For as much positive feedback I have gotten when the site was active (and some still when it went semi-dormant) I have gotten as much criticism for it trailing off after I got sick.
It’s a fair volume of critique, some warranted, most not. As editor of this site it is my duty to make sure there is fresh content on this sight as often as possible and over the past 10-12 days I have not been able to do that due to several elements creating a perfect storm.
I was deathly, and I mean… Feeling like i’d rather stick a knife in my thigh and leave it there for a few moments then go through that again. I don’t know how that feels, but I have had something long and sharp go through my foot before so it can’t be too much different.
I didn’t even have a recovery time because I was busy packing and transitioning into a new place here at Washington State University, which has actually turned out great. The day before I left is when I actually felt 100 percent healthy, which while not ideal, i’ll take it. In addition to a very hectic several days of moving heavy furniture around (twice) and meeting professors and advisors and multiple store trips and pre-semester deadlines; I am a student in the Edward. R. Murrow College of Communications.
This is one of the best programs of it’s kind in the country and common sense would entail that makes it a time consuming endeavor. This is in addition to the fact our student server crashed on day one of classes yesterday and I have had to run around trying to fix the schedule they screwed up; which I actually just got sorted out about 20 minutes go (see what happens when I have some available time?)
This also doesn’t count the fact that I work, have a social life, and am at one of the best schools to have a social life at in the country as well, and the fact that yes, I wanted to catch up with friends I hadn’t seen in awhile in the whopping 2 hours of available time I had in-between the classes (they didn’t screw up) yesterday.
All in all, there are only so many hours in a day and in reality I am largely a solo act here at Seahawks Gab and when this site is active it’s getting as much traffic as Field Gulls and significantly more than 12th Man Rising, Seahawk Addicts, or any other unofficial Seahawks blog receives. I am a mortal human being and can only juggle so many responsibilities as a 20 year old college student. I’m not asking for any pity, I am very happy with life right now and I know full well what I am getting myself into, but at the same time I feel some perspective is needed with some of the blind criticism getting slung in my direction. Danny O Neill’s Seahawks Blog shuts off several times a year for extended periods of time and he makes his living covering the Seahawks. When he is gone, he has a slate of writers who could if need be make up for his absence; Jerry Brewer, Steve Kelley, etc.
As someone who is just starting the real part of the journey of obtaining his degree, I do not have the luxury of a paid staff here. I love to write, and in all honesty my day is not complete without being able to write and the inability to write has not been by choice. As I told co-writer Matt Loede, something has to be wrong or different in my life for me not to be publishing content on this site on a regular basis.
I had to prioritize, and I believe putting getting settled into college and getting my schedule figured out (which per credit is worth a lot of money), ahead of the blog was the right decision to make, and damn any of you for thinking the right decision was anything otherwise.
Most of the kinks have gotten worked out and while it’s far from smooth sailing from here on out for me I at least have an idea of where my time is going to be spent on a given day and that’s a refreshing change of course from the past week. Things have quieted down on the news-wire, but at least now I have available time to write and things should start to pick up again.
For those of you who helped increase traffic here by over 700 percent since my arrival and have stuck with me, I appreciate your time and support, for all of you haters who can’t wait to fire off a “this place sucks” barb, well, I don’t have space for you in my brain and if you’ve gotten this far and can’t rationalize why things were slow, well, the hell with you.
Original Story:
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