On the topic of why I have not been keeping up with my commitment to a blog post a day, I have already expounded on Vegas and computer problems. I did in fact write another post detailing the 24 hours of delirium wherein “someone” went to the ER a couple times. But that entry has been rejected by the censors, and so nothing more shall be mentioned regarding said event, other than to say it’s impact on my blogging momentum was not insignificant. And, of course, one can’t lean on the crutch of a past excuse forever, so let me move on to another one.

As some may already have guessed, I tend to be obsessive and compulsive at times, and I’m also very sensitive. And paranoid. And sometimes pessimistic. And defeatist. So when the news of the earthquake in Japan first arrived, I felt tremendous sympathy and began following the news intently. Then, as the enormity of the tsunami became clear, empathy and profound sadness welled up within me. Finally, when the nuclear reactor catastrophe started to unfold, I was simply stunned and transfixed. Close proximity to any sort of information device and I was glued to it trying to stay informed about latest developments, palpably hoping for the best, and fearing the worst. And as it got worse, I envisioned it swirling around me, borne on winds from Japan, or simply from our own Diablo Canyon nuclear reactor after the next shake of the ring of fire. I was sure this was the beginning of something very bad for a much wider area.

So, there went another couple of days of without a post. But I eventually came to my senses, and sympathetic though I am, I started worrying about more real and proximate things, like the storm patterns on the west coast of the US–that is, like my flooded basement, which I’ve had to pump out every couple days when the water level overtakes the burner on the water heater. Or maybe the news switched to other topics, like dealing with the situation in Libya. Whatever it was, it didn’t help with getting back to the daily practice of writing. But today is a new day, and though we’ve lost Elizabeth Taylor, I’m finding the strength to renew my commitment. I might even try to catch up and crank out an extra couple posts over the next few days. In this wacky world, anything is possible.