Friday, March 30, 2007

A Note About Scheduling

As most of my long-time readers know, I work nights--Tuesday through Saturday, 6 p.m. Eastern to 2:00 a.m. the following morning. This is Thing One to recall when you're wondering why I didn't participate in Blog Against This, That, or the Other Day, or why I didn't cover a topic close to your heart, even though just last week I wrote like all this stuff about a topic that interested me.

Thing Two to recall, which many of you may not know, is that I'm on a schedule at Pandagon. My posting slot is 2:00 p.m. Eastern. If you want me to link to something or write about something there, I need, I regret to say, at least 24 hours' notice.

I used to write just after waking up, before logging in for work (again: 6:00 p.m. Eastern, 4:00 p.m. my time), but that doesn't work with a noon-my-time "deadline." I just don't get up that early, and you wouldn't either if you hadn't even clocked out until midnight, on the nights you weren't working overtime.

So the only way I've found to make my posting slot is to write after I finish work, in the middle of the damn night. This works out to be kind of cool because then, by the time I get up the next day, it's all posted and usually already getting good comments. It's a fun way to start the day.

But it does mean I need to know about Your Very Special and Super-Important Blogger Action Alert the night before if you want to see it from me at Pandagon (of course, you can always try some of the other bloggers there, who have different time slots). And I don't mean to sound bitchy, but I really, really need people to grow up and deal with the fact that I'm doing this for free and for fun, and to quit trying to run the guilt trip on me because they've got some fucked-up idea in their heads that I'm just lazing around all day, stuffing bon-bons into my perfectly made-up face with my immaculately manicured fingers, moaning about how oppressive my White Feminist Lifestyle(TM) is.

In other words: I am going to be taking my own advice more often. Get ready to hear a lot more "no's" from me if you can't even acknowledge the constraints I'm under, as outlined above.

Treat me with a little respect and understanding and I'll happily return the favor. It's that simple.

15 comments:

Andrew said...

It never occurred to me that group bloggers had scheduled posts. I thought you just posted whenever you'd written something good.

ilyka said...

It hadn't occurred to me before this either, but now I think it's really the only way to go if you have a large-ish group.

The benefit to the participating bloggers is in not seeing your latest masterpiece immediately get pushed down the page by three new posts from your industrious co-bloggers. And the benefit to the blog overall is that it's ideally updating regularly with new content throughout the day. It's a neat system, and I'm really enjoying watching it work.

. said...

Dude, word up (okay, I don't know what the hell that was). I don't care how my favorite feminist bloggers dress or whether they wear lipstick, but I do despair somewhat when they apologize for not posting because their mother is in the hospital or they're spending the day travelling several hundred miles.

Amy said...

This is more relevant to your Pandagon post, but there is plenty of critique of "codependency" and other therapy-related stuff from a radical feminist perspective--Changing Our Minds by Kitzinger and Perkins is a particularly good example, and there is also stuff on my website under "Critiques of Medicine and Therapy." Though the basis of the critique, as I understand it, is that women get more response, more help and support, for our "nos" and other self-assertion when our problem is presented as a DISEASE from which we need to "recover" (i.e., "codependency") than simply as internalized oppression--to which the solution would be, of course, liberation.

Helen said...

Man, I HATE it that you are having to apologize for, you know, having a life. I think it's singularly bizarre that people think you sit around at your PC, ready and waiting to fill heads with food for thought.

I think some folks need to get it-when blogging becomes a chore, then the thrill? She is gone.

Helen said...

PS-by "folks", I'm probably not talking to anyone specific. Just generic "folk", the ones who are emailing you.

(Paranoid over offending anyone anymore)

Craig R. said...

How *dare* you have a life!

You should just shuffle off thst time for your job, and time for your family and just write!

>>Umm, well, what of it if I *haven't* written in my oewn page for a week.

it's obviously something else....

Anonymous said...

And I don't mean to sound bitchy, but I really, really need people to grow up and deal with the fact that I'm doing this for free and for fun, and to quit trying to run the guilt trip on me because they've got some fucked-up idea in their heads that I'm just lazing around all day, stuffing bon-bons into my perfectly made-up face with my immaculately manicured fingers, moaning about how oppressive my White Feminist Lifestyle(TM) is.

A-fucking-men.

zuzu

Anonymous said...

I'm thinking of a "Blog Against Blog Against Days."

Will you join me?

Anonymous said...

is blogger owned by google? odd how that last comment page on your blog had a google favicon in the URL....something fish is going on around here!!!

Anonymous said...

um.....FISHY.

it is a google favicon, dammit.

ilyka said...

Yeah, Google bought 'em and upgraded 'em a while back. More than that I won't say, because I like free. :)

Anonymous said...

Hey, Ilyka, you can make the ™ symbol on your 'puter by pressing the "option" key and the number 2.

Like so:

White Feminist Lifestyle™

Now you will never have to spell it out again!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Just wanted to say that I'm always pleased to read something new by you or Genni or any of the Pandagon bloggers, but I don't think you, like, owe it to me to write! (Especially speaking as someone who hasn't bothered to update her own blog in about a month now - too much overtime at work, can't face looking at a computer when I get home.)