Chris Merlo Musician • Programmer • Educator

I ... Started a Blog?!

So, it's 2024, and I decided to start a new blog. That's some forward thinking, huh?

Well, I realized recently that there are a couple of creative outlets that I don't engage in enough. The one I'm best at, and the one I probably enjoy the most, is playing music. I am currently in two bands that rehearse somewhat regularly, so I'm playing my primary instrument, the bass guitar, with some regularity. But I've wanted to play my Chapman Stick more, and I've wanted to play my electric upright bass more, and I've wanted to mess around with synthesizers more, and sometimes I find that I don't have the time, or the energy, or the desire to set up whatever equipment needs to be set up at home for all that.

But winter break is not far from here, and theoretically I will find the time for those pursuits then. What I absolutely have not made any time for lately is writing.

To be fair, I haven't made a lot of time for reading, either. I like to convince myself that reading social media posts and a couple of blogs counts as reading, but I know that isn't true. Like a lot of other things, reading (real reading, like of books) is a hobby that needs to be cultivated, and I haven't been doing it.

And, of course, there are only two things to do if one wants to get better at writing. Practice it, and read stuff that's great so that it serves as motivation to write better.

We must be near the end of the semester if I'm thinking about all these creative pursuits instead of, like, grading, but I like to think of this as pre-production.

"Where will this blog be headed?" I hear myself asking myself. The honest answer is that I don't know. Writing (of prose, or of music, or of whatever) isn't supposed to be bounded by anything other than the writer's creativity. I have a lot of opinions, on music, on education, on programming, and I find I'm not exploring them enough.

Whereas it takes some physical processes to sit down and create music (take the bass or the Stick out of the case, turn on the amp, find my headphones, tune, etc...), now that I've set this site up, I should find less resistance between me and a written product. So, what's the result? More creative output, of all kinds. Wish me luck.