ok, after sleeping about 17 of the last 24 hours, I'm feeling a lot better. Slightly groggy, but better. So now, I was faced with the choice of cleaning and disinfecting any "spatters" in the bathroom or posting a blog. Guess which one won out?
I'm one day late in MamaKat's weekly writing assignment. I chose to write about my first Bloggy friend.
But first, some background. I started my blog as an adjunct to a weekly email thing I had been sending out to friends called Thought for the Week. I figured I could gather all the old emails in one spot and anyone could access all of them at any time.
Then something else happened. I started a blog and didn't tell anyone about it. I did not use it as a place to store all the old emails. Instead, I used it as a place to sort through all the conflicting emotions I had been having and also as a sort of road map to becoming the person I used to be. On New Year's 2008, I had told my friend, Isabelle that my goal for 2008 was to find myself again. She looked at me over the top of her champagne glass and said "You really spent too much time in Northern California." (In a strange, full circle moment, I told her on New Year's 2009 that she needed to resolve to be less cynical. "You've really lived right outside New York for too long." Kind of like that "Remember to wear sunscreen" song from years past)
Somewhere along the way of just using the blog as an online journal, I started poking around and reading other blogs. I never commented. I was just a lurker. And one day, I came across a blog that just made me laugh. I saw myself, reflected in her words. I saw that other people had the same hopes and aspirations and fears and stupid things that happened to daily. So I posted a comment. ANd she posted back. ANd I posted back to her. ANd so on.
All of a sudden, this was less of an online journal and more of an online friendship. Most of the other folks I now comment back and forth with I found through her blog. She literally opened my eyes and changed my life.
I'm sad to say that she recently closed her blog. SHe had gone back to work and also is expecting a new baby. Her blog was just taking up too much of her time. So I understand and agree with her decision. But, I still miss my daily dose of dash of crazy.
6 comments:
Well, regardless of why you started, I, for one, am glad you continue :)
And I'm glad you're feeling better!
This blogging this is quite addictive, isn't it? And it's funny how it's possible to make virtual friends so easily.
I hope you're feeling MUCH better today.
That's too bad that she had to quit her blog. This is a great post. I've often thought about starting up a blog to use an a journal so I can just let it all out, but I definitely wouldn't want anyone to know the address, or it would have to be private. I've got too much stressers in my life to gripe about. :)
Hope you are still feeling well.
Aaaahh! Another MamaKat follower! And I see Diane commenting on here as well. These crazy blog circles. That was a nice story. Missing someone's blog, and missing them. I was having a sour day, and got on Mamakat's blog and laughed my head off and thought, what? Blogland friendship? Very interesting concept. Keep looking. There will be other "sister" blogs out there for you!!
Just came over from Mama Kat. It is always interesting to read how other people get into blogging. I love it so much and can't believe how lucky I have been to have met such wonderful people doing this. Some of my friends have stopped blogging too, and it is always a sad day when that happens.
I had no idea that you could have blog friends before either. I really thought it would be my family and my existing friends reading it. As it turns out only my friend Diane reads it regularly, everyone else is a new blog friend. So weird!
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