So you noticed I took a little break, eh?
I’ll peel back the DIY curtain again and share more personal stuff. There will be more honest-to-goodness DIY stuff next time, but since readers have been checking in on me, here’s the scoop.
Originally, I thought I’d take January off from the blog and chill for a bit. I’d been plowing away on projects and constantly thinking about what to post on the blog and social media for 7 years. I wanted to take my mind off of it for a while. It’s not my full-time gig after all.
Somewhere in there, I kinda lost my mojo and didn’t come back in February as planned. Now, four months have passed since I was here. Holy cow.
It was a combination of things.
I’d started new medications. They clearly affected my mood for some reason. I just wasn’t myself for a while. There were lots of naps on the couch, and not much productivity.
I don’t believe I’ve ever suffered real depression before, but I think that’s what got me this time.
There was lot’s of stuff lurking around in my skull, dragging me down. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I’m going to hit a big, milestone birthday this year. That, along with the loss of my brother and my father in the past years, as well as the powerless worry for several relatives across the country combating serious health challenges, slammed me with the frailty of life.
To top it off, I’ve been chasing through a heath scare with a possible lung-cancer thing for over 9 months. I’ve never even puffed a cigarette. It’s finally turned out to be “probably nothing” after a pile of money and time spent on various tests and scans. Good.
With all that nonsense, I let a big decline in my social media reach get into my head too. I started second-guessing the whole blogger thing, losing interest.
I did some minor home improvement things, some repairs, and even had a fun vacation. I just didn’t feel like writing about it.
Turning the page
When I finally wrapped my head around the possibility I might be suffering depression, it simply clicked off overnight. Just talking to a few people out loud, pondering about the possibility was enough to kick it. Weird. I’m lucky; some people wrestle the beast for a lifetime.
I popped out of whatever funk I was in and started planning some projects. I got back into the blog and started reading comments again, answering email. The blog traffic had actually increased, while I disappeared for 3 months. Clearly, lots of people have been doing IKEA kitchen remodels, because those posts went through the roof. My 12 Tips For Installing an IKEA Kitchen has become my all-time most popular post, and stays there month-after-month. (Although now with all the COVID shelter-in-place, going on and most IKEA’s closed, apparently building a diy golf net at home is on a sharp increase):
January 1 - April 20, 2020 AZ DIY Guy top blog posts
There were also a few really great connections from people that missed the blog and worried about me or missed my content.
I’ve decided to start easing back in. I really do enjoy it and writing actually helps me de-stress.
So what’s next?
I’ve got 3-4 major projects lined up, but talk about bad timing.
I’ve gone and wasted all the wonderfully cool, winter months. There’s a sliver of gorgeous Arizona weather left before evil summer heat, but there’s still the little matter of a worldwide, freaking pandemic. There’s nothing like a deadly plague, the likes of which we haven’t seen in a hundred years, shutting everything down to put a crimp in one’s plans is there?
Still, chin-up. We’ll fight the fight and follow the rules to stay safe. We’re just going to be a little more careful with our money for a while and not jump right into spendy home improvement projects. I’m also going to do my best to stay out of the emergency room from DIY induced calamities. We’ll see.
I’d planned to trade in my 10 year old truck for a new vehicle in May. I’ve been experimenting with repairing the horribly sun-burned paint / clear-coat in hopes of getting somewhat of a good resale value. Now, I don’t see buying a new vehicle anytime soon with so much economic uncertainty, but I’m going to keep working on this one.
My son and I have also been up to some other cool stuff including wrapping up his bedroom / stay at home college dorm room. I’ll be sharing that and more soon.
Stuff you may have missed
With the blog quiet, I’ve just had a little going into social media. I primarily have used Instagram. I don’t have as many followers there, but I get a decent level of interaction compared to Facebook. I might even try Twitter again.
Replacing A Washing Machine PumpIt's the fourth time I've had to open up the LG Front loader. Here's a speed run, pump motor replacement.
Posted by AZ DIY Guy on Sunday, March 22, 2020
See you soon friends. Stay healthy.
