Ten.
This is what I looked like when I started this blog in April of 2002.
Ten years.
Ten years hasn't been all that hard on me, I have to admit. I'll thank the women in my life for introducing me to proper skin care. A message to the men out there: they are on to something with all that moisturizer and sunblock. Now if I could just figure out how to get all that lubrication into my knees...
So I've been at this thing, on and off (mostly off lately) for ten years. Although I have been writing for twenty, the bulk of it has been in the last ten. I have essentially chronicled my thirties.
When I look into the archives I can see how much I have grown and simultaneously, how much I haven't. I can also see how much better I used to be at this. Writing is definitely a skill that requires use. The pen, or in this case the keyboard, may be mightier than the sword, but unlike the sword, the pen gets sharper the more you use it. Left alone for too long, it gets dull. This missing muse is, of course, part of my motivation to put this blog into semi-retirement.
Ten years of career angst without ever mentioning the specifics of work. I learned that lesson early. Thanks Heather .
Ten years of my love life at first unashamedly exposed and then, as a result of frequently public and painful consequences, awkwardly hidden.
Ten years of hanging off rocks and riding down slopes and rolling down trails and paddling into surf.
Ten years and nearly thirty stamps in my passport.
Six of those ten spent with a loyal, friendly, occasionally smelly, $36 dollar, mushy faced dog.
For those of you who have stuck with me on this digital journey of exposure and discovery, thank you. I have met many of you in person, and you have been profoundly supportive and influential. And actually, it is because of some of you that this site even exists. Lord knows I don't posses the technical acumen to maintain this shit.
Be well.
Be kind.
Be outside.
Be brave.
At least for now, ciao.
Comments
I think I've been reading since 2003, so about nine of those ten years. I've continued to read your blog because it's always been the best of blogging - writing and musing without thinking about if there is enough keyword density or if it will "convert" traffic. (I really miss what blogs were in the early 2000s.)
I'll miss following your journey - best of luck as you move forward.
Posted by: Nicole | April 29, 2012 09:21 PM
Jim,
you are able to articulate with your writting those small things that make up a big life. Thank you for all your motivation. I will miss it.
Climb On,
Clark
Posted by: Clark | May 1, 2012 05:34 AM
Is your ear pierced?!
Posted by: Anna | May 1, 2012 09:22 AM
my ear has been pierced since 1989. i took out my earring in 2000.
i put it back in when i was on my sabbatical and crossed the cape horn coming back from antarctica. supposedly there was some tradition that sailors had to pierce an ear when they did that.
Posted by: the mighty jimbo | May 1, 2012 11:12 AM
So one of my favorite posts from you, way back when, was when you linked to an amazing writer creating a blog called Paper Boats or something like that (maybe in Spanish)? She was writing about her marriage falling apart from the third person. She took down her blog, but I think of her writing often.
I know you are moving on, but I have enjoyed your site.
Posted by: Holly | May 1, 2012 09:02 PM
I've been reading your blog since before I moved to CA (@2006). At the time I was trying to get a feel for where I was bringing my family.
I think you helped shape my expectations of CA and what we did once we got here (Joshua Tree!).
I've enjoyed your journey and your writing.
Sad to see you go, but I get it.
Maybe you could check-in once awhile? Once a year?
Posted by: Aaron | May 7, 2012 06:39 PM
aww, I found you randomly, I think, through Dooce and bought one of your awesome prints. Always enjoyed checking out your blog, although I've been away for awhile out of the country and not reading blogs. Just remembered to check out your blog and I'm a tiny bit sad that you won't be updating new content, but glad that you're still posting great photos to Flickr.
Posted by: Bellacantare | May 10, 2012 08:16 AM
Thanks for sharing all these years.
Posted by: Erica Lucci | May 11, 2012 03:56 PM
Jimbo, I will miss the mush updates. I read my first blog of yours at least six years ago. I check three websites and log off, and one of them is yours! You have a gift with your writing. You've done an amazing job keeping my attention without me knowing any real personal details. I think that's a clue that you're living life right. You have stories to tell. Even though I don't know too much, somehow I still feel like I'm losing touch with a friend. That's a good thing in this case though. It's like finishing a good book and being sad that it ended. That's always a good feeling. Is there a way to buy a print from you? There are so many that I love!
Posted by: Ashleigh | May 15, 2012 10:16 PM
I can't remember when I first started reading your blog - but it has been quite a while. The postcard you sent from Antartica (one penguin, tons of guano)has been on my frig for years.
Thank you for letting us into your world.
Take care.
Cleo
Posted by: Cleopatra | May 19, 2012 09:35 AM
I'm originally from California - now living in Chicago. Your blog always brightened a gloomy day here (god know we get enough of them!) reminding me of home. I'll miss your updates, but thank you for sharing your life and photos with us over the years. Take care and cheers!
Posted by: Kristina | May 31, 2012 01:23 PM
I keep up with you more on Twitter and Facebook now. I had such an unconventional stumble-upon this blog, was searching for another Jimbo from back East who happened to be gay, like me, and ended up meeting a straight Jimbo that lived just another beach city away from me in Orange County. Attended one of your parties and met your awesome brother and so many other awesome people, and made a great new friend in you. Truly blessed by serendipity.
Posted by: Brent | June 29, 2012 07:45 PM
Thanks for letting me live vicariously thru you. If you're ever Boulder-bound, look me up!
All the best to you & Josh xo
Posted by: Kath | September 7, 2012 01:24 PM
Yours is one of the first blogs I ever read sometime in 2002 after hearing the word "blog." The very first I read was probably Mr. Styn's, which is how I ended up at your digital place, no doubt. Happy trails.
Posted by: JV | October 2, 2012 09:52 PM