I need to get a post published. Mostly because I have about 10 very heavy posts that I can’t seem to finish right now (although I’d really like to), and I think getting something out there might help. Something light. Airy. #Breezy. Hashtag-I’m-Not-Losing-My-Mind-Right-Now. #NotEven
Groeningisms
Ok, what? I’m glad you asked. By definition: (unofficial) Groeningisms refer to the act of daily easter egg-like content that an audience comes to know and love. I call it that after Matt Groening, who gave us unique openers in every Simpsons and Futurama episode. They were small, just a second or two, out of context, maybe topical. But, they were always there. Silly running gags that true fans always looked for because they were oddly rewarding and stupidly funny. You see it now in Bob’s Burgers episodes in the intro. Other people do it too. But, I credit Matt Groening for introducing me to the concept, at least.
I was explaining to my good friend how, lately, I’d been doing a #Dailycup exercise. Just a daily doodle, or message—hardly inspirational, usually manic or depressing—on my cup of water at work. Then, I’d post them to my Instagram. “How do you have that kind of mental energy?” she asked.
…I don’t know. It’s just something I’ve always done.
At Datamark, my first real job in Utah, I sent out a Daily Robot to my entire team. Daily. When my friend Ryan left to go work at Ragnar, he remembered those robots and hired me to come work for him there. Possibly because of the bots. I can’t be sure. (side note: Datamark sued Ryan for taking me for something like $5K. Assholes. They could have promoted me or given me a $5K raise, and I might have just stayed. How different would my life had been????)
At Ragnar, the daily robot turned into a weekly bot—at the request of my manager, for my mental health. But, I channeled that into Facebook Robot birthday posts for a while. Years, probably. I stopped doing that at some point, because, I just had to. I guess I had a limit.
But, still. There’s something about that daily exercise. The daily act of coming up with something clever, or funny. Or, maybe not funny. Maybe something really devestaing—just dark fucking humor, who cares? It’s cathartic. (No, Lindsay, it’s OCD!) It’s a creative type of meditation that starts my day, gears my brain for writing, building, dealing…
And, I rather enjoy it.
