It has been quite some time since my last post (over 3 months, actually), and I believe it necessary to update you on the events of my life.
Recently, I accepted a position with the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance, in Baldwin County, Alabama. The decision to leave my beloved home town of Purvis/Hattiesburg was not an easy one to swallow, but there is no doubt in my mind that Baldwin County is the place for me to be, during this new season of my life.
In late May, after wrapping up my graduate course work, my wife and I moved down to Coastal Alabama, where we found a lovely house in which to reside, and I quickly began my new position on June 1st. We are now about 20 minutes from the nearest public beach, and the view, below, is not difficult to live with, at all!
Needless to say, the last 7 months or so of my life have certainly been insanely busy. You know, with the getting married and the grad school and the job hunting and the moving and whatnot. As a result, my movie watching has certainly taken a bit of a hit. But, I am getting back in the swing of things, as I have been to the theater four or five times, over the past month.
Unfortunately, however, I have not been able to get in the swing of writing new blog content or reviews. And, while the me of July 2014 would have been quite upset about that fact, the me of July 2015 is perfectly content, which is kind of nice.
When I started this blog, back in 2011, I had no idea that it would provide me with such a voice on film. My friends, family members, and people who I haven't spoken to in six years all seem to enjoy my blog and never fail to ask my opinion on a certain movie or movie-related issue... to which I usually respond with a "pretty good" or "we'll see," because my voice only comes alive on a keyboard. Nevertheless, I started The Average Critic without any real expectations, which is ironic, considering the high value that I place on expectations, when writing about a film. In fact, I never put much pressure on myself to push out content. I have never really been saddened by not getting around to reviewing a film. And, because of that lack of pressure, I have never had any emotion but pure joy, with regard to writing about film.
That said, the past six months or so have really been life-altering for me. While moving to a new area and beginning my career certainly changed the temperature on my season of life, marriage has totally thrown me into a different universe. And, I'm not talking about the whole selfless-love, always-and-forever thing. As far as those elements are concerned, they have been around since well before I began this blog, as I loved my wife in that way for a number of years, preceding our wedding day. No, the real change is found in my passions and hobbies that I desire to embrace, when I arrive home, whether that be from school, for the early part of 2015, or from work, for the past month. When I was a bachelor, there was a large amount of time that I had to fill with something, and I sure did love blogging about movies. But, now, I come home from work, and I want spend my time with her. And, when we part, in order to have alone time, I fill my time with the watching of movies or TV shows that she isn't interested in or playing an occasional video game or whatever.
Unfortunately for The Average Critic, there isn't a ton of time for blogging. In fact, I'm only getting around to this post, because I am travelling for work and absent of my lovely wife and pretty much any other responsibilities. Now, I'm not at all complaining about this shift in priorities. In fact, marriage is great! And, blogging has never been as much fun as going to the movies with the love of my life! But, it has shifted its way down my priority list.
So, what does this life change mean for The Average Critic???
Well, first off, I am not shutting down The Average Critic! Posts will continue to come about a lot less regularly, but I still want to keep this outlet for my thoughts on movies and TV. Also, I still plan to read the numerous blogs that I have come to love from various movie bloggers, across the world. It has been quite neat to virtually meet so many individuals who share a passion for film. In fact, if you have a passion or hobby, I would encourage you to find folks who blog about those things, if only to hear their ideas and opinions.
As this blog moves forward, there may come another time when I get a hankering to post as regularly or more regularly than I have in the past. There may come a time when it is time to close this thing down. But, for now, just know that The Average Critic is still out there watching movies, and he still has opinions about them. He just has a big, amazing life to live!
