Writing alone is like alcoholism

[compilerbitch]

It just occurred to me that writing is an essentially solitary act. Enjoyable, a kick in and of itself. Medium as opiate of the individual. But, there is guilt associated with this. Should I be doing something more useful? Does anyone really care about what other people write, still less me?

The analogy with drinking is clear. Enjoyable in and of itself. Damaging in excess. Guilt.

Somehow, people don't seem to mind about drinking as a group activity. It legitimises the act -- the social interaction involved offsets worries about its self-destructive nature. Likewise, LJ allows the process of writing to become shared. It's not email. It's not a BBS, or anything resembling IRC. It's not communication in the strictest sense -- it's instant gratification, click-here vanity publishing. No guilt required.

I love it.

Comments

[doseybat.livejournal.com]

i file actvities as "profitable for work acheivement", "profitable for hobby ahceivement", "profitable for social acheivement" or "not profitable". if i manage to file a given activity under one of the first three then it counts as a Life Improvement Activity and hence no guilt.

you can easily guess which one LJ is currently filed under.

i firmly believe that my third (social) type of acheivement is in some ways more important then the first two, having spent some time not doing any of it, and then watching the results *shudders*

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean. I'm currently avoiding happy hour at the CL because the room is packed with people, there's nowhere I can sit down other than the floor, and I don't know anyone. My arthritis isn't that bad today, but my hips & ankles are starting to complain a bit so a lot of standing around isn't really on. I've already done quite a lot today, (e.g. lots of clothes washing, wandering around college, going to various bits of the lab, etc.) so I'm getting towards my limit I think.

I just don't have the guts to ask for a seat in the coffee room, even though I'm sure someone would be happy to relinquish theirs if they knew what my problem was. I don't want to ask, because I don't really want to admit to anyone (including myself) that I can't do normal amounts of physically demanding actions that most people would take for granted.

I'm annoyed at myself for being so cowardly.

[doseybat.livejournal.com]

how about just quietly dragging in a chair from next door?