Hurry back, friend. The internet won’t be the same without the comma!

Look! He colored inside the lines.

I despise people like Dooce who was whining in a Wall Street Journal interview about the “pressures” of blogging in one sentence and then in the next she was discussing how she rakes in a 6 figure salary with her blog ad revenue every year!

There’s a lot of blogs that I wonder why they even bother when they’re just posting forwarded e-mail type content. Your blog though is special and different and specially different. :) Enjoy your break!

Great.
I’ll just add you to the list of all my favorite things that have been cancelled (or ended) recently: The 4400, Journeyman, NPR’s short-lived “The Bryant Park Project,” my subscription to Wired magazine, Gilmore Girls, affordable gas.
So, see ya later. Guess I’ll have to go back to making art. Or maybe I’ll start my own blog, now that the airwaves are less crowded. Hmm..the shrinking semi-colon? The poised question mark? Wow, this could take all day!

Aaargh! The good ones retire, while the other ones just go on and on and on. Witness Calvin and Hobbes vs. Mary Worth, for example.

Well, enjoy your break. I’ll be waiting here when you get back.

i feel you. i feel almost compelled to write sometimes, just so i don’t slip down. blogging is supposed to be fun. take a break. only write when the mood hits. maybe i’ll take my own advice.

After 16 years of self-invention and reinvention, I finally listened to God and gave up on me. Each day I’m now trying to discover who God made me to be.

(How’s that for deep?)

May your break be short and deep.

Knowing God made you funny to begin with, I’m not too worried about what you’ll discover in your plotting, hoping and dreaming.

Will anxiously await your glorious return. (Or that of Dr. T’s.)

A break is always good from blogging. As soon as I get tired I always take a break. Blogging to me is too much fun to just flat out quit from exhaustion.

Well crap. Just when I added you to the blogroll.

But I hear you.

It feels too much like work on some days. Have a revitalizing break.

(Now that you’re on the blog roll, I’ll see when you get back.)

Good luck…I enjoyed reading a humor blog with some decent “writing” as opposed to quick hits that involve the word meme…..hope to see you soon.

Brent: Like some others here, I was just getting to know you and even liked some aspects of you. ;) Enjoy your time off.

My favorite writer is taking a break…the nerve. (Must go pout…)

***

“Be Back Soon”

We are counting on it!

Do you know how tramatic rogue punctuation withdrawal can be? They don’t have clinics for this kind of stuff. Just crummy support groups with stale donuts and that creepy guy with PTSD from his time in Grenada! Don’t be gone long, but enjoy the hiatus. We’ll just be here commments back and fourth to each other.

So Deb, how’s that pouting going?

Where is Sarah McLachlan when you need her? Enjoy your break, Brent. Recharge. Reinvent. Re-engage. And bravo for having the balls and the discipline to do it. Too many times, people just keep going and burn themselves out.

And a burnt and crispy comma isn’t a good comma.

If you haven’t already, get familiar with Pacifico. With lime.

Already looking forward to your return.

Blogging has pressures? You have to free your mind…let it all go… You are right…you watch rankings, you watch counts and it ruins it all. I only write for me and I could care less about blog lists, pimping the site, getting awards, or counts. Of course, when I find that I don’t want to amuse myself, then its time to take a break.

Good luck with your break…

You deserve it Brent. You may have even given me the courage to do the same.

Bummer! I have always enjoyed your blog. Not so much for the tortured feelings of inadequacy that it left me with but the actual laugh-out-loud stuff that you made seem so easy.

But fine. Take a break. We’ll be here waiting.

That is if we haven’t sawed our wrists open in despair.

It IS work. I’m thinking of doing the same thing. Good luck, man.

Come back soon! We’ll miss you until then!

my wife says she’s going to get a t-shirt that says, “widowed by a blog” b/c of the time i spend at night with a thinkpad in my lap.

you’ll be missed. i have a response to your “5 blogging tips” request in my drafts i need to put up sometime soon.

Hey Ominous One,

Sorry to see you go (for a bit).

Hopefully, you’ll come back stronger…like an ominous semi-colon (I have no idea what that means, either)

rock on,

aitch

Heh, I definitely know how you feel, dude. Come back when you are ready.

Hey Brent,

I have enjoyed your writing. Have a great break - hope you find some inspiration! Thats the hardest part! Can I still have a comma trophy though? I don’t have any trophies, and would really like one :P

Its becuase you miss Tobboggans so much isnt it, I knew it.

But seriously come back soon… oh and enjoy your time off I guess aswell.

Enjoy the much deserved break… Rickey reminds you that blogging is a marathon, not a sprint. So drink plenty of fluids.

I understand - I’m down to about one post a month since my husband had a stroke. I wish you all the best and look forward to your return. Thanks for stopping by!

I know how you feel in a way. I have slowed on blogging. The energy is being drained. However, I won’t official stop blogging. The writing train is slowing passing through the small towns.

I don’t blog as often anymore because it started becoming work and no fun…I no where your coming from! :)

I feel you Brent. After the initial ‘popularity’ and excitement of traffic I let the plooptionary go the same way. The self imposed pressure becomes so much, you wonder why you are actually doing it. A break is a good idea, in fact, unless you hoard together a merry band of people or whore your muse for google it’s a long slog without any particular idea of where you are going.

I think you lost the comma with the mustache …

Good luck B–see ya around campus bro’…

Oh no!

Is this because I never got around to writing that guest-post for you? Do I have the blood of the comma on my hands?

Can a comma even have blood?

Anyway, I understand completely where you’re coming from. Sometimes I get a bit tired of it all, and wonder if I could be doing something more constructive with these creative bursts of energy.

So, have a good break, recharge yourself and replenish your supply of comedy moustaches.

See you soon, good sir!

Totally understand. Of course you have been consistently funny for a long time. I have five funny blog posts I think. No four. Anyway, it gets hard attempting to be funny. I must say though, you make it look easy.

So…I’m here alone. By myself. No Brent. What to do? What to do? Ummm….Jumping on the bed was fun….What else? ….urgh…How long have those been in the fridge? …ummm…What’s this? Roller skates. Not sure what Brent would do with those. ….sat on the couch, but the fleas kicked me off.

I tried that once… it lasted all of 2 weeks. I am now forever known as “The Blogger Who Cried Wolf!”

But, Scentences would became, I mean without the comma, well, scentences like this one just wouldn’t make sense…

I’ve seen this several times throughout the Blogosphere. People get tired, they feel it is no longer fun, etc. etc.
I know I’ve felt that way one time.
And I think what helps is to remember….
Write for yourself.
And only for yourself.
If you write for others, to keep your stats up, hits up, readers, etc, etc, it then becomes a chore. An expectation and obligation to others, not yourself.

So, write for yourself, not us! :)

~ZZ

WOW! You are my hero Brent. Good for you! I am so impressed and can relate. You are very talented writer, a really good person (earnest, kind and warm) and your talent is simply who you ARE. It won’t go away, and living is MOST important.

It’s interesting because I’ve seen a trend in a lot of people lately that feel this way. Honestly? I was deeply moved by this post. It confirmed things that I feel inside. Although I so enjoy your warm dry humor and will miss you - I am very very pleased and impressed to see someone listening to their heart and taking back their life for as long as they need to. You’ve probably already seen this but if you not, this video on Tammy’s site really hit home for how I feel lately about the whole blogging social networking thing. http://tammywarren.typepad.com/adaytoshare/2008/08/turn-me-off.html

Take care of yourself in every way and find what makes you happy and passionate in life and don’t let anyone or anything take it away from you. Life is too dang short. Hugs to you Brent, Robin

That diagram reminds me of the last professional business class I was forced into, dragging and screaming.

It took half a year for your sense of wonder to give way to give way to a constant, annoying sense of traffic and stats? Only took mine a couple weeks….

I once had a friend who also felt the pressure of trying to be funny everyday.
He said blogging had begun to feel like this monster he had to feed all the time, and it was draining him.

These days he hardly blogs at all, which is a shame.

Take a break, recharge your batteries (or plug yourself into an outlet, depending on whether you’re AC or DC).

Creative writing for fun and well-being is great but writing ‘on demand’ lacks excitement and life.

It’s hard for me to write for paycheck… aside from being easily distracted and keeping my focus on the topic, I just get so darn bored.

-Michael McClurg

When you say “plotting” what do you mean exactly? Just, um, checking.

Nevernonetheless, I hear you.

LOL! I can totally relate to that. I make a living blogging and I maintain way too many websites…. and if I have to come up with another original sentence, I think I’ll hurl…

:)

A friend of mine once asked me what I missed the most since I started blogging, and I said “I think I’ll start another rose garden”. The last one died because I just couldn’t part from my computer.

Good luck.

Well,
it’s good that you decided to have a break, but it seems to me, that you’ve forgotten one important thing-that you don’t have to write new article every single day, it’s just up to you. And be aware of being addicted on your computer:o)

What seems to happen before deciding on to write a blog takes lot of time and commonsense.To decide what to keep thinking constantly is not easy to plot.

sure, fine a great blog and they go on vacation.

Keep it going, man. Don;t give up. All of us bloggers are in the same boat. Good luck to ya. Great stuff.

You know when it’s time.
Listen, I’ve done something similar before and I’ll tell you something you probably already know: taking a break won’t just improve your life, it’ll improve your writing.

Dammit Brent, I wish I knew how to quit you! ;-)

I can completely relate. It’s easy to get burned out, especially when everyone is expecting a gem every day. Good luck on your hiatus. Come back with a fresh mind, and some classic material!

Enjoy your break. I had to take a few days off myself just to regroup, recharge my batteries and feel passinate about my blog again.

Just like that…no chit chat…no..leaving drinks? Arg…a lost comma indeed. Hope you will be back soon. A story without a comma isn’t a story, right?

Well, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed by your absence. In fact, I’m down right bummed. Alas, I too took an extended vacation from Blogging. Mind you, it was a career move at the time. One I wish I would not have made. Nevertheless, the break from blogging proved to be one that I needed. I now feel invigorated and ready to return to semi-regular postings.

Something I learned (the hard way, of course) is that everyone has their own comfortable blogging pace. For some, it’s daily or every other day. For others, it might be just a couple times a week. A lot depends on what else you’ve got going on and how many sites you own.

For myself, I own several sites and am in the process of developing even more. So, my blogging pace will most likely be that of every few days on average. I’m on a comment and posting blitz right now to resuscitate my ailing blog, but once CPR has been successfully administered and it’s off life-support, I’ll slow down and spread my charm and wit out a bit so I don’t completely burn out again.

Perhaps you can gleen a little advice out of what I’ve shared here. If not, consider it my usual mindless ramblings and we’ll call it a day. ;-)

Take care, my friend. I miss reading your wonderfully witty posts, but I most certainly understand the need for a reprieve.

BTW… I know commas indicate a pause in thought, but dang it man! That’s the longest comma pause I’ve ever seen!

I certainly have missed you from the blogosphere, but I certainly understand. Especially the way you write I know it’s like a full-time job for you.

Can’t wait to see you back and I also can’t wait to hear if you found Dr. T. I miss him like crazy!

Oh, and check out my blog when you get a second. I moved…I think you’ll remember me.

Do you miss blogging yet?

You gotta do what is right for you and darn the fallout

It would help to put my own URL in right? Sorry

Brent come back! We miss you and your witty humor…I will check back again in a few days. Hope your doing well.

Come back! You were my eye candy!

Is this a fake hang up? It’s a fake hang up, right??

And it to happen just after I found this blog :(

@Myron,

I had been thinking the exact same thing! I had just recently found this site when he decided to take his toys out of the sandbox and go home. :(

btw- you were the 69th comment. (Not sure *why* I noticed that, but I did!) ;)~~

~ZZ

Dr.T,
This has gone on long enough. Give him back. You have had him long enough.

if you want a break go for it, but dont give up completely. You will start to miss it after awhile!

I hear ya on the exhaustion phase man. Blogging starts off as just a simple…yeah, let me write and publish my stuff, but then quickly becomes as all encompassing position. Blogger, IT support, Marketer, PR watcher. It starts off as a hobby and can quickly become an obsession.

Take a well deserved break. We’ll be here when you’re ready. :)

And to think I just read the last 20 posts of yours, unfortunately in reverse order (Dr. Harold Tobaggans had me confused for a while)… but now that I have it, you’re gone. Woe is me!

It’s time to make your triumphant return so you can host a Dr. Toboggans look-a-like Halloween costume contest!

A break is always good from izle blogging.. thanks for you..

if you work or study or both, is complicated write a blog
at first is simple because you are excited like a child with new toy, but, a few month later, you are tired and busy, and already is not the same

I see where you’re coming from bro.

OK.
Don’t even try to tell me that was *your* Trick for Trick or Treat??!!

Or that you just decided to dress up as The Invisible Man for Halloween?

It’s been just about 3 months (will be in 3 days) since you’ve said later and rode off into the sunset. I was tickled pink when I saw your avatar in my blog catalog. It was almost like the Groundhog who didn’t see his shadow (or did see it) whichever one that is supposed to bring a shorter winter and more sunshine!! :)

I hadn’t been a longtime fan of yours before you needed the break, but I do know I enjoyed reading your material.
I really liked the one that was very serious and unlike your usual schtick. I think it showed a brief glimpse into another part of you and added depth to you. I thought it was good stuff!

I also know that if one feels they *have* to do something, *anything*, it usually takes some of the enjoyment out of it. Blogging included.
So, if you make the decision to return to this (and I hope you do), please do so, on your own terms, and throw the “Should, would, and Could” out the window and write *For YOU*. If you write to keep *us* happy, you’ll only burn yourself out again.

Anyway, didn’t plan on writing you a book. Ijust wanted to stop in and say Hi and that I was pleasantly surprised to see that you had stopped in.

I hope you and your family had a Spooktacular Halloween Brent.

Take care of yourself. *mwaw*

~ZZ

Btw - Out of Pure Defiance (And maybe just a smidgeon of laziness. But *only* a smidgeon!) I still have you on my feedreader!
Maybe one day……

;)

~ZZ

Enjoy your blog vacation! come back soon!

So, still not back yet. Does it really take that long to recharge your funny? Maybe you should look into getting a new battery…works for cell phones…who knows, it might work for the humor bit of your brain. ;) Hell, just come back, even if you’re not fully charged…we could do with a chuckle. :)

I am incredibly jealous that you have the ability to finish reading books. I have not finished a book in over a year. Gimme a short story, a controversial essay or a pamphlet and Im golden…Enjoy your time off while exploring.

It’s nice to see I’m not the only one still suffering withdrawls…

Thanks for the NOTE of humor on facebook.

I look forward to your next (AD) venture.

what the fruit - you still haven’t returned !?! You are sorely missed, you know…

Blogging day to day can be tough. So many topics have been done and the pressure to be fresh is always there. Hope you come back soon. Your blog is entertaining.

My gawd, you haven’t posted since August. I completely understand though…it can get tiring at times.

I miss you.

I miss Dr. T. as you know. Please give him a hug for me.

I hope that you are doing well and relaxing. You most certainly deserve it.

Brent, Happy Thanksgiving to you and your beautiful family!!

*hugs*