Social Claustrophobia
So to my surprise, more than a handful of you realized that I have killed my plurk and twitter accounts and were a wee tad worried when the blog was deathly quiet. (Edit: I killed the old dog. This entry was the last one of the whole lot imported here. I am unlocking them slowly when I get the time)
Thanks for your concern. I must admit I am always (strangely and then pleasantly) surprised when people care.
Well to cut the drama, I was considering to shut down this blog or to make it private. Feeling too claustrophobic and too vulnerable. People reading this blog that I do not have too high an opinion of. People stalking out this blog for possible ammunition (there she goes shopping again). People sticking their noses into places where they should not be. I have had so many noses sniffing at my virtual ass that I am starting to feel like I have a colonoscopy foisted on me.
It also does not help that my chronic neck and shoulder problem is flaring up worse than ever. It renders me unable to even type sometimes and for someone who depends on bringing in dough word by word, it is tragic.
Have you ever had the experience of having people whom you dislike or have a low regard for read your blog? Care to share your experience?
As for me, I do miss the days where I can talk freely about the snippets of my life to the audience that comprises primarily of friends and friendly strangers. I am still pondering on my next step of action; that is to make this blog private or to start another blog. Do drop me a note/ comment if you would like to continue reading.
April 8th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
At the end of the day we do care how others respond to our blog posts, don’t we? It took me 2 years to get comfortable with blogging for the public.
If you stop blogging, I will miss hearing about you, your life and the lives of your wonderful girls.
April 9th, 2009 at 12:50 am
blog because it makes you happy and because you want to express the happiness inside you that ur family, shopping (who cares?!), and your job brings you.
if you’ve got it, flaunt it because there are so many awful blogs out there that reek of self-centeredness ten thousand times worse than urs, u shdnt be made to feel that way.
if people read u bcos they dont like you, odds are there are obv jealous. its a known fact women r like tt.
cheers!
April 9th, 2009 at 12:55 am
ultimately, you can run, but you can’t hide.
i’ve moved twice before due to such unwanted scrutiny / pressure, but these seemed to be only short term solutions (i think). i suppose, as a someone who writes publicly, you might have to make your peace with a certain level of scrutiny and deal with some degree of criticism (whether constructive or not). for the occasional private entry, there’s always the lock function. but i, too, will definitely miss your writing if you do decide to stop.
April 9th, 2009 at 8:50 am
It was only yesterday morning when I was going through my reader that I wondered about you. Why the silence. I wondered if you are too busy with girls and Big that you don’t have time for your blog anymore.
And I see this today.
One of the reasons why I love your blog is the personal feel you put into it – how proud you are of your girls, being a single mother, Big, juggling family life and career, shopping (!), EVERYTHING!
You can either move or lock your blog – but please do NOT stop writing!
April 9th, 2009 at 11:22 am
once you leave trails on the internet, there’s no hiding, unless you want to go under the cloak of anonymity.
i do experience ’social claustrophobia’, many times in fact. how do i combat that? by keeping a private journal and writing in there. though it seems otherwise, im very selective about what i write in my liquidblade account. so the private one is for my personal blahing. it helps keep me sane.
if you dont crave for ‘fame’ or sponsorships or you-know-lah..all those stuff that bloggers these days want.. then why not make your blog a private friends-only one?
April 9th, 2009 at 11:47 am
i will miss your blog if it’s gone, sincerely.
and if well, there are ppl i don’t like/have no regard for reading my blog, i just leave them be. at least they know how well a live i’m leading.
come back, xt.
April 9th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Whatever you choose to do, I believe you’ve thought it through. =) As long as you don’t change your mobile phone number can already!
April 9th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
I’m a silent reader/follower of your blog and enjoys reading your blog about your family. Plse continue to blog and hope that i can be allowed to join/read your blog if you’ve decided to turn it private.
No matter what others say about you, as long as your conscience is clear, don’t care a hoot about the jealous/bitchy whatevernots people. Live your life as you want/decide.
April 9th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
I would still continue to read your blog, as long as you write!
You have been an awesome friend to me, and I enjoy the writings that you do
April 9th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
my sentiments echo that of carol’s! but keep your Plurk private lah, safer.
April 10th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
will like to be kept in the loop since i like reading your posts.
i kept mine really private cos i dont see a need to share with others whom i dont know
April 11th, 2009 at 12:04 am
Fitti is right, don’t change your mobile number or even email! Your blog is one of my must-reads when I can muster energy still outside work. And honestly, its your blog, your space, so whoever is having an issue can simply f87k off.
April 13th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Don’t go! =C
April 13th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Its your blog and you are free to write what you like. If you get negative comments that you don’t feel like replying to – simply delete as its your blog. if others write negatively about your blog entries, so be it as you can’t please everybody. As for “there she goes shopping again” – I haven’t seen you blogging about shopping for a very long time ever since your blog took on a more serious tone.
Of course, I hope you don’t go. But if you have to, I will respect your choice
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:48 pm
I haven’t dropped by in a while but I just wanted to say I enjoy reading your blog. I may not always share the same views as you but hey, diversity is always good. Plus, it’s great to read about your girls.
However, at the end of the day, it is your life and how public you want it to be. There is always going to be people who judge.
April 27th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
hello there, dont shut down your blog! you are humourous and interesting to read. there will also be people out there who scrutinize and comment. I will be sad to see this blog go…
April 27th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
Hello, it’s your decision. Do whatever you are comfortable with. I am sure there will be people who will miss following your story. I’ll be sad to see you vanish from the web since I have been enjoying your blog for many years. It is such an inspiration.
April 28th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
Huh? You planning to stop this blog? Doh… ape will miss Xtralicious even though ape seldom visit here (a bit too much ladies stuff :p)
Fortunately, ape don’t have the problem of people sniffing my virtual (and hairy) ass… and unable to share with you.
Whatever the case may be, ape wish you all the best!
May 2nd, 2009 at 7:40 pm
I love reading your blog and will be sad should you close it down, but do what you think is best…and all the best to you.
May 3rd, 2009 at 11:19 pm
Just wanna say I’ve missed you on Plurk & Twitter. Hope you & your beautiful girls are doing well and in good health.
May 7th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
I always learn something from your writing, be it a new vocabulary or a different point of view. dun be disheartened by petty pple passing petty comments. Quote what Dana Lam said at AWARE EOGM, “What doesn’t kill you, make you stronger.” Go girl!
May 16th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
hey, continue blogging please. i know my comment is kinda late, i just managed to get back online from the office somemore… continue to blog so i can get entertained during work ;P
im sure those nasty comments wouldnt stop u from blogging! they r afterall, juz comments. if u enjoy blogging, do continue to share ur enjoyment & happiness with ur readers!
May 18th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
Your writings, musing, and assorted thoughts can be inspirational to others. Thanks, and hope you keep it up.
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:24 am
I was in your situation last year. exactly the same and I do have stalker and I know who that person is. Things happened when I accidently browse her website, to my horror, exactly the same layout, same colour, font, design, way of introduction. Of course, I did not keep quite and started a war (virtually). I want to shout out loud, say whatever things I want and share all my stuff with my family, friend and friendly strangers like you. I changed my blog address but useless, stalker is still stalker, they won’t stop coming and worst, copying your style and worst x10, copying your lifestyle and pattern! I opened an account at wordpress, transferred all the posts from my blogspot and continue blogging. As you know, at wordpress, you can block certain posts, keep them private with password and CONTINUE BLOGGING.
May 23rd, 2009 at 8:32 am
Please, please do not stop blogging. I have enjoyed reading your writeups. Are you stopping just because of your neck and shoulder problem? I wish you would recover soon.
June 9th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
From a friendly stranger – I’ve been blogging for too long *LOL*. Yes I do understand how you feel. These days I have way too much to do to write long posts, and my blog exist primarily for the work I do (it’s a requirement) …… but I do sneak in bits of myself, my life to keep it from being boringly arsty-crafty.
It’s your choice, but I would ask – do you really care about what people (you hardly know) think ? I’ve long since stopped worrying about them because they are not paying my bills, looking after my kids and don’t contribute to my life, so why worry about what they may/may not think ? This might sound horribly cold, but its the truth. There are millions of blogs, would anyone care about our posts tomorrow ? Nope ……… so, I would say write on …….. !
Aida
June 9th, 2009 at 10:44 pm
OOppps typo : artsy-crafty
August 27th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
yippee,the golddigger finally closes her blog!