Parrot Nation has been on hiatus for a while for various reasons. At first it was personal. Read the last few posts, especially Life Interrupted and you’ll get an eyeful of what happened in my life the last couple of years.
I was then contacted by a very large website to write for them. I was ecstatic. I was scared. Turns out I had the right to be scared. I had just jumped on a treadmill that was going to turn me into a content machine. The job turned out to be an enormous job that essentially ate up my life in large bites without so much as the occasional burp.
When I wasn’t flying, I was writing, uploading, looking for photos to use, promoting the work through social media or trying to come up with yet another original idea for an article. I was literally working 12 to 15 hour days. I was ragged.
I didn’t have an anxiety-free day the entire time I did the work for them. It was eating me alive. I’m sure other people could handle it, but the demands became too great and we parted ways. I wasn’t happy and they weren’t happy that I wasn’t happy. Next…
I took a few days off. Well, I had to. I ended up with a roaring case of gastroenteritis. Think headache, fever, dry heaves and dehydration. Follow this up with having to run to the bathroom so often you leave tracks in the tile. But I’m better now. It only lasted a few days, but it was a doozy.
After I recovered, returned the bucket to the closet and retired the herbal tea, I thought it might be time to breathe new life back into the blog. It had been a while. So I come back here. To my horror, I discover that WordPress has completely revamped the way you do business around here. Yikes, it’s different!
I’ll get used to it, learn the new format and figure it out. In the meantime, sit tight and there will be more on the horizon for readers here at my blog. In the meantime, I’m hoping my personal style of writing will return and I can shake off the “website style” I’ve had to use for so long.
I’m sorry for the lengthy absence, but there were some things out in the world that I had to learn. I learned them. I’m back.
Thank you for hanging in there with me. We’ll see where this goes.
September 10, 2016 at 8:43 am
Welcome back! We’ll accept you as you are, here. And you can post as little as you want and we’ll still like you! Enjoy writing AND having a life — and a parrot!
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September 10, 2016 at 9:40 am
Thanks so much. I haven’t been this relaxed in almost two years. I’m looking forward to doing what I do best: writing AND having a life.
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September 10, 2016 at 9:31 am
So glad you stayed your blog back up. I’m sorry you had a rough go of it. Hugs!
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September 10, 2016 at 9:41 am
I did indeed. It was rough. But I am looking forward to getting back to doing this again. Thanks, Melissa!
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September 10, 2016 at 9:34 am
Dear Patricia.
Life with a capital L happens.
As long as you and your avian folks are happy & healthy, that’s all that matters. Money from work is not always a joy to earn. I have just walked away from a job when I realised that, although the wage was good, the client was a monster.
We, your many readers, wish you better health and peace.
Vayo con Dios.
Sally & GeeGee.
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September 10, 2016 at 9:43 am
I’m glad it turned out the way it did. I did well financially, but it about wrecked me. You really don’t know what working at a content farm is like until you actually do. The pressure is unreal. I’m looking forward to getting back to this. I always enjoyed it.
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September 10, 2016 at 1:53 pm
OMG I have missed you so much. Even though you don’t know me, I have felt so close to you based on your honest, hilarious, open style of writing, plus the fact you love Grey Parrots!
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September 10, 2016 at 2:26 pm
Oh, wow! Thanks so much, Debbie! I am slowly relaxing and realizing what I has been missing in my life this last year and a half: My life. Oh, and peace. And of course I want World Peace. I guess you’re always supposed to say that. But I’ll settle for not getting up at five in the morning and practically wanting to hurl at the thought of the amount of work and thinking I had to do that day.
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September 10, 2016 at 4:54 pm
Welcome back! We’ve missed you! 😉
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September 10, 2016 at 4:56 pm
I missed being here, Adrienne. Thanks for the welcome.
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September 10, 2016 at 5:33 pm
Welcome back Patricia! Sometimes our best work is in small ways that we dont even realize how many we touch ❤
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September 10, 2016 at 5:35 pm
You have a point, Deborah. I never thought of it that. way. This little blog was the birthplace of the Chop Movement. I guess that counts for something.
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September 10, 2016 at 6:10 pm
Patricia – so glad you are back. I know the feeling of having a job keep you going at high speed all the time; and as much as I love a challenge, I love having a life just as much. Hopefully you can keep everything on an even keel and not encounter the gastro problems again!
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September 11, 2016 at 9:21 am
Beth, it was unbelievably rough. But I am using the time I did’t have before to catch up on cleaning and tidying As well as tackling some bigger jobs around the home.
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September 11, 2016 at 6:29 am
Glad to have you back, we all missed you.
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September 11, 2016 at 9:22 am
Moni, I missed being here. I guess I had to go through that experience to learn a few things. And believe me, I did!
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September 11, 2016 at 5:58 pm
Welcome back. You were missed. Stay healthy and happy.
Hugs,
Ann (Cordova)
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September 11, 2016 at 6:25 pm
Thanks so much, Ann. It’s been a while and it feels good to combine from the cold.
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September 24, 2016 at 10:19 am
Patricia…I am sorry you have had a rough time. ❤ I hope you get your life back and feel more relaxed soon. I love your writings, your sense of humour, your love of Greys and all things ‘bird’! And…I love that we are on the same haircut schedule!! Ha ha! I consider you a friend, even though we’ve never met….but you’re on my bucket list! Live life, my friend! 😊
Audrey….”your” Aud 😉
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September 24, 2016 at 10:21 am
Awww, Aud! So nice of you to fly by! I’m doing so much better.Did you read my latest post on SoCal Parrots? It’s really cool what these people are doing!
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