Writer’s Block

Have you ever had writer’s block?

I’ve had a terrible case of it in the last weeks. It’s not because my head is congested with a terrible lurgi. It’s something else.

I think it may be stage fright.

Just when I’ve finally created the blog I’ve always wanted, I’m suddenly paralysed by fear. It feels so beautiful and perfect in here… so much live up to. As well as the bug partying in my body, I seem to have caught a nasty case of the inadequacy virus.

Not only that, I feel terribly exposed. After committing lots of time and energy into creating a space to express myself to the world, suddenly I want to be all private. It’s like I’m blogging in the nude.

What better way to cut through this fear and figuritive nakedness, than to talk about myself!? It might just get the words flowing again.

Here’s a list of 20 Random Things about me.

1. My name spelled backwards is Harobed.
2. I am moved by art, music, words, faith and kindness.
3. I like to quote lines from daggy 80’s music and slip them randomly into conversations.
4. I was born in Indonesia where I spent my first 10 years.
5. You know that sweet last mouthful of tea at the bottom of your cup? That’s the best part.
6. I well up in tears every time my mother plays ‘Old Black Joe’ on the piano.
7. To this day I have no idea how I passed Maths at school.
8. My greatest achievement in life has been giving birth to my children – nothing was harder or more rewarding. (I still pinch myself every so often, have I really done that??!)
9. Every summer I do jigsaw puzzles while watching the tennis on TV. A ritual passed down to me by grandma. Terribly good for the soul.
10. I have a degree in Theology yet have never gained employment in anything vaguely theological.
11. I’ve been to eighteen U2 concerts in my lifetime.
12. I once met Bono and talked about my lip gloss for 5 minutes. (Wanted to talk about politics, poverty, God… instead: lip gloss).
13. I remember ridiculous details about every bit of my childhood… like the Spam sandwiches we ate on a family picnic near a rambling river when I was 5.
14. I have a secret penchant for condensed milk and have been known to inhale cans of it in one sitting. (Shhh.. don’t tell anyone about the stash at the back of my pantry cupboard).
15. I love trivia. I am one of those people you hate to play in Trivial Pursuit. I labour every point, George Costanza style… “Moops, not moors!”.
16. I met Mr G through playing trivia. (God help him!)
17. Mr G has made me laugh every single day since I’ve met him.
18. I am extremely sentimental and find it hard to throw out old photos, journals, and clothes.
19. I am a sensitive human being with many fears, observations, sympathies and passions.
20. I am a perfectionist who is prone to exaggeration. I have read and re-read what I’ve just written a million times.

Are you still here? Ah, good. As you can see, I’m a bit of a dag really!

Do you have an inner dork/dag too? Go on.. you can tell me…

Now that we’ve broken that ice, maybe I can get on with the *serious* art of blogging!