HERE I AM

I have tried starting blogs many times. They never stick. They never last. This time might not be any different.

I think ideally I would want a barebones server where I can make a homepage out of HTML and CSS all from scratch. All Bauhaus, brutalist, early-web aesthetic. But then, coming up with a blog system that fits into that would require too much time to code and get it both working and looking exactly the way I want.

So, to make it feel different for this redesign, I tried jumping over to Wordpress. The novelty and granularity seemed at first refreshing. After clunking my way through making a blog and a few test posts, however, I ran into bugs. On mobile, my posts were squished, images were distorted. I could have started troubleshooting, but I think that type of roadblock goes against the spirit of what I want from a blog this time around.

I want it to work. I want it to get out of my way. When I want to write a post, I want it to be simple. Dumbed-down, even. Zero friction.

And so, I’m back on Squarespace. Good enough, says I. I have the design mostly done. I might do little CSS tweaks to replace my Bluesky link icon, or to make my menu items clickable, but for the most part it’s all here and all in place. Now all I have to do is add content. That’s the part where I have failed in the past, and where I may yet fail here. This time around, I think I have something going for me that I didn’t before. That is, I am happy to be less precious about it this time around.

In the past, I had my visions of what a blog was, and I set the bar so high it was unreachable. This time, the plan is to get the framework up (done), and throw content up. I may blog my ideas, I may add writing that is unfinished, sketches that are incomplete. It’s just a blog, much like a sketchbook is just a sketchbook. In this too-short life, why not share it all?

-Weary