John Gushue . . . Dot Dot Dot

So, I made this life-changing decision ...

Well, not necessarily life-changing, but pretty major. I decided to step off the treadmill that is my job at cbc.ca/nl, where I edit the news from CBC in Newfoundland and Labrador. I asked for, and got, an unpaid leave of absence; my last day was July 3, and I'm scheduled to report back early next March. As I've told people, it's a great job; it's just that there's too much job. I'm very grateful I've been given the opportunity to take a break to develop some new skills.

What plans do I have? Well, I'm not yet sure. Still figuring that out, although I have some ideas of what I want to try. I want to stretch my creative legs and try some things I haven't done before, as well as master some new skills and return to some types of writing I've enjoyed in the past. Among other things, I'm working for my wife, who runs a successful company from our home. I'm really looking forward to working from home again: I've been self-employed twice during my career, and I have to say they were pretty satisfying periods.

Week 1 is drawing to an end, and it was not nearly as productive as I might have hoped. I spent most of it coming down with and then getting over a sinus infection. Nothing like a little kick to the immune system to take the wind out of your sails!

I will be keeping Dot Dot Dot running, and indeed will actually have a little more time for it.

Anyway, on with the rest of the adventure for the next eight months!

This blog is now five years old

Five years ago today, I published the first post on Dot Dot Dot. I didn't have much to say at the time, in retrospect, although at least I got the title right.

At that point, blogging was not even novel, and I had been toying with the idea of starting a blog. I'm still here, and I notice that many, many of the blogs I used to read then no longer are.

My rules haven't changed much. Because I'm a journalist, I can't and won't wade into political issues, and I keep most of my opinions to myself - at least on stuff I may have to write about one day. This is, indeed, really restrictive.

So, if I can't deal with all that, there's still plenty else, from my pop-culture diet to my professional interests in journalism (it's in the queue as "craft singles," one of many bad puns I've committed here) to ephemera like T-shirts and found objects. I may get back to incorporating a little more history here. In other words, a whole bunch of dots, sometimes actually connected to each other.

(The Dot Dot Dot, by the way, is about two things. It''s Morse code for the letter S, which is the message Guglielmo Marconi received in 1901 on Signal Hill, a place where my grandfather Bill Kelly worked for many years as a telegraph operator, presaging the professional interests I and others (my mom was a newspaper editor and my sister was the first female disc jockey in the province) in the family had in communications. Secondly, I use the ellipsis way too much when I write, so Dot Dot Dot is also a nod to something those close to me have had to put up with for years.)

I understand why blogs come and go. They can be fun and exhilarating, but they're also tiring. I've lasted in part by keeping most things very, very short, and by stocking up material I can drop over time. (An old editor's trick.)

Plus, I'm still having fun with it, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate hearing from dozens of people I've never actually met. (And thanks to my mom for keeping my traffic steady.)

Streppy

I'm battling a nasty infection in the head. Blech. Posting has been a bit erratic lately, but hopefully will get back to normal.

On vacation

A sign that speaks for itself. There'll be a little less frequency in the days in the days ahead.

(I made the sign above with the Custom Motel Sign generator.)