Anybody Home?

Sometimes in the middle of the night, there's these little, very quiet but very persistent tapping noises. Tap, tap, tap, tink.... and they're coming not from the window (that would be incredibly creepy and would require some serious talent) but from the computer. From the screen, more exactly. And it's my twenty-one followers (I have as many followers as the birthday I'm turning next month, how cool is that?) wondering where exactly the newest post is. Maybe not the newest Things to Know: International Edition which, while very fun to write, doesn't really give me a chance to stretch my vocabulary and my snark with the relative ease that you've all become accustomed to.

In other words, where's the post in which Louise analyzes things and looks at life a little crookedly? You'd think that spending little over a month in a foreign country, I've have a massive to-do list of stuff to write about that that I could, more or less, pick at.

Not so much.

Truthfully, I've been commenting more than I've been writing. That's okay, too. It means that I'm stepping out of my proverbial blogging comfort zone and becoming more involved with the blogs that I follow and read. Means I'm not really lurking as much in the background anymore. In other words, I'm not just sitting there like a lump in class without opening my mouth when the tutor asks a question. Those times when you swear you can hear crickets? Maybe even the ocean slapping on the shore? Hell, I can probably hear cars going by the house in Townsend if I really try during those times. Instead, now it's like I'm actually sitting up straight, putting my hand up, and putting something out there.

I have no problem doing this with writing. And apparently no issues doing the same in class.

There really just hasn't been much to talk about. Last time I did a post about writing I talked about going to see Dylan Thomas, his boathouse, and the shed where he wrote. Yesterday was a trip to the cliffs at Gower (and if I can change my Flickr to Photobucket here on the blog, that would be fabulous, as there are more pictures up) and then into Swansea. The shopping center at Swansea, and you all know how I am with shopping centers. There was a bookstore and a Starbucks - though not in the same store - so it was all good.

Actually, an interesting thing to note is that there is more of a selection for the native UK authors. I very much like Terry Pratchett - his Tiffany Aching series is wonderful, as was his compilation with Neil Gaiman on Good Omens - and I picked up another book by Mr. Pratchett. It's part of his Discworld series (give me some time, I'm still trying to figure out if I can really handle that) but not overtly. And deals with vampires and witches. Two of my favorite things. In one place.

New book, peppermint mocha from Starbucks, and a Student Railcard - hell, I'm nigh unstoppable.

And Halloween weekend I'm taking London by storm.

I might have explained this before, but I'll say it again. I've an interesting philosophy about life. I'd rather be looking back twenty years from now going, Damn it, I shouldn't have done that at the time rather than, Damn it, I should have done that. Almost like begging for forgiveness instead of asking for permission. I'm on this side of the ocean for three months. I might never get to come back. Or I might like it so much that I move here when I'm done with college. That would be incredibly difficult considering how much being close my family means to me - especially a certain Mayhem Maker - but it would be one of those things that you think long and hard about. Couple that with the fact that I've hit the halfway point of my collegiate career, and I seriously need to start thinking about what I'm doing after I get to toss my cap at graduation. Do I start looking for a "real" job while working as a waitress, or do I stay in school for some graduate work in the forensics field. That would require me to get into grad school of some kind. And do I get my Masters degree in teaching while I'm at it? Or do I do something completely different?

Like most of life, I've got a ton of questions and not a lot of answers. At least not yet. And really, that's my preferred method of rolling with it.

Speaking of rolling with it, Sundays are the days that I call home. Puts me in a bit of a mellowed-out mood because it leaves me feeling a little homesick, but it catches me up on the stuff that's happened since the last time I called.

The Code Enforcement Officer of our county has issued official paperwork to my parents to move the junk car - namely, the red, '93 Oldsmobile - from the driveway.

Despite the fact that I'm over three thousand miles away, I'm insulted that man called my car a piece of junk. Trust me, there's a very good reason that it's been sitting in the driveway for as long as it has. See, the girl who normally drives it to and from wherever she needs to go, well, she's currently studying abroad in a foreign country. For three months. Which means, dumbass, that she's coming back in December and even though her license would have expired a month previous, she'd still like to be able to have some form of transportation. Namely, her beloved Fred.

People amaze me.

Now, we all know I'm pretty good with stream of consciousness stuff, and while I've been sitting here deciding whether to wrap this up or what to say further, I've had a thought. Not quite a moment of brilliance, but, well, those only come at certain moments. Only when the nine planets align in true formation and considering that Pluto isn't a planet anymore, moments of brilliance might get a little far and few between.

Anyway. Now, I know my Things to Know sections are what's called A Wandering Sage Original, and so are the posts about the Foci, should I make another original? Have weekly guest posts (though I don't think I know enough people to have them guest post) or do a question and answer session (though that would require getting emails and my inbox is kind of empty) or maybe giving something away (what exactly would that be?) to kind of spice things up? Do I need to spice things up? I mean, I have twenty-one followers. I used to have twelve. I've grown a little bit (as a human I've grown a bit more than the blog, but as a blog, I've grown more, if that makes any sense) but I'm not a household name. Do I even want to be a household name? Sure, everybody wants a bigger readership, but that means more posting and more talking about serious things and giving insight....or maybe it doesn't.

Maybe I should simply Keep Calm and Carry On. Seemed to work just fine for the English. Then again, so did Lie Back and Think of England. Take that one as you will.

I guess what I'm trying to ask my faithful twenty-one official followers (and all you lurkers out there, I know you're watching) and anybody else who happened to more or less fall gracelessly onto the site, are you happy with what's being produced or is something missing?

Actually, I'm assuming that if you didn't like the blog, you wouldn't be following, and you wouldn't have made it this far into the post. That being said, the previous question still stands.

As for me, I need to get some sleep as I have to teach small children in the morning. Foci not included.