Monday 17 November 2008

Stumped

I rather feel as though this blog has lost direction.

Since I'm no longer in Poland, it can clearly no longer be an ex-pat blog.
Note to self - no matter how hard I try at Polskie Delikatesy etc.

And since I don't intend (read can't afford) to travel anywhere at least until after Christmas, it's going to be a pretty poor excuse for a travel blog.

On the other hand, I like to write. Especially when it hasn't already been written by someone else in French. It's just that I'm rather lacking in subject material. I can't just write a blog about me:

"- Ho hum, well today I sat at my desk all day stalking people on Facebook I mean translating ... I took the dog for a walk ... why do we exist? ... Nobody loves me! ... Well ok, I'll have a doughnut, but I'm definitely joining WeightWatchers tomorrow ... got really pissed last night ... etc."

and so on ad infinitum how dull.

As with all Art Dahling, I need an angle.

There are several options (note to self, try to avoid easy-way-out list format).

I could write an achingly dull Bridget-Jones-style account of the trials of being a single girl in her late twenties in a recession (none of this London media lifestyle lark). I could join the abovementioned waist-reduction club, wear lip gloss, sign up for internet dating and recount the highs and lows of my racy singleton lifestyle.

More dull still, I could sit here in my room alone, gazing at my navel (WeightWatchers, I hate you) and regurgitating everyone else's musings on existence (are we the only things that are conscious of living? And, if we were all suddenly annihilated, would the universe still be here with no-one to be aware of it? What would be the point of that? If other forms of intelligent life existed on another planet, what would be the corresponding EU immigration policy, and what would the Daily Mail have to say about it all?) and confirming Polite Society's suspicions about the perils of forcing young girls to read nineteenth century French literature (*involuntary shudder au souvenir du temps perdu malheuresement dans de poussiereuses salles d'université ecossaises*).

How very teenaged.

Or, I could go in another, much more positive direction, and make it All About Work.

I can't write a blog about translation. Do you really want a 'Daily welding glossary'? It's not interesting.

I could turn it into an exciting interpreter wannabe blog and write about dummy booths and Social Fora and how to cram vocabulary and Tips for Language Acquisition, not to mention pages and pages on my struggle with the tantalizingly ephemeral trade secret that is Note Taking.
But that would simply mystify my other readers*.
Plus it requires much more gravitas than I possess to write a Real Interpreting Blog (http://objectifinterprete.blogspot.com/ ; http://iacovoni.wordpress.com/)

Chyba mogłabym pisać (jak zasugerował mi kolega) czasami po polsku, aby doskonalić moj polski pisemny, rozśmieszać polskich znajomych i jednocześnie alienować anglojęzycznych czytelników.

Chyba nie.

I could write a Polish learning blog, but Anna already has that one covered... and very good it is too.

Or I could just carry on as I am, writing sporadically, more in the navel-gazing vein than anything else, and watch my stats dwindling, and wonder when I will ever get around to taking that exam / applying for that course / writing that book / moving out of my parents' house.


*Both of them.

10 comments:

expateek said...

Daily Welding glossary? Now that seems rather promising. Especially if it's supplemented with glossy photos of handsome young welders brandishing their tools. Come on now, it could be a research project! You could hang around construction sites with your glossy lippy on.

Give it a go!

Or you could take the 'bitter pill' route and sign up for next month's NaBloPoMo thingy, and then your pride will force you to come up with something daily. It's been getting easier to post daily... although I'm sure the Polish blogging community is wishing I'd just disappear after yesterday's rant.

Oh well. I can't be Mrs. Nice every day of the year. Unfortunately.

Anonymous said...

Pinolona do not pressure yourself so much.
We still read and enjoy your blog, no matter what you write and how often you do it.

And stop being so melancholic (again) ! :D You are in your late 20s and not in your late 40s.

There's really nothing wrong about it if you live in your parents' house, still have no 5 babies, and spend your money on traveling and drinking cappuccino...

I am sure many women in the late 20s and early 30s envy you, because you are still free like a bird.

Shaunj said...

Write what your heart desires Pino.


Anything except translation basically

It could be worse. You could still be in Poland and not have anything else to say to the world. Like some of us.

Jake said...

Hey Pinolona

well you don't know me from adam... but I really enyoy reading your blog, you've got a great writing style, fun and interesting; so just say whatever you feel like saying, whenever there's something to say!

Anonymous said...

*stern voice*

Don't listen to these shameless sycophants. We want a story the way Pino does a story.

You've got to have a topic or you'll die. You know it's true.

I'll be back to check that you're getting on with it properly. Carry on.

Anonymous said...

Pi!
Blog about translation! Pretty please! And then gather it all up and publish a book. And translate it into Polish and make a ton of money. And take us all out for drinks.
You can start with welding. :-)

Michael Dembinski said...

Gosh! This is getting so existentialist! What's it all about, man? Well, it took me 40 years to get a bit of an insight, a further 10 to smooth off the rough edges - I'm a lot wiser than I was in my late 20s, but still have much to learn! Keep writing, you'll get there quicker than me.

Anonymous said...

"Chyba mogłabym pisać (jak zasugerował mi kolega) czasami po polsku, aby doskonalić moj polski pisemny, rozśmieszać polskich znajomych i jednocześnie alienować anglojęzycznych czytelników.

Chyba nie."


Nice.

pinolona said...

ExP: I did actually google 'welder photo' but they were all (naturally) wearing huge welding masks and protective gear, so not that attractive.

Anon: sadly it's not my money I'm spending on travel and cappuccino but Mr Barclaycard's money, and one day he may want it back!

Shaun: ha ha ha translation it is...

Jake: Thanks! :)

Island: Yes Sir! on topic now.

Anna: are you a translator too?

Jeziorki: So what's the secret?? You're right, it is getting a little nombriliste. I should probably go out and look for a rich husband like all the other girls my age.

Anon: see when Polish people say 'Nice', I never know whether it's really nice or another example of that Polish sarcasm that I don't understand :)

Anonymous said...

nah, I'm just a physicist who gets asked "how do you say Equipartition theorem in Polish?" or somesuch quite a lot.