This blog is having an existential crisis.
Here it is, June 12 (holy cow!) and I haven’t posted anything since April 30. (Well, technically it was May 1 but some WordPress glitch or other dated it April 30). So much for my resolve to post at least four times every month.
With our lives moving faster than the speed of sound, there simply hasn’t been much time for blogging. But that’s just a convenient excuse.
The bigger reason is that John and I both are feeling a bit overexposed, digitally speaking. We spend much too much time online as it is, and if we’re going to share any aspect of our lives with the world we want it to mean something. For this very reason, I’ve decided to close my Facebook account (separate blog post coming about that). And now that we’ve passed a year in Panama, we believe we’ve said most of what needs to be said about what it’s like to live here. Imposing an arbitrary rule to post four times a month puts too much pressure on us to come up with meaningful content, and we don’t want to fall into a “posting for posting’s sake” rut.
When we started Latitude Adjustment, we intended it to be a chronicle of our travels. Because it coincided with our move to Panama and settling here into a new expat lifestyle, it became (and rightfully so) more of a “how to” manual for others contemplating the same move. If our blog has been of service in any way for future expats, we’re tremendously glad! And of course we’ll continue to pass along any information we think might be useful. But it’s time to return this puppy to its travelogue roots. That might mean fewer posts, but they’ll be more meaningful (at least for us) and more oriented to our journeys as we explore more of South America this year, and hit the Europe/Asia trail next year if all goes according to plan.
We realize that cutting the Facebook cord will make our readership count drop way off. But how many readers we have isn’t important. The people that are truly interested in what we have to say will stick with us – and those are the kinds of readers we want anyway.
All of this said, we did do a few things in May. Here’s the photographic evidence!
19 Comments
I will stick with you! Your blogs have helped us so much! We made the move to Boquete in February and haven’t looked back! Someday, I hope our paths cross. Enjoy your adventures and write when you can!
Carrie
Thank you, Carrie! Hope you’re enjoying your Boquete adventure so far. Let’s definitely get together sometime – just let us know if you’d like to grab lunch or something. Do you know about Jere McCormick’s Wednesday and Friday hikes? They’re a great way to meet people.
I, too, have come to realize that enjoying the journey is much better than trying to meet the unnecessary pressure for a self-imposed goal in writing your blog. Just write when you have time and feel like it. “Tranquilo”.
Absolutely, Connie, you get it 🙂 It’s all about the journey!
Beautifully said! If you dont have copy rights we may steal your sentiments in about 6 months from now and make a similar post. I spent so much time on the computer before retiring and thought I would be done with all that – but I am finding I am on just as much but now for different reasons – down the computer/ Facebook rabbit hole. We will always consider you both our friends and look foward to getting together to catch up in real time and in person when you can. We will however miss your very well written and entertaining blogs and posts! We just got back from PC and our visit to the Embassy. Very smooth. This week to get our drivers license. Chao for now Sharon – and John 🙂
Sent via the Samsung Galaxy Note® 3, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone
You guys are welcome to any of my stuff! 🙂 So glad our paths have crossed and we look forward to spending some time with you soon.
Too many bloggers do just what you described: they post for posting’s sake, and it shows in the (often poor) quality of the content. Kudos, Susan, for all the good posts, and we look forward to more of them…whenever it makes sense. See you and John in September when we’re back in Boquete! Things are moving along, properties in contract, ‘stuff’ liquidated and we’re practically on our way. Cheers!
Yay for you two! September will be here really soon. We look forward to seeing you when you get back. Sounds like you’ve done most of the hard stuff!
I realized the same thing a year ago. Everything was already out there, and since I was with friends all the time here, I didn’t want to then start blogging about what we were doing during the day. So I decided to end the blog. Three years was long enough for me to show my research, make the move here, and then spend about a year blogging about life in Panama. Ciao for now! See you in Boquete at next festival!
Aw, thanks! It was fun to meet you at the Jazz Fest this year and I hope we can spend more time when you’re back. Let us know if you’re going to be in the area anytime soon. Otherwise, see you in Feb!
This makes perfect sense, and I’ll still enjoy your blog – will look for random new posts as they come into being. Meanwhile, since I’ve just recently started following you. I have a great deal of catching up to do.!
Thanks! I just might have more time for blogging now that I’m off Facebook 😉 We look forward to see you progress with your plans and your blog!
Hey Susan. I’ll keep reading your blog and glad you are limiting the pressure. After all, down in Panama, you should be living with the South American vibe instead of having performance anxiety like we do. Haha. Seriously, your blog has inspired Terry and me to consider alt locations for our future retirement years, so thanks!
Thanks, Les. I really hope you and Terry can come down here for a visit sometime – we’d love to show you what expat life is all about! Love you both.
I know what you mean. Social networking takes too much time. I have to maintain my Facebook account for friends and family to contact me. I don’t actively communicate in it, but I do auto post to it from WP. My main focus is WordPress where I have met a lovey group of people, like yourselves. I will be reducing my posts. Initially I had hoped that social networking would help me sell my photography – not happening. It is the same as my website http://www.sherryfelix.com, which has been in existence for over 10 years. No one is interested in my prints. At least WP has given me some great connections. I hope you continue to post now and then 🙂
It’s a real quandary – how to find the right app or mix of apps that can let you stay in contact and share aspects of your life, without it taking OVER your life. I’ll still be posting, and maybe even more now that I’m off Facebook. And BTW, I love your photographs.
Thanks.
I totally understand. I go through spells more and more often where I have nothing to say, and then I feel guilty about neglecting the blog, and then tell myself it’s not supposed to be a job. I don’t spend much time on Facebook either so I miss a lot of stuff, but I like having it there if I wonder what someone has been doing. You, however, I’ll just pick up the phone to bug you! 😀
You can bug me anytime, amiga!