Warning: This is a rambling, roundabout tale. But it does eventually have a pointa point to do with an epiphany I've had about this very blog. If you're looking for insightful storage news, I'm afraid this entry will disappoint. But if you're a regular "Storage Speak" reader, stick around ... This might interest you ...
I'm not what I would consider a "TV watcher." Don't get me wrongI spend my share of time enjoying television programs, but I don't do the network channels. If I'm in front of the tube, it's for one my beloved shows on HBO. My all-time favorite? Deadwood. But I've also gotten hooked on others over the years: Rome, Real Time With Bill Maher, Six Feet Under, Big Love and, of course, Sopranos and Sex and the City. Recently, I've even been charmed by Flight of the Conchords, which is wacky and ridiculous in all the right ways.
I would go so far as to say I've been an HBO snob. Friends would occasionally ask if I had watched this or that popular program, like 24 or Desperate Housewives, and I would wrinkle my nose in distaste. "Those shows air on channels with commercials. I don't do commercials." But it wasn't just "regular" TV that turned me off, it was all the other pay channels as well. Until recently.
I'll truncate the story a bit here to get closer to the crux: The five-cent version is I'm a big fan of a band called Evanescence, which recently allowed its song "Lacrymosa" to serve as a backdrop for promotional clips of a Showtime Original Series called The Tudors. My husband and I heard a rumor that the show would include music by the band, so we temporarily subscribed to Showtime for access.
In the end, The Tudors was extremely disappointing; but our intermittent Showtime viewings meant our paths crossed with Weeds, a deliciously dark and surprisingly poignant comedy about a widow who peddles pot in an affluent suburb. Well, we missed the first two Weeds seasons but managed to catch some re-runs. Season three launched last week, and the show is now immediately followed by another new comedy series, Californication, starring the yummy David Duchovny. (I swear we're getting close to the heart of this tedious tale!)
Californication is the story of Hank Moody, a troubled novelist struggling with his creative and sexual urges (a lack of the former and over abundance of the latter). In the midst of a horrific literary dry spell, he lands a job blogging for a local magazine, a job he is reluctant to embrace. (See! I told you we were getting closer!) His manager says to him, "The whole idea behind the blog is an ongoing narrative, a series of events that follows another series of events."
That's when the lightbulb brightenedfor me, that is, not Hank. I've had a love/hate relationship with this blog, and lately, it's been more hate than love. I hate feeling pressured to write, to create something out of nothing, to feign insight when there is none. But it hit me the other night that I've been going about this all wrong.
Instead of sharing day-to-day tidbits from life behind the scenes at Inside Self-Storage (assuming, of course, it would be hollow and dreary for readers), I've waited to be seized by moments of inspiration or flashes of crucial industry newsboth of which can be rare and/or fleeting. And so the blog goes frequently unloved. But you all read industry news every day, don't you? You subscribe to our RSS feed? You get updates from Google and Yahoo! In short, you don't really need me to tell you what's in the "papers" or how I feel about this or that press release. What pish posh.
Maybe we're ready for something closer to home, something about the piece of the business with which I'm most intimately familiar. I'll still chat with you about "the issues" if you want. We can talk about news or events. But let's get back to the story this blog was originally meant to tell: It's the story of how ISS magazine and expo allows us to interact and connect with people in this wonderful industry. It's about what we do, how we do it and why. It's a tale I can tell without the need for lightning, because it's my own and I live it.
Now, I don't promise daily excitement. I don't promise daily anything for that matter. But my team and I will try to impart something of value, and we invite you to participate, too. Don't forget the blog is also intended to be a conversation, which means you always have a say. So go ahead and hit the "Post a comment" link you see below. You're all very welcome to be part of this story.