me. Scary.

To be fair, WoW is taking a humongous chunk of my time. You have no idea how long it takes just to level your tailoring from Expert to Artisan. Seriously.

More later.

This is not to mention the curious mix of highs and lows my new-ish social circle has afforded me. I won’t delve too much into the armchair psychology of it all, but suffice to say that I have experienced strange new delights that have somehow tangled with a pinch of drama. None of it affects me, yet all of it does, at the same time (Although with recent episodes, it seems it only really affects me at sleepless 3 a.m. moments). There is a danger, I think, in getting too attached to people. And I’ve been shamelessly flirting with that danger. (There’s also a tangent I could go off on the fragility of my ego, but that’s for another day).

Sometimes I wish things were easier; that I could go back to wading in clear blue waters again. But there’s something oddly satisfying about feeling that wet soil in between my toes, not being able to see my feet save for the occasional glimpse of my Candy Pink toenails.

Just as long as I remember to clean them once in awhile.

Maybe I’m being hypocritical about this — I’ve pretty much handed my life over to GMail. It’s Beta. Should I be scared? Maybe make backups of it? How do go about making backups of GMail? The implications! How much do we want to be a part of an ever-evolving system and never see a final product? Is it about the journey and not the destination? Maybe the industry needs to stop trying to develop cool and interesting applications just because they think it’ll sell? Can money not be the bottom line? Also, is it possible to mingle in a launch party without trying to promote one’s selfish interests? Can it actually be possible to use a social networking application NOT to try to be more popular, but just to meet new people? Is it possible to utilize one’s blog not for self-promotion, but for self-disclosure? Is there life outside of the Internet?

I don’t have all the answers. But the answer to that last question is: Yes. Yes, there’s life outside the Internet. Even in the heart of Silicon Valley. And you’re a fool if you don’t live it.

It’s all just. too. much.