Sure. Will it be any good? I don’t know. When I recently wrote about writer’s block because I wasn’t sure what to write about, I got some compliments. Most days these posts take a couple of hours,  and that’s just too much. Why so long? Thinking of an idea, maybe doing some research, which can lead down some rabbit holes, then there’s the writing, proofreading and editing, adding photos and links. It adds up. As The Dude said, you can call him “El Duderino, if you’re not into that whole brevity thing.” But being brief is all the rage these days with our short attention spans. So, here goes. That’s 4 minutes and 115 words.

Normally in my first blog post of the month, especially when it falls on the first day like today, I write about my bicycling statistics from the previous month.  But I’ve grown a little weary both of biking and statistics, so I’m going to reserve that for another day.  Besides, A Dude is about more than just riding a bike most days and walking, doing yoga and writing every day. 

Like, um, let’s see, sometimes work.  Today I did a job, nothing hard or lucrative, but it was something.  A friend was there, and I met some new people, which is usually a good thing.  At some point though, all three of my co-workers were ragging on me (an old term for nagging, which I think now is probably called bullying).  I objected and they said they were joking. 

Later, I stopped to talk to a homeless guy.  He was leaning on a Chipotle drinking a tall beer in downtown Austin.  He wasn’t making much sense and then called me stupid.  I said I didn’t have time for that, said “Your face is stupid!” and left.  I then checked my lottery ticket at a 7-Eleven, where I got two small bags of peanuts for $1.09 (they used to be 2 for a dollar).  The screen said, “NOT A WINNER.”

Some days, life beats you down.  A self-help book might help, like Jen Sincero’s You Are a Badass:  How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life (2013).  It’s really nothing new but is presented in a way that thinks is cool, with a lot of slang and regular cursing.  If you take every bit of advice seriously and apply it, you’re promised that awesome life.  If you don’t, well, it’s your damn fault for allowing negativity to win.  This is the problem with self-help: it’s usually a bunch of bullshit disguised as pabulum sprayed with perfume but whose main purpose is to make the author money.  Caveat emptor (I got it for free).

I’m not saying it’s all crap but get those grains of salt ready (the author was probably drinking a margarita while she wrote it.)  If it works for you, great.  If not, well, there are plenty more out there.  May you have an awesome, insult- and self-help free day!

(That was exactly 500 words in exactly 30 minutes without the title or this sentence, counting edits but not adding key words, blurb, or photos.)

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