Friday, November 25:
When I woke up this morning I knew it was time to write this article. Not just because I needed something to fill blog space on Monday...suddenly this issue had become timely. My wife has been "suffering the ravages of the common cold" for almost a week, so I knew it was really just a matter of time for me. Sure enough, I awoke to a sore throat, most likely due to post-nasal drip. I can fight the symptoms, but there is really nothing I can do to make this go away faster...take plenty of Vitamin C, drink lots of fluids, stay inside when the air is really cold, stop smoking. Let's be honest...I probably won't stick by that last one. The rest I can do, though, and maybe this mild illness will be of shorter duration. While I will be smoking, though, I won't be writing any reviews for a week or more. For most, this would cause a break in the publishing schedule; for me, though...well, I'm a planner.
I've had a few startup bloggers ask for advice in the last year. My best piece of advice for any blogger (cigar-oriented or otherwise) is to be consistent...come up with a schedule of when you will post and stick to it. If readers can't be certain when you'll post, they are likely to forget to check...if they forget enough, they probably won't be back. The second thing I like to pass on, is to plan ahead.
You just cannot know when you are going to get sick or injured; sometimes you will need to take a vacation; sometimes you just won't feel the spirit move you to review something. If you wait until the day before you are supposed to post and break your arm somehow...that post is not going to get done. At the very least, if you feel uninspired, you might write a perfunctory post that isn't worth reading.
For much of them past two years, I have had reviews completed for a month or more in advance. I buy new sticks with the purpose of reviewing them, I put them on a calendar, and I make it a habit of smoking through them in plenty of time. If something comes up that I want to post very soon, I can always change when another cigar review will post...it's easy to do when they are already written. So with that in mind, as I write here on the last Saturday in November, I have all my reviews for the month of December completely written...and I've at least started on the first sticks for several multi-stick reviews scheduled for January.
"You're more than a month ahead?" Yes, at this point I am...mostly because of the other issue that comes into play every year about this time...winter weather. Anyone that lives somewhere other than Southern California or Florida and has to smoke outside knows what I'm talking about here.
One other side benefit of this practice is this...if I were to die in a fiery car wreck, you would likely see cigar reviews from me posting for up to a month afterward! Unless Keith thought it in bad taste, anyway...and he might. LOL
When I woke up this morning I knew it was time to write this article. Not just because I needed something to fill blog space on Monday...suddenly this issue had become timely. My wife has been "suffering the ravages of the common cold" for almost a week, so I knew it was really just a matter of time for me. Sure enough, I awoke to a sore throat, most likely due to post-nasal drip. I can fight the symptoms, but there is really nothing I can do to make this go away faster...take plenty of Vitamin C, drink lots of fluids, stay inside when the air is really cold, stop smoking. Let's be honest...I probably won't stick by that last one. The rest I can do, though, and maybe this mild illness will be of shorter duration. While I will be smoking, though, I won't be writing any reviews for a week or more. For most, this would cause a break in the publishing schedule; for me, though...well, I'm a planner.
I've had a few startup bloggers ask for advice in the last year. My best piece of advice for any blogger (cigar-oriented or otherwise) is to be consistent...come up with a schedule of when you will post and stick to it. If readers can't be certain when you'll post, they are likely to forget to check...if they forget enough, they probably won't be back. The second thing I like to pass on, is to plan ahead.
You just cannot know when you are going to get sick or injured; sometimes you will need to take a vacation; sometimes you just won't feel the spirit move you to review something. If you wait until the day before you are supposed to post and break your arm somehow...that post is not going to get done. At the very least, if you feel uninspired, you might write a perfunctory post that isn't worth reading.
For much of them past two years, I have had reviews completed for a month or more in advance. I buy new sticks with the purpose of reviewing them, I put them on a calendar, and I make it a habit of smoking through them in plenty of time. If something comes up that I want to post very soon, I can always change when another cigar review will post...it's easy to do when they are already written. So with that in mind, as I write here on the last Saturday in November, I have all my reviews for the month of December completely written...and I've at least started on the first sticks for several multi-stick reviews scheduled for January.
"You're more than a month ahead?" Yes, at this point I am...mostly because of the other issue that comes into play every year about this time...winter weather. Anyone that lives somewhere other than Southern California or Florida and has to smoke outside knows what I'm talking about here.
One other side benefit of this practice is this...if I were to die in a fiery car wreck, you would likely see cigar reviews from me posting for up to a month afterward! Unless Keith thought it in bad taste, anyway...and he might. LOL
Saturday, November 26:
After sleeping for 10 hours, I got up, ate breakfast, then...slept a great deal of the day while lying on the couch. At some point I realized that my University of Tennessee Volunteers were getting dismantled by a traditionally weak team that didn’t even have an able-bodied quarterback this week...I thought it was just delirium, but...no...the Vols really did lose to a WR playing QB.
Sunday, November 27:
After another 10 hours of nighttime sleep (making for probably close to 30 hours over the course of about 36 hours), I woke up feeling much better. I ate breakfast and went outside with a NUb Connecticut...and that helped me feel even better. Could it be that cigars are restorative? Sounds good to me...but I think most doctors would argue the other side. Followed that up with a CAO OSA Sol in the Lot 50 size...the only current size I like, then spent most of the rest of the day reading and resting.
Monday, November 28:
Had a lousy night’s sleep, but my symptoms are still decreasing, which is absolutely good news. While my wife struggled to get better for more than a week, the worst seems to have come and gone within about 3 days for me. Still...no reviewing cigars this week...I need to make sure my senses are back to normal before I do that.
After sleeping for 10 hours, I got up, ate breakfast, then...slept a great deal of the day while lying on the couch. At some point I realized that my University of Tennessee Volunteers were getting dismantled by a traditionally weak team that didn’t even have an able-bodied quarterback this week...I thought it was just delirium, but...no...the Vols really did lose to a WR playing QB.
Sunday, November 27:
After another 10 hours of nighttime sleep (making for probably close to 30 hours over the course of about 36 hours), I woke up feeling much better. I ate breakfast and went outside with a NUb Connecticut...and that helped me feel even better. Could it be that cigars are restorative? Sounds good to me...but I think most doctors would argue the other side. Followed that up with a CAO OSA Sol in the Lot 50 size...the only current size I like, then spent most of the rest of the day reading and resting.
Monday, November 28:
Had a lousy night’s sleep, but my symptoms are still decreasing, which is absolutely good news. While my wife struggled to get better for more than a week, the worst seems to have come and gone within about 3 days for me. Still...no reviewing cigars this week...I need to make sure my senses are back to normal before I do that.
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