Sunday, April 29, 2012

prelude to a farewell


i’ve been mulling this over for a while now. in fact I’ve probably been putting it off. but the reality has caught up with me and it’s time i finally pull the plug on this show and send everybody home.
almost 3 years ago I began this little experiment. the idea was fairly simple. a post each day sharing a haiku. a meditation on the day. it became a kind of creative healing. a place to play and park so many of the thoughts that go rolling around inside my brain. this endeavor kept me active and more engaged with the world around me as i looked for new inspiration.
but time has caught up and shifted me now to a different place. the purpose has, i believe largely been fulfilled. i had wanted to share some things and the way i see the world. and i’ve done that. and sure, i could keep it up i suppose, but now it’s time for other projects.
thanks to all of you who joined me on the journey and who are reading this now. thanks for your comments of encouragement. it means a lot. i plan to leave the blog up indefinitely (that is to say as long as blogger allows) and invite you to visit the archives. if there are any missing links or files related to earlier posts, and you would like some more info or the original file, just shoot me a comment and i’ll be happy to respond as i am able.
and finally for those of you who were always wondering or never thought to ask, here is a little insight on the origins of the name “toastrobot”. back at the beginning of this as i was trying to think of a name, i was looking for something that sounded like two opposing ideas, like “iron butterfly”. i love robots, especially the shiny metal toy variety. and the contrast of a warm piece of toast appealed to me. like something fresh. add to it that my motorbike is commonly referred to as a “toaster” and it just seemed to work. anyway, it’s certainly taken on its own life and given me some in return.
so there you have it. may you continue to be blessed as i have been blessed.
mattb

6 comments:

Matthew said...

You inspired me a lot through this blog. I am happy for your next adventure, but I will defiantly miss this. It was my only way of getting a daily dose of MattB.

Anonymous said...

I'll miss your insights, Matt, but am so glad you are a part of my life, otherwise I'd be sad!

Mom D.

Cheese Monster said...

aww....im with matthew...it was my daily dose of matty B...
but alas you must move on as somethings in life seem to do:)soooo excited for you new adventures my friend!!!

technicator said...

This is unfortunate. But que sera, sera I suppose. Thanks for having one of my favorite rest stops on the superhighway. Keep it toasty side down.

Robert said...

So, two things. First, I've just been awestruck by your dedication to this blog. Having followed a few other blogs, and more importantly, having tried to follow to-do lists and checklists and generally BE RESPONSIBLE all my life, I know how tall a task it is to just remain committed to something - not in the abstract, but in the very quotidian, concrete, I'm-gonna-do-a-little-bit-every-day way. More than once I have looked back at your archives just to marvel at how you've kept the faith with this thing - every day, every day (but not on the thirteenth), almost every day, for three years. Writing about it this way makes it sound trivial, but in a way it is not only a big thing, but it is THE thing, just showing up and being present and doing the job, whether it be for work, or for the kids, or for the spouse. . .

Second, this blog has reminded me of just how little I know you, and how wonderful that is. What I mean is, I've known you for coming up on thirty years now, and for stretches of that time have felt like I knew your heart as well as I know anyone besides my wife. And, yet, the voice I heard in this blog was a voice I've never heard before. I don't know if I can describe the difference between what I saw in the blog and the Matt I know in the flesh. It's like living in a house for years and then one day noticing for the first time a door in the basement that leads not just to another room, but a room filled with Colonial era naval supplies and artifacts from the Ming dynasty.

And while it's nice and all what that means about you, that there's more to you than I know, I'm even more amazed about what that means in general. That is, each person we know, whether we know them a bit or a lot, is much more than what meets the eye. We're conditioned to put people in categories, to stereotype. I don't mean that in the bad way it sounds - it's really the only way to manage all the information we have. But for each person we label as "old woman who loves her cats" or "stoner dude who's always at the coffee house," there's a whole world inside that living person that we do not know exists.

Thanks for writing this blog. I'm going to miss my daily dose of bliss.

Unknown said...

I'm pretty late on this one... Although I wasn't a daily viewer of the ToastRobot show, I always took comfort in the fact that it existed. That there was a MattyB out there "Takin' er easy for all us sinners". For me Toastrobot is a symbol of simpler times, good times.

Adios Menudos