Since I haven’t updated this site in ages, it would not surprise me one bit if few, if any of the once many Loyal Readers are still checking this anymore, and I can’t say I blame them. I’d lost interest in updating All Things Muni even before 2015, simply because I was getting tired of writing the same blog posts over and over, all the while avoiding going down the easy (but stupid) route of “OMG” posts that seem to do well Elsewhere.
This year is, believe it or not, the 10th anniversary of this blog, which according to legend, started in 2005 as an email to various friends that started to get forwarded. What was intended as a summer writing exercise while I re-settled after 18 months in exile in Venice Beach ended up becoming a Thing To Read, and the rest is history. That’s assuming of course anything on the Internet has a “history” since anything beyond the last Tweet or Snapchat, or Facebook post seems to be forgotten, much less endless talk about how the SFMTA and City hall have screwed over people, which is SOP over there, no matter who is “in charge.”
I’d planned to do some fun things for the “anniversary” around June, but 2015 started lousy and got worse, as Real Life intervened more than once, which kept me from posting long-form writing. Instead I took the easy way out and just belted out more one-liners on Twitter, which while fun doesn’t really make for much of a lasting impression (although it DID get me featured on more than one “who to follow” list, which still surprises me. Even when I was feeling like absolute crap, I managed to appear on a couple of podcasts, here and here, which got some positive response. Nevertheless, it didn’t change things, and I ended up in the hospital* instead of having that anniversary party I wanted.
I don’t post this to solicit any sympathy – I don’t need or want it. I have always resisted talking too much about myself on the blog, mostly because too many writers online already do that, and we don’t need any more. That said, I figured now that I want to get back in the swing of things, the least I could do was say something before posting away. Besides, I have this shiny, mostly functional blog moved to WordPress! With 10 years of posts in the archives! Doesn’t anyone read archives? (don’t answer that)
There’s enough going on now in San Francisco that simply posting links and quippy one liners on Twitter simply isn’t going to cut it. Also, I’m getting f*cking sick of people wanting to discuss long complex issues on a medium where you’re a) limited to 140 characters and b) I still consider entertainment, mostly for me.
Even though our fall election is proving to the world that we in Allegedly Smart San Francisco can invent new ways to make elections a joke, there’s still a few things out there that do deserve more attention than our dying media cares to notice. So with that in mind, I plan on getting back to having fun with this again, and maybe amongst all the Internet flim flam, it’ll get noticed. Wubba lubba dub dub!
*Special note: Buy some health insurance if you can. I am SO GLAD I ponied up the money for a decent policy, and thanks to “that man” in Washington, I was able to do so despite a previously existing condition (which had nothing to do with why I was in the hospital). Since I, as an independent contractor could finally buy insurance, I did a few years ago, and let’s just say as a result I was afforded decent medical care by our cryptic health care system.
Fun fact: when you work for yourself, “buying insurance” is not as easy as it sounds. You don’t simply go down to The Insurance Store, pick one off the shelf, and walk out the door with a “product.” Instead for years it’s been a bureaucratic system full of crap, and for a long time despite having the money to pay for something, Big Insurance simply said “FU”. That’s no longer the case, although the implementation leaves a lot to be desired. Still, beats nothing. OK end of insurance rant.