Obligatory Cat Post

I have a complex relationship with cats (complex meaning I don't like them). While I was out taking pictures for Backboard Jungle, I walked by a yard with a cat sitting in it. We made eye contact (I like to stare down cats as I pass them) and since I am all things to all animals, it approached me and started rolling around on its back in the driveway near my feet. However, since there were no basketball hoops around, I had no reason to stop and left it behind. Two or three houses down, though, there was a hoop which I proceeded to photography (as you'll recall, this was the point of my excursion). My concentration focused through the viewfinder, I felt something around my ankle. The cat had left the security of its front yard to be with me. I took a picture of it being "cute:"

I put cute in quotes because I know that if I had motioned to pet the cat, it very easily could have decided that petting is its least favorite thing and mauled my hand beyond usage. Cats are devious like that.

No Fishing, I Swear

I've been oddly busy for an underemployed gentleman this past week, so I haven't had much time to post (and I get a little down when all I post is what I just watched on Netflix as those aren't the most thoughtful of pieces). Writing a blog is a weird thing because you always hope that you're going to have some kind of audience, but that's no guarantee. You hope your friends are interested enough in what you have to say about (mostly) nonsense, but what everyone really desires is to reach people outside of a small circle of friends. Odds are that's not going to happen. On top of that, the only way to know exactly who his reading your stuff is if that person comments on it to you, either in the comments or directly.

I don't actually think I offer much substance on a regular basis on this blog to make anyone outside of people I know care, nor do I think I offer much that is that different from stuff you can get at a million other sites. Plus, I can track the traffic to Creamy Nougat to some degree, which is some kind of feedback (even if most of the traffic is coming because of a picture I took from another site for me Hoop Dreams post... seriously, the Hoop Dreams post has nearly 3x as many views as anything else I've written). However, over at my Tumblr site, Backboard Jungle, I really have know idea how many people I'm reaching. My photos post to Twitter and Facebook, but it's super easy to gloss over things in both of those venues and aside from an awesome friend liking many of my photos, I don't get much feedback. At this point, I'm starting to worry that people are getting tired of seeing this shit pop up in their feeds.

I'm not fishing for accolades, compliments, kudos, or anything like that. I know I'm not doing anything that interesting. All of this is to say that in the past week, I've had a couple people comment on how much they enjoy my little photo project and it made me feel really good. It's easy to get insecure about stuff that you do, especially idle and esoteric pursuits, and knowing that there are people who like what you're offering is more than enough to keep you going. So thanks for the kind words, friends, and thank everyone for engaging with my idle pursuits. I'll try to be less introspective on my next post. And for your enjoyment: