Valerie Roney

So, as per my last post, I recklessly and courageously dove into the back end of my website – after carefully backing everything up and then doing a bunch of updates. Several hours later, my one noticeable change to the look of my website was losing the custom favicon I’d already worked really hard to figure out how to install [insert stream of profanity here]. The theme update overwrote it. So now I have to go in and do it again, plus figure out how to do it in a manner that isn’t going to get it fried every time I do an update (or conversely, I’ll get really well practiced at reinstalling it).

What I spent most of my time on however, was trying to download some new plugins I thought would be cool. Apparently there’s an app to make reading my site on your iPhone way easier (me and my flip-phone were utterly oblivious to this essential need). Well, several hours later …and no change on my front end. It seems I either couldn’t get said widgets to work with the layout of my website, or I couldn’t find the interface to start tweaking it from my back end at all. [As an aside, all this reference to plugins and back end tweaking, under a dating headline, is gonna give me spambot gold for weeks to come.]

So here’s where the haunting parallel to dating comes in: I’ve downloaded a widget, I’ve spent a lot of time exploring this widget, getting to know how it works, trying to get it to fit into my website, trying to get it to do what I need. Now there comes a time, especially when this process isn’t going well, when you need to ask yourself: do I just need to take a break and come at this with fresh eyes? Am I really close to a big breakthrough and a great plugin, or am barking up the wrong tree? Am I pushing hard to make something work when in actuality I’ve simply got the wrong plugin and no amount of persistence is ever gonna make it right?

Hang in there and work through it, versus bail on the hopeless and look for something different… who hasn’t asked themselves that exact same question in their romantic lives? I sure have. And in recollection, seem to spend most of my time on the hang in there side of things. One of the hazards of seeing the beauty in just about everything I guess; you see the potential in guys still overly fond of general ass-hattery. So I’m wondering if all this widget mucking about will maybe school me on the dating world too. My general experience so far has been if it’s leading to lengthy streams of profanity, then it’s likely the wrong plugin PERIOD. No amount of persistence on my part ever gets me anywhere other than a gimpy unsatisfying widget I wish was something more. When it don’t work, it just don’t work. Best to just let it go and try something else.

Though deleting a widget is far less complicated than a romantic breakup. You aren’t accidentally running into your old widget on other websites, don’t have to explain to the widget why it’s not working and how it would be better off as someone else’s plugin, don’t have teary nights wondering if maybe the problem’s with your website and you’ll never find a good widget.

Waaaay less complicated. I think I may stick to web developing and give the dating a rest for a while.

Oh, and if you’re wondering, me and my widgets …well, we’re taking a break right now. I need some “me” time. When I’m in a more loving and patient mood, I’ll have another look and see if I’ve got a good plugin to work with, or if I need to start looking for something else.