Means and Ends

How selfish must I be to start my own blog? I mean, really. Do I have any proven writing skill? Barely. Do I have anything interesting to say? How dare I. How dare anyone with a blog have the balls to publish their thoughts all willy-nilly. Yes, I said it. Willy-nilly, damn it. Well, it's too late now, isn't it? Every Tom, Dick, and Harry (sure, Jane, too) with internet access has a blog, this monstrosity of a public diary.

Right?

It took me a long time to finally decide to start a blog. Blogs have become so popular and easy that they gained and lost their mystique in my eyes within a span of 5 years. It wasn't until I saw a number of intelligent and useful food blogs that I decided it was okay to make my own. It's okay to join this growing mass of people who say, "Yes, my thoughts are unique and meaningful, and you should hear them." Or, well, read them. Over time, I came across plenty that provide help and community support for new mothers, troubled teens, the childless, the child-free, those distraught by loss, disease, or disability, and then some. This started the hamster wheels spinning (the hamster's name being Sugar, and she's adorable), and infinite other possibilities for my blog surfaced. My first thoughts being, of course, self-centered. I can further my artistic career, work on writing skills, get honest opinions about my editorial ability, share book reviews, recipes, fuss about life, entertain my friends, and... BREATHE! Whoo. Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Yes, the blog has become an ultimate form of expression, the Web 2.0 version of the telephone and my best friends on 3-way calling. Blogs can do anything, and I thought, "I should get in on this."

So, why now? Why decide to make a blog long after it had amazed me with its potential? Simple. I couldn't think of a name... Sad, I know. Don't tell my friends. Honestly, though, it seemed every time I got a decent idea, someone already had it. Even worse, these people either didn't have a single post on their blog or hadn't posted in at least 3 years! How do you just take up valuable blog titles like that? Such waste! Once I thought of a decently catchy, memorable name, I snatched it up before the others could. "The others" being people who apparently sign up every good blog name they can think of and then refuse to write in them, or write gibberish like, "Hey, a blog! How do I work this thing?" Well, I might just be writing a glorified version of that.

What it all boils down to is a blog written by someone who is pretty good at a lot of things, but not really, amazingly great at any one thing. I expect I'll touch all sorts of topics, but I can't really say for sure. Food, restaurants, book reviews, my friends, my art, the newsworthy and the not-so-newsworthy will have a place here. My art pieces will even be up for grabs... mostly. Hopefully, this little spark catches on and I can feel satisfied that I have done my job as a blogging citizen.

Feel free to comment all over my blog. I want and need it. Comment the hell out of it, just don't be too nasty. Other people do have to read those comments. Email me if you want to be really nasty. If you don't know my personal email, then you probably shouldn't be so nasty to strangers. Also, please don't use anything here (writing, photos, whatever) without my permission or at least a shout out to this web page. Give me credit for what meager droplets get squeezed out in the process. Enjoy.