There comes a time in many blog’s life when real life gets too busy for a full-time hobby. We’re not making any money from this, so there’s no incentive to let the hobby become unpleasant. Sorry to have disappointed you, CPP, but the blog just isn’t a priority compared to our academic work, families, new hobbies, etc.
So we will be moving from six days a week to erratic updating. Just like most academic bloggers. (Or maybe we’ll just drop Thursdays… it’ll be like one of those Skinner boxes where you either have to sign up for an RSS feed or come back at random intervals/press the lever to find out.)
The one of us who is a mother will be cutting off mothering blogs. She’s really tired of being told that she’s not allowed to be happy (or that she’s a deluded liar) and no longer has enough energy to fight the patriarchy on this subject. Especially when people are being told it’s their feminist right to be miserable and to bring all other women down with them. Whatever. It’s my feminist right to let them bring each other down and ignore it. Putting on my own mask and making sure I’m on a different plane than the anti-mask people.
We will try to keep up the Monday Money posts, and we got a lot of good questions for Ask the Grumpies Fridays. So not a complete disappearance!
April 25, 2012 at 7:31 am
I’ll miss seeing you around my blog, but I understand your decision.
I’m actually taking a break from the working mom posts for a little while, because I’m tired of dealing with the nasty commenters who come out when I write about those topics. Also, I’ve picked up a couple of particularly nasty anonymous commenters, and I’m hoping that if I talk about something else for awhile, they’ll get bored and go away. I don’t want to have to turn off anonymous commenting on my blog. Luckily, there are a lot of other things that I feel like writing about, so I can keep my usual erratic posting schedule going!
April 25, 2012 at 7:52 am
We have a “rod of smiting” just like Scalzi. Well, technically we don’t have one yet, but #2 says she’s considering going to Home Depot to get to the parts. Sometimes we just make fun of ridiculous sexist commenters by mocking their comments by sticking translations in (like changing “Anonymous” to “Tiny Penis Man”), but that’s more of a summer activity when we have more free time to indulge. We’re definitely not a democracy. Like #2 says, “Our blog, our rules” though she may spell it rulz. Other folks have other ground rules, but since this is just a hobby we choose the rules that work best for us. A good reason for us not to monetize.
We’ll still check up on your blog as we consider it a scientist blog (FeMomHist is an academic blog) and my DH at least is getting a lot out of the posts I forward him on project management, career ennui, and so on, but yeah, not going to pay much attention to the working mom posts.
April 25, 2012 at 8:32 am
Oh, I’m willing to delete comments. I just never had to do it to comments written by real people before. It is sort of a sad milestone.
April 25, 2012 at 12:28 pm
The curse of fame!
April 25, 2012 at 7:45 am
Oh darn. I’m just (hoping) to get to a point where I have more time to come back and comment, but, you know, fair enough. I prefer the unexpected thrill, so will come check for new posts :) !
April 25, 2012 at 8:14 am
You can always comment! We have a pretty sizable archive, and I’m sure there are many posts that could use your insight. :)
April 25, 2012 at 7:45 am
Good move… I was *this* close to unsubscribing because I’m behind on my Google reader and you post a lot. (Not a threat, I like the blog! I just only have so many bloghours in the blogday…)
April 25, 2012 at 7:46 am
I’m a bit sad to see it, but I guess I’m glad other things in your lives are more fun.
I did want to say- I’m really glad I discovered the personal finance blogosphere through here, it’s nice to learn new things and there’s SO MUCH out there.
April 25, 2012 at 7:52 am
Personal finance rocks!
April 25, 2012 at 7:51 am
I’ll look forward to you future posts, regardless of how sporatic they are. Good luck with the new activities
April 25, 2012 at 8:42 am
I get where you’re coming from, and you should do what’s best for you, though I’ll miss the frequent updates. Also, I wish I had a mute button for the members of the Cult of Maternal Martyrdom. BLEAGH.
April 25, 2012 at 12:28 pm
Wouldn’t it be awesome to have a mute button that worked on real life? Better than ear plugs!
Ooh, and a pause and a fast-forward and a rewind…
April 25, 2012 at 12:37 pm
There was a movie about that. With Adam Sandler. I have no idea why I know that.
April 25, 2012 at 12:39 pm
I think maybe also a DuckTales episode…
And that annoying short story from middle school about the guy with the rewind button (Spoiler alert: he falls out of a plane… forever).
April 25, 2012 at 8:46 am
You are already on my RSS feed, so bring on the sporadic posts! I’ve been impressed by how much you’ve covered and how thoroughly on your daily schedule. I hope switching away from Mom blogs keeps you positive and upbeat as you get closer to #2 arriving!
April 25, 2012 at 9:57 am
You’re certainly not disappointing *me* by moving to unscheduled sporadic bloggeing. Unless itte’s a jobbe, bloggeing should be something fun you do when you feel the urge. I’ve always thought thatte forced scheduled bloggeing leads to burnout.
And I much rather read you guys more occasionally than never!
April 25, 2012 at 11:25 am
Got it! So sporadic is better than never!
April 25, 2012 at 11:52 am
YES!
Like sex.
April 25, 2012 at 11:53 am
ROFL!
April 25, 2012 at 11:53 am
I totally and completely get it. Good for you. I always admire bloggers who frequently update. I can’t do it. My brain fizzles.
April 25, 2012 at 2:41 pm
I originally started out doing erratic updating, but then eventually I found that I had a ton to say and started scheduling posts. I kept to scheduling posts only on specific days though and usually seem to have enough that I want to get out that I will have 2-3 weeks of posts scheduled at once.
I couldn’t imagine doing daily posts though – that’s just way too many comments to keep up with. But I still enjoy getting my thoughts out in written form. That can be quite helpful.
April 25, 2012 at 3:22 pm
I never understood why you felt you had to post daily anyway. I go days (and occasionally weeks) with nothing to say, so I don’t say it! About Mom blogs–back in the day (say, when I actually had kids at home!) I kinda enjoyed stirring the pot by saying obnoxious (but still true–I had/have very odd children) things that contradicted the ‘idee fixe du jour.’ ( I have five kids–whatever the subject, one of them was bound to be at odds with the norm!). Enjoy your time away us. Ride horses. Read science fiction!
April 25, 2012 at 7:46 pm
You’re not disappointing me! I have always felt that unless it’s your job, bloggeing should be a fun hobby that you engage when you feel like it. People who force themselves to blogge on a specific regular schedule tend to burn out much faster. I want you guys in it for the long term!!
April 25, 2012 at 7:47 pm
Jeezus f*cke. I must be losing it. I completely forgot I already made this point earlier.
April 26, 2012 at 5:10 am
It’s that time of the semester…
April 26, 2012 at 7:37 pm
Ha! But yeah…it is that time of the semester.
“Can I check my grades? Well what can I do to get an A? I need at least one A to get off probation and all my other classes are so hard. Besides, I know the material. Well, no, I didn’t pass the midterm, but that’s because you never taught us the material on the last question. You did? When? …wait, I thought I only missed 10 classes, why do you have 11 absences down in the grade book? What do you mean that’s not good attendance…I made it to over half of the classes, right? Anyway, I really know the material, so what can I do to get an A?”
April 26, 2012 at 8:28 am
I could never write daily, so I don’t know how I could expect anyone else to! Most of us don’t, so you can just say your late to that “trend” :)
April 26, 2012 at 9:11 am
Posting daily is a chore! I’d never even attempt that. As much as I enjoy reading and commenting on blogs, babies and horses are a lot more fun!
April 26, 2012 at 3:33 pm
Makes total sense. I used to blog multiple times/day (because I just did, not because I was consciously trying to), but now with a family and more responsibilities at work I just don’t have the time. Plus, some of the job stuff I can’t really write about any more even though I think it would be interesting.
Blogging should be fun and done when useful or inspired, IMHO.
You’re in my RSS, will be glad when you pop up with a new post :)
April 27, 2012 at 12:53 pm
*high five* Do what you need to stay sane. I love blogging as a way to process my thoughts, but there are a lot of days I just don’t have time. I do it when I can, and don’t when I can’t. I think people understand. Actually, I’m still surprised that people read my blog at all sometimes, so the fact that they understand when I can’t post makes it even better. :-D
April 27, 2012 at 6:14 pm
Amen sisters, go have fun!
April 27, 2012 at 7:34 pm
It seems to be contagious. Some of the best bloggers (…well, writers, I mean) are coming to the same conclusion.
Sorry to see fewer posts, but I’ll bet you’ll find that fewer posts will mean better posts. More time may provide the leisure to develop more and better ideas.
April 27, 2012 at 7:38 pm
No such thing as better posts! Our ideas are already awesome and don’t think we’re going to stop with the filler.
April 29, 2012 at 9:15 am
[...] and Maggie, over at Grumpy Rumblings of the Untenured, are talking about cutting back on blogging. And at Not of General Interest, Undine notes that quite a few other academic bloggers have had the [...]
April 29, 2012 at 4:14 pm
Glad you’re not giving up entirely. I would miss you.
Recently hit the wall myself and realized I have to slow down. It’s hard to do, though, because I’m afraid people will stop reading.
April 29, 2012 at 4:16 pm
I don’t think you have to worry about that!
And if people do stop reading you, then you can always start up again.