I just realized that in the past week, I've got almost no work done on Hedgerow Hall... but accomplished lots of arguing with people.

So far, Hedgerow Hall, my "hobby" and "side project", has been affected, but my career... the writing... is right on track... I'm preparing my first book for publication, for instance... but still, I'd like to bring HrH to fruition some time.

I'm not going to go on an "Arguing on the internet is like running in the Special Olympics" tear, because 1) it was only clever the first time somebody said it, 2) it's incorrect... when you run in the Special Olympics, even if you lose you still get McDonalds, and 3) it presupposes there's something intrinsically different about "the internet" from "real life", and not just different in the way participants may choose to view it.

I am going to say that I'm closing in on my third 25th birthday birthday, and while I manage to accomplish a LOT of stuff in a single day, I'm not doing everything that I want to do with my life. That's partly a function of ambition... I will never do everything I want to do with my life, because my reach widely exceeds my grasp, as is only fitting and proper... but at the same time, I know I'm accomplishing less than I could.

Now, I confine a lot of my argument to times when I'm away from my computer, with a short burst of time to kill, and have my Treo with me... so I can say, "Well, it's not like I could be working on the game anyway."... and on one level it would be true... but I got the Treo so I could work on my writing anywhere and anytime... and if I did more of my writing when I'm not at the computer, I'd have more time to work on the game when I am. I could tell myself, "Well, you're caught up on your writing so your Treo time is free and clear."... but where I really want to be is ahead on my writing.

So, anyway... I'm going to make an effort to refrain from jumping on controversial and argumentative posts, or even just ones I strongly disagree with.

I have always believed, as a matter of philosophy, that the role of the vocal dissenter is of critical importance... and I still believe that. I have larger goals for my life, though, and I think the world at large will agree that I've done more than my fair share of vocally dissenting. :P

If anybody has earned a respite from the moral requirement to disagree, it's me... and I'll argue with anybody who claims otherwise.

I've already managed to stop myself from participating in several new threads that caught my eye (even if it meant posting and then deleting)... and I'm officially washing my hands of the ones I'm enmeshed in now. I'm not even goign to bother making a "This is my last post, in summary," type post on them... because that never goes well.

So, the next post you see here will either be about Hedgerow Hall, writing, or some random personal nonsense.