This past week

This week I have mostly been sleeping.

Not just eight hours but solid eighteen hours during the day. My body seemed to need it and my mind didn't disagree. I woke up this morning feeling great - blood pumping, neurons racing and thoughts flying. My not-as-much-online week has done me well. I feel energised and a wee bit rambly.

That's not to say I haven't been busy. Not at all. I started, read and finished my first Haruki Murakami novel, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, and have to ask how I have gone so long without ever encountering him before. An amazing, enthralling book that prompts me to go and buy his others.

I watched movies. 12 Angry Men again graced our screens and I've promised myself to buy the screenplay and see it on stage before year end. It's just a magnificent piece of drama. I also caught the end of Little Miss Sunshine on RTE's midweek movie and forgot how much I liked that film.

I met some interesting people. Not in my bedroom of course, I did venture out, but this week more than the last three has reminded me just how diverse people can be and how simple it is to make a difference once you try.

I became a poster boy. Literally. I must get a good shot of it (post to follow) but there's been few reactions stranger than walking in to a crowded bar and seeing your own face staring back on a poster. We laughed, a lot.

I didn't involve myself in discussions. In forums I used to frequent, on blogs I read and even through Facebook I saw conversations to engage in, harsh words to react to and staunch defences I could have made, but didn't. Sometimes it's more interesting to stay outside of these things and let them fizzle out, particularly when it's all women and they're talking about personal issues. What's that quote about fools rushing in?

I've been researching. I had forgotten how much I enjoy going through the books, websites and blogs of online marketers, of industry and thought leaders and gleaning the knowledge they have to impart, to pick and choose and help form my own ideas. Looking back on the last ten years of my working life, I can see how each position I've held, be it cinema manager or community manager has given me a view on how people should be treated online.

I've been planning. I have loads to do with both this blog and my online presence. I have two more blogs in mind, which I hope to have completed by the end of February. I have a ton of videos to shoot, interviews to post and a complete redesign to plan. There's a lot coming up in the next while that I'll be involved in so time to start making the most of it.

Now, where do I begin? Well, a warm thanks for all the comments this month and to those who nominated any of my posts for Best Blog Post in the Irish Blog Awards. Much appreciated. The list is very impressive - many there I haven't read and look forward to perusing in the following week. Congratulations to all nominees.

I was looking for some way to finish this post when my eye caught upon Once Upon A Wicked Eye again, Pat Ingoldsby's new book, and I thought I'd give you a wee flavour:

Moc San Aer

I have never yet come upon a pig in helmet and goggles
that has crashed into a tree. Oh they can fly alright.