Monday, June 28, 2010

I've been thinking

It seems that's pretty much all I do these days and it's rather unfocused as is. I've been unfocused and deconcentrated so even though good ideas for posts keep popping out of my head, I just can't seem to find the focus and energy needed to write them down. But I guess we all have times like these...
Not to mention that on top of all that it's that time when I get to feel sorry for myself, then I get angry with myself for feeling sorry but since I can't do much about it, I get back to feeling sorry and I go in circles. :) At least I know why.

But you know what? Even though my mind is unfocused, most of the time I feel seriously happy to be alive. I love my life. Oh, I see a lot that could make it better, but I also see a lot that makes it full and happy and fulfilled. And that is what is important if you want to feel happy. I love the people around me (my family, my friends, my colleagues, my virtual friends, my dog...), I love the little things that fill my life - books, perfumes, cosmetics, pilates...

I really have a lot to make me grateful. So I get doubly angry with myself when I start feeling sorry for myself for reading a post that was written sincerely and without trying to make anyone feel like he/she doesn't belong to this perfume blogging community. There were actually two good posts written on the subject, the original by Denyse from Grain de Musc and the additional thoughts on the subject by The Non Blonde (you should read the comments as well).

I don't feel like I've been blogging about perfumes for long or like I know much, but I like to learn and garner much pleasure from it. And there will always be people who might find their way to my blog and perhaps enjoy something I've written.

It is true that there are so many new scents turning up everywhere and perfume blogs as well, but it is still not as crowded as book blogs (although it seems the amount of new perfumes might be catching up with the amount of new books being published - hopefully not so many perfume blogs will appear as there are book ones).

And then, it also seems that if you are writing about perfume, you should probably decide where you want to go with it because there is just no way one person can keep up with everything. This of course does not apply to me because I never know where exactly I want to go with anything, I let myself be taken along. So anything that appears interesting or something by a perfumer I've come to love will definitely find its way to me. But also, all those lovely interesting samples coming from swap packages and Luckyscent sample packages.
Of course, these last two options are the ones where you are most likely to come across a mine. Like I did recently. I feel really bad for saying this but there is not a single thing made by Yosh that I like (and I'm wondering who does because they all end up smelling like some kind of washing detergent or fabric softener). They are not scrubbers but they just don't even come close to being interesting to me.

So, this is what's going through my mind these days. Hopefully, it didn't come out as jumbled as it seems to me it has. :)
I hope soon I'll be back to my usual posting.

22 comments:

  1. I hear you. I have been a bit bothered by Denise's post myself. It seemed a little exclusive or something, but I liked what Gaia had to say. I don't understand what's wrong with a lot of voices. Like you say, the perfume blogosphere is considerably less saturated than the book one or the design one, or the makeup one, for that matter.

    Maybe that's me being defensive as arelatively new blogger, but oh well...

    Hope you are doing ok. I have been thinking about you and your recent loss...

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  2. I hear you, but just keep doing what you're doing. The more voices the better as far as I'm concerned.

    ~Trish

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  3. Also, give Abigail's comment at Grain de Musc a read. I think you'll like what she has to say.

    ~T

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  4. LBV, that's what I was going through as well - I got a bit defensive in my mind even though I understand the post was not meant to be written in such a manner. :) Oh well, you can't really stop emotions.
    But as I see the bottom line, everyone pretty much leans toward more voices because that way you can learn about more things. And I really like your style of writing about perfumes.

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  5. Hey Trish, I went and read through the rest of comments (yesterday when I was reading there weren't that many). Yes, Abigail has a point (you were right, I like what she had to say). Writing about what makes you happy or interested makes for a good reading. :)

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  6. Keep up the good posts Ines. Part of what is most appealing to me about your and many other blogs is the personal feel or take, on your own perfume journey and amateur or otherwise, this is what resonates with me.

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  7. I personally love the/us smaller bloggers - to hell with what anyone says. I like the personalised feel of the folks I follow and respond to often (like Michael said). The 'big' bloggers - well, I don't feel a personal connection to them. With you guys I feel like if I met you walking down the street, we'd end up sharing coffee or a meal and lots of interesting chatter about ALL sorts of things.

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  8. The attitude of that post bothered me too, as I found it rather elitist. I'm rather libertarian-minded, and I believe in what author Julia Cameron calls, "The Right to Write" (which is actually the title of one of her books. Has anyone read it?). I won't get started on the topic, otherwise my comment will run too long; instead I'll end by echoing Bloody Frida's sentiments above: I love the intimacy and welcoming nature of the smaller blogs, and I love having a variety of blogs to read, so please, Ines and everyone, keep writing!!!

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  9. yes, let's all get together and have coffee! I like that idea!

    keep up the positive energy, all! That's what I come to the blogs for, anyway! Who needs negative virtual friends?!?!

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  10. Ines,

    Look at all the comments you get. Yours is a good voice, and worth having out there. And...and this is important...IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT ANOTHER OPINION IS. I am always happy to have different opinions, in fact...thank goodness for that when it comes to hearing reviews...and that's all that was.

    In fact, I'll bet that if you had a coffee with Denyse, she wouldn't begrudge other writers so much as emphasize her point that she didn't know how to keep up. It was a little bit of kvetching, perhaps...but really, there's no way to keep the voices out. The point is, what to do with them?

    And yes, no one person is up to any obligation to keep up with them all. So she shouldn't. And you shouldn't stop coming to the playground just because you are relatively new. You've got your own game going; don't worry about it.

    Anybody who has something interesting to say is going to find readers. {casts a glance above} ...and it looks like you've got folks who want to join you in the sandbox. :)

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  11. BF, you are right - I also love the personal feel and believe it would be great having a cup of coffee (preferably near a large perfume store) with any of you. :)
    You know, I was thinking some time ago how it would be fun if I would travel more for work and get to meet any of the great bloggers I got to know this last year.

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  12. Suzanne, thank you for the lovely words. :) I plan on writing for quite some time to come, I enjoy it very much and love the dialogue between (us) small bloggers.
    You know, I don't really think Denyse meant her post to cause any negative feelings - it's more the problem of her being in the centre of things, knowing people from the industry and having a profound knowledge of the subject. So when someone like her poses those questions, it does sound a bit elitist.
    I think ScentScelf is right in saying that Denyse would probably have a cup of coffee with any of us if we were to visit Paris.

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  13. ScentScelf, honestly, I'm a little surprised this generated so many comments (and I feel now like I was fishing for some positive feedback). :)
    And like I said, I was actually angry with myself for letting it get to me, because firstly, I'm sure it wasn't meant like that, and secondly, I firmly believe one shouldn't let oneself be influenced by what other people say. Having said that, it's not always possible to stick to thos ideas. :)
    Thanks for making me feel better (and more confident - I know I actually lack some of that for no good reason at all).

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  14. Ines, don't feel bad - I have just read Denyse's post and my heart actually started to thump when I got to the word "metastasizing". Then it missed a beat when I read a criticism in one of the comments about blog posts that contain "random waffling" and are of over 1000 words. I found myself suddenly thinking: "Crikey, how many words are in my longer posts?" They are certainly random. And probably off topic in places, assuming they had a topic in the first place.

    I think this debate has useful parallels in the book world. Denyse's blog has elements of an encyclopaedia, a beautiful coffee table book on art history and a work of literary fiction. It is articulate, beautifully illustrated, and imbued with her deep knowledge of the subject.

    Meanwhile, other blogs resemble newspapers, noticeboards, epistolary novels, diaries or biographies, while others are chick lit or humour or self-help. Some could be classed as scientific experiments.

    There is a time and a place for all these genres in the world of books and other media, as there are for blogs along similar lines.

    And I totally agree with BF about the value of the personal connections which are forged through the blogosphere. I have a very clear sense from their writing of what a lot of bloggers are like as people, which endears them greatly to me, and makes me wish to meet them all in person, as I have already been fortunate enough to do with quite a few perfumistas.

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  15. Flittersniffer, the parallel with the book world is really appropriate. And that is also one of the reasons I read so many perfume blogs, I just love the different approaches, they make the perfume experience more whole.
    Btw, I keep track of comments as Denyse's post and it seems that now someone had said that the dialogue and perfume blogging is less friendly than it used to be. ?!? I must say I don't find it so - quite the contrary, I'm constantly amazed at the friendliness and positivism of the perfume community.

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  16. Life is good but it's very full these days- there is so much media to consume and it can be hard to find the perfect sites for you- I find, plus with work and things it can be hard to keep up to date.

    Still I think the more voices the better- I just wish it was easier to find the voices I love and drown out the ones I don't want to hear sometimes!

    I agree with the Grain De Musc post though and I'm not going to review something I either don't stronly like- or perhaps dislike- and in fairness probably stay away from certain scents, perhaps unfairly but my nose just doesn't have the time!

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  17. :) Rose, I like what you said about drowning out some voices although most of those in my case appear for real so are difficult to skip. :)
    I'm still trying to find my bearings in all different notes and offerings so I will smell anything I can get my hands on even though most of those just make me feel - oh well, one down, a lot more to go through. But finding a gem among them brings me such happiness. :)

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  18. Ines, I've just come accross this post and I'm very sorry if my own came off as a putdown of newer blogs (hey, my own is only two years old), which it wasn't. It came more out of the concern that I just couldn't keep up with all the conversations going as I used to be able to do. It's intensely frustrating!

    I do actually always arrange to meet the bloggers who come through Paris and reach out to me, and I've met quite a lot of great people that way.

    Flittersniffer is right, the different types of blogs are like different types of books/media, there's a place for everything.

    So, again, I'm sorry I came off as elitist -- it's a Parisian thing and I think it's deeply engrained in the way I express myself, that's the way conversations go here -- and sorrier still to have caused hearts to squeeze or skip a beat. One of the things that hurts me most in the world is realizing I've inadvertently hurt people. Which is why I sometimes refrain from negative reviews, by the way...

    And if you should ever be in Paris, we'll go to Serge Lutens, and Iunx, and all... and for coffee at my favorite place at the Palais-Royal.

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  19. Dear C/GdM, thanks for stopping by. We've been having a discussion without your input which I think was necessary.
    Yes, it is frustrating trying to keep up with any of the things we enjoy in life these days because we all seem to have such limited free time.
    Btw, to me it seems like your blog has been around for much longer. It is one of the cornerstones of perfume blogs in my opinion and I enjoy reading it very much.
    I always try and understand what is behind someone's words if I feel slighted so as to understand if it's only my view that was mistaken or did that person do it intentionally. And your words were never meant to hurt. But it's interesting to see how much discussion your opinion causes. ;)
    And honestly, I wish someone would transfer onto me some of that Parisian flair. :)

    P.S. It would give me great pleasure to walk around Paris visiting perfume treasures with you.

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  20. Aha! See...coffee!! ;)

    Okay, I sometimes want to twist my own earlobe for not expressing myself as completely and coherently as others. What Flittersniffer said. And others. It gets tricky for me sometimes, as I am a nut who does a LOT of blog visiting, and sometimes I express thoughts one place but not another.

    Anyway, this little nook of comments is one of the treasures that can be found by a seeker. Many kinds of treasure out there...but these dialogues are among my favorite. :)

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  21. ScentScelf, I find it intriguing how these dialogues sprout when I least expect them to. :)
    Btw, I have the same problem with coherence - I never think my thoughts are as clear as I want them to be or as other people succeed making them

    P.S. I wish I could have a cup of coffee with many people from the blogging community (I do wish someone would finally invent that teleportation thing).

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