Happy Anniversary?

I wish I had never needed to create Rider's Block.

That's a hell of a thing to say on the one-year anniversary of this blog, but it's a sad fact.

I was happier when I was young(er) and stupid(er) and using my real name. My original blog was about my life and everything I loved: family, friends, work, and pop culture. A conniving bitch I now call "June Chipmunk" put an end to all that. She taught me to fear artistic integrity on the Innertubes. She taught me there's no such thing as freedom of speech in a hobby you do on your own time. She taught me that a blog can cost you a dream job.

One year ago I made a decision to keep blogging. But I didn't do it for the usual bullshit reasons.

For example, I never considered wasting anyone's time with posts consisting of a title and a found image...and that's it.

And it's not my style to regularly embed YouTube videos and call it original content. That's tantamount to receiving forwarded emails from your sister featuring ugly pets or cute babies. I delete those sight unseen, and you should too. I'd prefer one quality email from my sis about something funny that happened to her, over the last ten forwarded pictures she put no thought into (as funny as this one is).

I continued blogging because I love to write.

But shutting down the last blog and creating Rider's Block meant changing the way I write. And I don't mean just creating a new name and persona for myself. (Or splitting off discussion about family life into an entirely separate blog.)

It meant avoiding writing about work. There are so many quality stories I can never tell on this blog. That really sucks. I could've written at least one extra post per week on the fucktards I meet on my job. The material practically writes itself. (The good news is that I recently figured out how to delve into some of those stories.*)

Anyway, Rider's Block is one year old. Technically, it should be one more year older and named something else--but you play the cards you're dealt. I was dealt a goddamn shitty hand, but it is what it is.

If you've been around since the beginning, thanks for reading. I'll continue writing. Stephanie P. will help out.**

And if you've stumbled across Rider's Block by way of Google search, stick around. There's more to life than Beowulf.


* I'll say this in advance: future stories on Rider's Block about coworkers are based on fact.
** Stephanie's got more to say than most female bloggers I've lost interest in. Be thankful she doesn't write poems about her dead pet, or that scarf she bought on clearance, or eight paragraphs about her writer's block that leave you wondering what the point was. Or memes! Dear Jebus, the memes! Plus she doesn't command you to worship her. Refreshing, no?