077 - Thoughts on blogging

This afternoon I passed by the big kahuna's office and saw a guy bent over the conference table. You don't usually see that kind of thing at work (at least where I work) so I did a double-take... In reality he was probably just leaning across the table to point out a statistic, but my mind immediately went somewhere else, and in my scenario the boss said, "Bob... your project is late again... bend over..." Yeah, I have a warped mind.

I've subscribed to quite a few blogs now. I enjoy sitting and reading through them each night, sort of like browsing through a magazine. Last night I ran across something in the Blogger help section that expanded my reading selection even more. A guy named Liam posted that he needed some good blogs to read and sent a call for people to submit their blogs... tons of us did, and I got a new 'follower' out of it (yea! welcome!). Anyway, one thing I saw quite a few times was the comment that people were getting negative reactions to their blogs. Kandee Johnson, for instance, is admittedly quirky, but sooooo much fun, and you can't help but smile as you watch her videos and read her blogs (and she works miracles with makeup, go check out her Halloween series - wow!). I've seen it for myself, she gets some pretty nasty comments from people. It puzzles me why people do it... are we supposed to judge other people's blogs?

The way I see it, if you don't like it, don't read it (or in the case of YouTube, watch it). What you're reading is free, you didn't pay a dime, so you've lost nothing. No one sat you down and forced you to read a blog. Blogs are personal -- they can be whatever the author wants them to be. If you want to talk about how much you hate your neighbor's dog, that's your perogative. If you're interested in the geothermal properties of things that have geothermal properties, great. Blog about it. There's someone out there who will read it. If I have no interest in geothermal properties (and I have to admit that I don't), I see no reason to belittle you for it. I don't really have the right.

People blog to share their passions, they blog to share their trials and tribulations, they blog to connect with people who share similar interests, they blog to promote something... there are a billion different reasons to blog, each of them unique to the person writing the blog. In my case, I moved my blog to blogspot because I hope to connect with more writers. Since I can follow other people's blogs, it helps me learn and grow, because there are tons of useful writing blogs out there (unfortunately, this ain't one of 'em) and I see when they're updated (see sidebar). If you're not a writer, that doesn't mean I won't follow your blog, I'm interested in tons of things, this is like a goldmine for me. (I love parentheses!)

I remember meeting a girl a few years back, when blogging was in its infancy, and she told me I should blog. After she explained the concept to me, I just rolled my eyes at her. Then one day I got reeled into joining Myspace, and I began to blog... not every day, just every now and then. It was scary at first. I was paranoid, then that wore off, and I worried that people would read what I wrote and roll their eyes. I stopped caring so much. On days when I didn't have anyone to talk to, but I had something I needed to say, I would sit at my computer and blog. Slowly but surely some of my family members joined, and it became a way to keep in touch with them. Eventually it evolved into something of a journal, but one that I shared with other people. Occassionally someone new would come along who enjoyed reading my blog, a friend of a friend, or someone who searched on a word that came up in my blog, and it was flattering. It made me feel good that people could relate to what I had to say, and whenever I was down, someone was always there with an uplifting comment. I'm probably jinxing myself, but I have never gotten a mean spirited comment.

Abruptly switching topics... it is SUCH a beautiful day outside. I love this time of year when it's not too hot or (sorry Sarah) too cold. It perks me up and makes me want to get out there and paint the house or pull some weeds or plant a garden. If I had the extra funds I would build another raised planter or two and dedicate it to growing vegetables. I didn't grow anything this year...

Spoke to a co-worker about Habitat for Humanity and he said he and his wife might do it with me. Awesome! Then, as usual, I started thinking about a bigger picture, potentially complicating something that started out as simple... I was thinking of maybe sending out an email at work, letting people know when we're doing it so that we can get a group together. Our company did it once, but I think when it gets to the level of an entire company being involved, I start to feel overwhelmed. If it was a smaller group I'm more likely to join in. I don't know. Is that selfish? Plus, I was browsing the website and it said that if there was a large group they were usually expected (expected) to bring lunch, not only for themselves, but for whoever else is on the crew. Okay now... I can volunteer time and skills, but I can't afford to feed 20-30 people, that isn't what I intended to sign up for... I assume they mean when companies and churches organize and sponsor this activity... So I'll probably just ask a couple of friends and leave the work thing alone so I don't have to talk to HR about sponsoring an event.

Shoot! I never did get around to reading Liam's blog... I got so caught up in everyone else's... Hope I can find it again...

Hope this isn't an omen... I watched a show about home invasions... I had a nightmare about a violent attack... and last night a friend said he was worried that I hadn't returned his calls, he thought maybe there'd been a 'home invasion'... Seriously - when does someone use those very words instead of robbery or something similar... I'll be sleeping with my boyfriends close tonight... Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson... they're a cocky couple of pistols (I couldn't stop myself...)

And MY BACK ITCHES!!! I've had sunburns before... never this bad... but holy cow! I peeled all the dead skin off, and it frickin' itches! I'm like a dog rubbing up against everything so I can make it go away... pitiful...