Caution: Work Zone

You may have noticed some interesting happenings here at Tina Reigns. The layout experimentation, for instance. Or the infrequent postings. These are all outward manifestations of recent changes in my circumstances and my knowledge. Let me explain.

You may know that for the last almost three-ish months, I've been teaching, which is not what I intended to do when I said goodbye to BYU. I wanted to write. I had some ideas about the what and the how and the who for aspects of my dream, but those were dependent on an unreliable job market. But regardless of the who, what, and where, all my online contributions and activities were meant to help create the reality of that dream, including this blog. It's been mostly a sort of online, informal portfolio to showcase my internet savvy. Now that I'm teaching, my perceptions about what my blog should be have changed. Not that I don't want to write any more; I will always want to write, but it will be something I do on the side until it becomes a viable option for lifestyle supporting work. Instead, I'm going to teach and enjoy teaching. But that change in attitude leaves meunsure about what to do with this blog. If I no longer feel my blog should be only a portfolio (and, to be honest, a lame one; I haven't really written on it in months), what should it be?

I feel like the answer to this question is dependent on the answer to another question: What would I write about on a semi-frequent basis? I still have concerns with being a waste of internet space; I don't want to end up being one of those bloggers who spend countless hours and words saying nothing at all. So I've been thinking about the sites I spend time on on the internet. I certainly spend time on family sites. I could turn this into a personal blog, the kind that keeps my family and friends informed about what's going on in my life. After all, it serves a little of that purpose as it stands. I feel like that would be a valid use of time and space, but I don't feel comfortable in that role. I've never been able to just open up to anyone about my life, even regarding trivial matters. If I focused my blog on that, I would never write on it; it would be better to just take it down.

I spend a lot of time (as I've discussed before) on food blogs. How I love 'em! There are a few in particular that I would love to emulate: Smitten Kitchen, Sophistimom, Picky Palate. But my problems with going all food all the time are many. First, there are so many food sites, I would feel redundant. I'm a good cook--depending on what I'm making, even great--but I'm not an original cook. I can definitely copy and adapt, but I rarely create. Thus the rebirth of this blog into a food blog would be it's rebirth into mediocrity, which is something I'm not willing to accept.

I also enjoy craft and home decorating/improvement sites (probably a shocker for some of you, but don't worry: I rarely finish my projects), but again, there are problems. The mediocrity that would come with rarely finishing craft projects I start. That could be a positive; perhaps I would only do simple projects that people like me can finish. But then, I also don't have my own home to decorate or improve, which puts a damper on that idea.

I also can't quite leave behind the original snarky side of my blog. What can I say? It comes natural. So maybe this blog will become a meld of all of all of the above ideas, like a strange and slightly hideous crayon sculpture a child makes that you can never quite seem to look away from. I'll let you know.

I'm also messing with the layout as an experiment with the knowledge of website and blog creation I'm trying to gain. It's slow in coming (the knowledge, I mean), so be patient. It will probably also change many times as I decide and re-decide what I want to do with my internet persona.

So hang tight while I experiment. If you have any suggestions or ideas about any of this, I'd love to hear them. You know where to find me.