Well, I find myself on yet another holiday break here in the North of Europe. The excuse for this lengthy break is Easter. I find this a little odd due to the fact that the Swedish people are not overtly religious, but they will take a religious excuse to take time off from work.
I realized that I haven't posted to this blog in over a month, my reason is that I am a terrible "blogger". Those that know me well will attest that I am horrible with a computer, but will probably confirm that I was born with the gift of gab. It should be apparent that I really don't know how to have a fancy blog page, I couldn't even figure out how to make a paragraph at the beginning of my blogging attempts. Now I have added the double tap of a post to my list of incapable blogging etiquette.
The excuse I would like to offer up is that I was at first using my new iPad to make those initial angry rants. The virtual keyboard was kicking my ass and I found a large helping of typing errors and formatting issues that I was unable to resolve. I then began using my daughter's add on keyboard that really only lengthened my posts but did nothing to clean them up. Eventually I received the big iMac computer and found more capability but my internet speed slowed down from the already glacial speed to that of my four mile running pace. Couple that slow speed to my level of patience with technology and it ends up being extra clicks that grow exponentially harder on the desk top and resulting in multiple posts of the same topic.
Now that I can no longer use those above excuses, I am adding the reasoning that I really need to watch what I am posting in an effort to stay out of Fort Leavenworth's facility for military bloggers on the loose. I was at first mainly keeping this as a journal for myself and potential releasing of the contents later in life upon evaluation if they were worthy of releasing. My laziness took over as multiple friends and family dropped into my irregular Facebook world asking the generic question of , "How are things going"? Due to the fact that they were not going smoothly and I was getting sick of the bitching and whining about the screwed up situation, I began sending them the address of my post so I did not have to take the time to rehash the topic over and over. This seemed like a smart plan until I received an email from my former boss and respected mentor full of quotes from a particularly nasty post. That email was soon followed by a generic post to the 3-1 AHB Facebook page reminding service members about their responsibility for comments made in social media. It could have been a coincidence, yet knowing this superior senior officer, it was a message not only to me but the officers that I have influence over that were cut in on the blog link. I was not expecting that those that I shared with would spread this around so quickly and to an audience that it was never intended. However, that is exactly the reason and vehicle for social media, networking and spreading information, in this case this was not an advantage but the very reason behind warning soldiers to watch what they put out into the published public.
Trust me, I have had a large amount of opinion in the missing month on my blog. I evaluate everything that I am about to write to discover that nothing I have in my head should go out on the web. At the very least the angle that I want to document is not something that should be viewed by all. It is so much more fun to throw out opinion without the need to be responsible. I only have to think about having my opinion read by certain individuals in my life, and career to quickly decide not to commit that opinion to the world as a record for all eternity. I guess I am a little surprised to discover that there are those that are actually reading this trash.
I am going to try and catch up to current day on activities here for the Hastings clan in Sweden in some future posts. Things have dramatically changed in the work place, and in the quality of life for us in our host nation. So more to follow.....
I realized that I haven't posted to this blog in over a month, my reason is that I am a terrible "blogger". Those that know me well will attest that I am horrible with a computer, but will probably confirm that I was born with the gift of gab. It should be apparent that I really don't know how to have a fancy blog page, I couldn't even figure out how to make a paragraph at the beginning of my blogging attempts. Now I have added the double tap of a post to my list of incapable blogging etiquette.
The excuse I would like to offer up is that I was at first using my new iPad to make those initial angry rants. The virtual keyboard was kicking my ass and I found a large helping of typing errors and formatting issues that I was unable to resolve. I then began using my daughter's add on keyboard that really only lengthened my posts but did nothing to clean them up. Eventually I received the big iMac computer and found more capability but my internet speed slowed down from the already glacial speed to that of my four mile running pace. Couple that slow speed to my level of patience with technology and it ends up being extra clicks that grow exponentially harder on the desk top and resulting in multiple posts of the same topic.
Now that I can no longer use those above excuses, I am adding the reasoning that I really need to watch what I am posting in an effort to stay out of Fort Leavenworth's facility for military bloggers on the loose. I was at first mainly keeping this as a journal for myself and potential releasing of the contents later in life upon evaluation if they were worthy of releasing. My laziness took over as multiple friends and family dropped into my irregular Facebook world asking the generic question of , "How are things going"? Due to the fact that they were not going smoothly and I was getting sick of the bitching and whining about the screwed up situation, I began sending them the address of my post so I did not have to take the time to rehash the topic over and over. This seemed like a smart plan until I received an email from my former boss and respected mentor full of quotes from a particularly nasty post. That email was soon followed by a generic post to the 3-1 AHB Facebook page reminding service members about their responsibility for comments made in social media. It could have been a coincidence, yet knowing this superior senior officer, it was a message not only to me but the officers that I have influence over that were cut in on the blog link. I was not expecting that those that I shared with would spread this around so quickly and to an audience that it was never intended. However, that is exactly the reason and vehicle for social media, networking and spreading information, in this case this was not an advantage but the very reason behind warning soldiers to watch what they put out into the published public.
Trust me, I have had a large amount of opinion in the missing month on my blog. I evaluate everything that I am about to write to discover that nothing I have in my head should go out on the web. At the very least the angle that I want to document is not something that should be viewed by all. It is so much more fun to throw out opinion without the need to be responsible. I only have to think about having my opinion read by certain individuals in my life, and career to quickly decide not to commit that opinion to the world as a record for all eternity. I guess I am a little surprised to discover that there are those that are actually reading this trash.
I am going to try and catch up to current day on activities here for the Hastings clan in Sweden in some future posts. Things have dramatically changed in the work place, and in the quality of life for us in our host nation. So more to follow.....
Such is the way social media works. So glad life is better where you are living. Can't way to come and see for myself. Keep sharing your life with us across the pond....as best you can.
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