Today marks ten years since I began posting to this webspace. As I write this next entry in my series of annual reports about the status of this site, I have published 1,705 posts to this webspace (this will be 1,706), as well as revising individual pages, attracting 205,512 views from 61,633 visitors. As such, in the past year, I have published 178 posts, garnering 58,157 views from 16,609 visitors (per “Reflective Comments about the Ninth Year”). It is the best year I have had in this webspace, overall, and the most productive since 2016-2017, when I was developing a lot of instructional material and using this space for student information.
The following graphs present changes over time, noting posts, then views, then visitors.
It remains a pleasure to have this outlet and the time and energy to maintain it, even to the extent that I do so. I look forward to continuing my efforts here, as well as to offering writing to order. If you’d like to hire some done, please fill out the form below!
Tomorrow, as this posts, will mark fifteen years that I have been a husband. They have been the best fifteen I’ve had yet, and I’m looking forward to more than fifteen more of them. (I mean, I might not make it past 57–not everybody does. But I still look forward to more, even if I acknowledge I may well not get them.)
This is the traditional gift, isn’t it? Image from the maker’s website, here, used for mild parody.
There have been problems, of course; there could hardly not be. There have been strains. Some of them, we knew to expect setting out, my wife and I; we were both in grad school when we wedded, and I was still in the folly of my youth. (I’ve grown out of it; I’m now in the folly of middle age.) Some, we couldn’t’ve foreseen. Some, we’re still managing. None would I want to face without her, and none of the time with her would I give up to avoid them.
Tree though I am not, I can be a little sappy at times. But if not about my wife, then about whom (other than my daughter, whom I only have because of my wife)?
I can put together a custom message for your anniversary–or other special occasion! Fill out the form below to get yours started today!
Once again, as at this time last year, I sit to write with a steaming cup of coffee on the desk in front of me, looking ahead to another twelvemonth. At this time last year, I was looking at the opening of a new office, a shift in my main line of work and a continuation of my sideline work (of which this is part), and I’m pleased to report that things went relatively well with it. The office is still there, still going, and I’m still running it–with a bit more staff this time around. Too, some of my clients from the last pass have already started coming back to me, which tells me I did a decent job of it. There’s pleasure in that, to be sure. I’d be happy to have more business, of course, but I’m glad of what I’ve gotten so far and appreciate the clients who come in and come back.
Let’s make it a blast, eh? Photo by photoGraph on Pexels.com
Work at the office is not all of what I have going on, of course. There’re a few freelance pieces already queued up for me, monthly projects that should carry me into the second quarter of the year. I’ve got a couple of scholarly projects to address, as well, and in more earnest than I’ve approached them so far (which is my failure entirely; I’ve had time to work on them and haven’t done so nearly to the extent that they’ve deserved). I’m also working to submit poetry and other writing to contests and for publication. And in more personal endeavors–about which I might well write in this webspace–not only will I be pressing ahead with my Robin Hobb reread, I’m also helping to administer a fairly large play-by-post roleplaying game, with others in the offering for the year. So I’ll be busy, but I think it’ll be a good kind of busy.
As before, I mean to continue offering my writing and support services. I’m remain happy to take commissions for written-to-order pieces that do not use the persistent theft and all-too-common hallucinations and falsifications involved in AI-generated work, creating unique texts to meet your needs. Poetry, essays, memoirs, works of fiction, ad copy, press releases, business and technical documentation–I’m happy to work with you on any or all of them to help you craft the best possible work. Reader-review and copy-editing are also available, as always, as is support for writing instruction.
I remarked earlier in the week (here) that I might talk about part of what my wife, my daughter, and I did to mark my wife’s birthday in advance of the event, itself. Again, both my wife and I had to work on the day of and the day after, and our daughter was, as noted, away at camp. Consequently, it fell to the weekend before the day to celebrate the day–and we did so, most of it on Saturday, given other things going on. But that it was done early does not mean it was not done, nor yet that it was not enjoyed–as we’ve demonstrated before.
Picture actually related. Photo by Chait Goli on Pexels.com
The focus of our festivities was two-fold, both of which took us to San Antonio. The second of them did not go as well as might have been hoped; it wasn’t an elevator, but it did let us down. The first, though, was enjoyable; we went to the Día de los Muertos Museum in Fiesta at North Star. I’ll admit to some trepidation about visiting a museum that lives above a retail store–and there’s plenty of kitsch to be found in the store, although there’s also a lot worth finding there. And I’ll concede the touristy nature of the museum, itself–but there’s also a fair bit of good content in it, especially given that the museum is an “amateur” production. I do not think there is a formally trained curator on staff; I do, however, think it is a passion project of its ownership, and I can appreciate working on things out of a passion for it despite a lack of access to more “formal” resources.
Small as the museum is, it does work to offer context for the celebration on which it focuses. I don’t know that I quite agree with all of its assertions regarding the deeper history of the observance–some of it seems quite a stretch, and the museum doesn’t do the best job of citing its sources. That said, I certainly appreciate the effort to situate Día de los Muertos in the past and present, as well as in the blend of cultures that gave rise to it.
The focus of the museum, however, is an array of a dozen or so ofrendas. Large and extravagantly decorated–some might call them flamboyant, rococo, or ostentatious–they bespeak exuberance in the celebration. Even for my haphazardly observational self, they were compelling as objects of art; for those who actually follow such observances, I expect they would be decidedly engaging and uplifting. My wife, who is of Hispanic descent, certainly seemed to be moved by the displays, talking at some length afterwards about erecting one in our home in season. (I endorse it for several reasons.)
Our daughter, who is necessarily also of Hispanic descent, though less attuned to it by generational separation, found it less compelling, but I cannot blame her for it. Again, she is more removed from that part of her heritage than her mother is, and I acknowledge that I am not exactly the most enthusiastic celebrant of, well, anything. One museum visit isn’t apt to change that kind of thing, although I know that it can, if things align correctly. I know, too, that they can’t if the visit isn’t made–and, in any event, we went to the museum for my wife. She enjoyed it, seeming to get a lot out of it, and that was the point of the exercise.
It may be that we go back to the Día de los Muertos Museum. The staff noted that they were working on expanding the offerings to include foodstuff demonstrations, and, as my pudgy belly attests, I am decidedly interested in that kind of thing. I think if we do, I’ll make a point of taking notes on site rather than after the fact. Going once, the overall experience matters; going again, I feel I need to do more and better. But that’s always true.
Want your own doings recorded and presented well? I can help with that! Start by filling out the form below!
Today marks nine years since I began posting to this webspace. As I write this next entry in my series of annual reports about the status of this site, I have published 1,527 posts to this webspace (this will be 1,528), as well as revising individual pages, attracting 147,355 views from 45,024 visitors. As such, in the past year, I have published 157 posts, garnering 46,274 views from 12,601 visitors (per “Reflective Comments about the Eighth Year“).
The following graphs present changes over time, noting posts, then views, then visitors.
I continue to be pleased to have the opportunity to do this kind of thing, to have an outlet for my ruminations and occasional verse, as well as to continue to offer the resources I do (and which viewership figures tell me attract some attention; I hope they are useful). That this has been the best year I’ve had in terms of readership is also a pleasure. It suggests that I am doing something right, and there’s no small joy to find in that suggestion.
I continue to be pleased, too, to offer writing to order. If you’d like to have some done, please fill out the form below:
As it happens, I’ve been away from the day job this week, ownership having determined that, after a full season and the stresses of opening a new office, the company as a whole could use a break. Steeped as I am in the things that I am, I resisted the notion–and I was somewhat justified in it, in the event, with clients making appointments and sending worried emails more or less as soon as the decision to close was made. But since I need and appreciate my paycheck, and since there are other concerns involved, I posted a sign in my office door, and I’ve been away from the office. (I go back Monday; I’ll pick up then.)
In the event, things worked out well. My daughter is off from school this week, and her whirlwind summer tour of the Hill Country doesn’t start until next week. (It is a packed summer for her; she’s got a month of one theatre day-camp [plus dance and cheer instruction], two weeks of Girl Scout camp, two weeks of another theatre day-camp, and a week of a cheer day-camp before a few days off and the resumption of classes.) I’ve gotten to spend a fair bit of time with her, going to a local park and cooking out, or simply relaxing (in and around addressing regular medical appointments for her, because such things need doing, and school being out makes it easier to do them).
Thanks to no small amount of family support, I was also able to take her to the Witte Museum in San Antonio. (Full disclosure: the Witte does not sponsor or endorse me as of this writing, although I wouldn’t be sad to receive such from them.) It’s not the first time we’ve gone; we’ve toured the museum before, although it’s been a few years. It’s not the first time she’s gone; in addition to having gone with me before, my daughter’s visited with one day-camp group or another, and there might’ve been a school field trip to it. It’s far from the first time I’ve gone, either; in addition to having taken my daughter before, I did have one or two school field trips to it. But this trip was special, really. I don’t know if it’s an issue that she’s at just the right age, young enough to be enthusiastic about things and old enough to actually pay attention to and focus on what’s on display. I don’t know if it’s an issue that I’m at a good place for it, relaxed enough to not worry so much about things and to let her be while still engaged enough in things to be good company. Whatever the reason, though, she had a great time, and I had a good time; I feel like she got a lot out of the experience, and I was pleased to be there with her as she did.
Admittedly, it wasn’t the only good part of the day. But it was a good part, and I’m damned glad of it.
If you like the way I write, I’d love to know about it–and to write for you! Fill out the form below to get your work started!
Yesterday (as this posts) was my fourteenth wedding anniversary. It having been a Tuesday, my wife and I knew that we’d not be able to do anything to commemorate the occasion on the day, itself. Both of us work, after all, and neither of us can afford to take the day right at that time. What we did, then, was to go out on the Saturday before. For a while, we had been looking at going out to check out some of the local wineries (the Texas Hill Country abounds in them) and breweries; on Saturday, we took the opportunity to do the latter, stopping off at a few places along Fitzhugh Road west of Austin.
A stretch of the road in question, shown on Google Maps for reference and commentary.
The first stop along our short tour was Jester King Brewery. The approach to it was a bit rough, and the facility shows that it was assembled in stages. Still, the wood-fired pizza looked and smelled good (we ate before heading out), and the beers I had were tasty. Too, there was something of a festival atmosphere about the place, with its open fields, goats, and such, and we were advised by staff of an upcoming event to which we are like to go–taking our daughter with us, weather and circumstances permitting, since it sounds like something she might enjoy. (There were a number of kids of various ages running about the place and petting the goats, as well, so I think there’ll be enough to catch her interest.) It was well worth going to, and I do hope things work out such that we can find our way back over to the place.
The second stop was not far up the road: Beerburg. Getting to it from Jester King was fairly easy, and we decided to eat while we were on site. I’m glad we did; the food was excellent. The beans and rice that accompanied our meals were quite good, the former solid and the latter finely spiced. My wife had a quesadilla she described as the best she’d had, and I very much appreciated my shrimp tacos. The beers were a bit quirky (the mugwort brew, in particular), although, in the brewery’s defense, they had been advertised as being such. I can appreciate experimentation when I know it’s coming, and I’d be willing to taste some of their other trials–as long as I can get more of those tacos!
Afterward, we put in at Fitzhugh Brewing. If Jester King is a festival and Beerburg a wonky local pub, Fitzhugh Brewing is an HGTV home makeover. My wife identified it as evoking the Gaines’s Magnolia in Waco in terms of aesthetic, and she notes it as catering to a demographic in which neither she nor I partake. The beers were decent enough, as was the pretzel we split between us, but none of them were exceptional. It was something of a letdown after the earlier experiences; perhaps if we’d done things in a different order or visited at a different time, we’d’ve enjoyed it more fully.
The last stop on our tour wasn’t on Fitzhugh Road, as such, but the road it becomes as a driver follows it west; it turns to Pedernales Falls Road and then becomes FM 2766. Just off of the intersection of FMs 2766 and 3232, hard by Pedernales Falls State Park, is the Pedernales Falls Trading Post. My wife had long noted wanting to check it out, and I was happy to oblige her (if later than ought to have been the case). The venue offers a vanishingly small indoor space. There is ample outdoor seating, however, and a grill that gives off the most succulent smells as it cooks burgers to go along with pulls from a scant few taps worked by a singularly jovial barman. It’s a hole-in-the-wall kind of place, perfect for a quiet couple of beers of an evening, and perfect for us to have closed out our day on. I think we’ll be going back there, too.
If you like how I write and would like me to write for you, Fill out the form below, and we’ll get started!
Here it is, the first of the year. As I write this, a cup of coffee steaming on the desk in front of me, I feel a sense of hope for the coming twelve months. There’re things going on that don’t necessarily impact this webspace, and I’m largely looking forward to them. Most notable is that, starting tomorrow, I’ll be heading up an office in Johnson City, Texas, where I have lived for a while. The office builds on the skills, abilities, and training I’ve already got, and I have the hope that, in the coming months, it’ll become a thriving part of the local economy.
Stop on by! Image from Google Maps, used for commentary
I’ll admit to some concern about the endeavor. It’s been a while since I was management, after all, and there’s some rust to knock off. Too, any new business endeavor carries with it some risk, and while I do still have some insulation, it’s not as abundant as might be preferred. Further, there’s a bit of a wind-up period to be expected, and while the work I’ll be doing is just coming into season now, it’ll take a bit for the business to get out into the town and well known.
So much said, I’ll continue to offer the services I currently do. I’m still happy to take commissions for written-to-order pieces that do not use the rampant theft involved in AI-generated work, creating unique texts to meet your needs. Poetry, essays, memoirs, works of fiction, ad copy, press releases, business and technical documentation–I’m happy to work with you on any or all of them to help you craft the best possible work. Reader-review and copy-editing are also available, as always, as is support for writing instruction.
Ready to get started on a new project in the new year? Get in touch through the form below, and I’ll help you get going!
It has been eight years since the first post on this website, eight years I’ve been working on Elliott RWI. As I write this, another in a series of annual reports on the state of the site, I have published 1,370 posts to the blogroll (this will be post 1,371), and I have revised individual pages, collecting 101,081 views from 32,423 visitors as of this writing. In the last year, therefore, I have made 157 posts and collected 35,804 views from 9,748 visitors (based on “Reflective Comments about the Seventh Year”). Performance is up from last year–and, in all measures other than number of posts made, higher than in any previous year.
Of the three figures below, the first displays posts by year of blogging. The second shows views by year of blogging, and the third shows visitors by year of blogging.
I remain pleased to be able to continue doing this kind of work, and I look forward not only to another year of it, but many other years of it. I’ve enjoyed doing the writing I’ve done here, and I’m gratified to have learned that at least some of it appears to have been useful and/or enjoyable to others.
A couple of years back, I waxed loquacious and hopeful about my birthday. Today, as I hit forty years of age–yes, cue the black balloons–I have to note that the hopes…did not pan out quite as expected. And I still don’t know what ingredient in the salad I am, although I expect it’s a vinaigrette dressing, being somewhat astringent.
I need…a few more candles. Photo by lil artsy on Pexels.com
As I sit now, though, I have a decent job again. I still have my family and my home. The past year wasn’t necessarily a good one for me, but it’s done, and I am where I can move ahead with some confidence. Hopefully, I know enough now not to get too cocky about it…
Elliott RWI 