i'm alive, i promise

Hi all,

I told myself that I'd write this because I've been avoiding it for weeks now. The last you heard of me, I'd gotten surgery and I've spent the last month and a half recovering and re-learning what it means to live in this body now that I chucked an organ out of it. To be honest with you, never been one to have a consistent public writing practice. Even the first iterations of this newsletter slowed down when I realized I didn't have anything interesting to say.

I've been grappling with my online consumption---social media silos, the works---and I'm unsure of how to do that ethically if it means that nefarious companies are using my data for their profit. Even the software I'm using to write to you is a freemium one. (It bugs me too.) E-mails are also clogging your inbox, most likely and I don't want to do that anymore. So instead of writing you a newsletter, I'm proposing that you meet me on the old web.

we should all make personal websites

And by that, I mean whimsical ones. Yes, I have a business/professional page. But does that truly represent who I am? Not really. In an attempt to relive the whimsy of geocities and angelfire html, I started to cultivate a digital garden...and then got caught in a state of hyperfocus. So, instead of me writing an essay about it, why don't you view why you should build your own website by clicking here?

the tiny garden (a digital garden)

I've found that creating a digital garden (second brain) has been helpful for learning. I like Obsidian, in particular, because I don't have to go online in order to edit the website. In fact, all of it sits on my desktop, and I can publish it online. I like that I can get a lot of work done without WiFi. When I want to publish it online, I just turn my connection back on and publish with one keystroke. It's awesome.

visit the tiny tiny garden

dumpster fire (the tildeverse)

In an attempt to find lo-fi ways to community build online without having to succumb to web, I found out about the tildeverse (pubnix.) Because you do all of this through your computer's terminal, I had to learn how to use CLI and SSH commands. It was stressful but I ended up writing something like this by hand. I'll probably write a treatise on how this serves to be a place for computational and digital poetics. Due to the SSH/CLI text editing, I'm limited to a simplistic approach and structure---which helps me feel better (and I endeavor to continue writing bad poetry in this blog as a way to practice writing and meet the dumpster fire form where it wants to be.)

visit dumpster fire on tilde.club

chubsOS (on my family's personal domain)

The most haphazard and piece-meal construction of the entire collection is the new subdomain website (chubsOS) I opened under the domain I share with my spouse. Because it's independently hosted, the construction feels more loosey-goosey, fun and flexible. I like that I can be creative and this particular layout was inspired by the old web and I butchered a CSS framework based off an old Mac OS. If you view the contact page, I have a guestbook, contact form and chatbox. I'm still editing it, but this space is the most representative of the aesthetic and vision I have for a personal space on the web.

visit chubsOS

so what about ITWYW?

I am most likely structuring this space to serve as a community newsletter/updates. I don't love the stress to perform when I want to conserve that energy for publication elsewhere. I'd love if you could join me. If you want to stay here, I'll be posting infrequent updates about publication, events and professional opportunities. Otherwise, please find me at one of those other spaces.

ALSO! If you're a writer and have a personal website you want to link to an old-school webring, I created the WWWW (World-Wide Writers Webring) as an attempt to connect writers of any genre. Sign up with your website, embed the widget somewhere on your page, and start connecting with others! I'd love for you to join me.

join the wwww (world-wide writers webring) today!

See you in the new year, friends. Have a happy holiday and I hope to see you on the indie web!