I Flunked Blogger Migration 101

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(For what seemed like two weeks at least—a weekend is a long time when you are wandering in the wilderness, whimpering in desperation—my blog was floating somewhere out there in cyberspace, and I had no idea what was going on. Finally, today, I backtracked, restored the original settings and, at least for now, it seems all is normal.

However, the deadline appoacheth. Rest assured, I will seek guidance before tackling migration a second time. This round I plan to hire someone who speaks web design—specifically someone who is familiar with the Blogger dialect. I am not about to dive into that nightmare task again. This is a job that definitely calls for more web savvy than I have. Evidently, I had the settings all cockeyed and heaven only knows where I had routed my poor little blog. It doesn’t appear bruised by the buffeting it must have taken ricocheting about out there in space, but it makes me shudder to think.

Talk about being upset. Whoa. Major league stuff. I managed to keep my sanity by using my camera; but it was a close call, I don’t mind admitting. Lest you think I was anxious about my precious posts, I wasn’t that devastated about losing what I have written. Heavens, no. For one thing, if I did care that much, I have the rough drafts in MS Word. The photos are on my hard drive. What upset me was losing the comments. That is the heart of the blog, after all. All those warm, funny, thoughtful, informative, and thought-provoking comments posting by readers. Why wouldn’t I be tearing my hair out at the thought of those being lost. Whew. Gives me the chills to think about it.

M Day

Today is Migration Day. I have fingers and toes crossed, I’m holding my mouth just right, threw salt over my shoulder (both shoulders because I can’t remember the rule), and I am headed for the backyard to look for a four-leaf clover.

If all goes well, my blog will be headed for anitajesse.com (process fully completed in three days, I think)—still Blogger, but at my own domain. If the process fails and my blog ends up in limbo, the wailing and gnashing of teeth will reverberate for days. Weeks, maybe. I don’t want to think about the possibility.

See you soon. I hope.

Blogging for Dummies

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Not only am I not a geek, I am virtually paralyzed by the thought of most software. For example, I have almost none of the bells and whistles on my blog that Blogger offers and I am not even considering ever switching to Wordpress. Now, take this for what it is worth, since I have already admitted that I don’t know what I am talking about; but, my ill-informed impression is that Wordpress is well suited for folks who are adept with software while Blogger is designed not only for those clever enough to maximize it’s capabilities, but for dummies as well. Furthermore, the only version of Blogger is free and that suits my budget perfectly. Is there any wonder, why I went with the latter?

Being a non-geek, shows up front. My blog is in need of updating, but every time I get into the dashboard, I spend far too much time bumbling about and get frustrated that it takes so much time to complete what I know should be a simple task.

In the last few days, I screwed “my courage to the sticking place” and switched from the old "post editor" to the newer "updated editor". By the time I experimented for a couple of days, I was more than a little ticked-off and convinced that I had wasted my time and driven my blood pressure up by at least ten points. It appears that I traded spell-check and new problems for a couple of conveniences that I had been living without up to this point.  Yes, I got a typeface I prefer, namely Helvetica. Still. Worth all the hair pulling? Let’s put it this way, I switched back to the old, unimproved editor after one post—for health reasons. Life is short.

On a slightly saner (at least calmer) note, I have been curious about statistics for my site for at least six months. I know I have a very light traffic, but it would be nice to see the growth. I do think that I have more readers now than I did a year ago, but I have never had the gumption to install any sort of counter. I don’t spend much time thinking about it. Although curiosity is a powerful motivator, I wouldn’t be doing anything different with my posts after reading the statistics. I suppose, then, that it doesn’t matter except that it irritates me to be handcuffed by my lack of education—which is compounded by wimpiness. It's pathetic, isn't it, if you can't easily master Blogger? Hopleless, I would venture to say.

By the way, I have finally returned to fight another day with new "updated editor" and we are getting along better now. And, you can stop laughing at me now, thank you. Sigh. I think I will concentrate on taking more photos and enjoying the digital darkroom. It's wise to acknowledge our limitations and stay in the kiddie sandbox if we truly belong there.

P.S. If you are wondering whether the photo connects with the text, think about it. Bird. Brain. Riiiiiight.
 
P.P.S. I don't stay in this sort of mood long. There is no payoff. But, sheesh, every so often I just need a good rant. I already feel better.