This is not a Mommy Blog. This is not a Smart Shoppers Blog. This is not a Poetry Blog. Not a Sports Blog. Not a Celebrity Gossip Blog. Not a Vintage Blog, nor a Humor Blog nor an Inspirational/Religious Blog. I don't know what category I fall into just yet.
I think I got interested in writing my own blog because of my old friend, Mike. He started his own blog sometime last year. He's a teacher in South Korea, and he wrote a very amusing chronicle about the weird, cool, and sometimes frustrating, daily experiences of his life as a guy from Maine living in the land of kimchi. I say "very amusing" because he finds himself only "mildly amusing". Typical Mike.
Check him out at Mildly Amusing Korea.
So, I'm very late to the game as far as this blogging thing goes. Of course, any lame-o who lives in the year 2010 has heard of blogging. But I never really got it. Even though, as I stated on a previous post, I have more than enough to blab on and on about every single day, I never considered blogging as a possible outlet.
I figured it was for Mommy Bloggers, who posted pics and bragged about their children finger painting and going on Easter egg hunts and playing in piano recitals. Or it was for people who sold things, and wanted to cross-promote their shops and services with a newsletter-type thing. Or for Starbucks Intellectuals, who take graduate school classes and blog in some secret, smarty-pants, literary-type circles.
But after I read Mike's blog, I realized that pretty much anybody can do it. I mean, you have to have some skill, to garner yourself a following, but it really can be just a regular person, sharing the strange, wonderful, horrible, exciting and boring moments of their everyday lives.
Sometimes, just some pretty pictures or a famous name can get your blog out there. For example, Jorge Garcia's blog - Dispatches from the Island. That guy writes like, 2 sentences every other day, and posts a few pictures. But because he's famous, he has hundreds of followers. And yes, although his sparse entries annoy me a bit, I'm a subscriber.
My cousin's wife, who I've not had the pleasure to meet yet, (maybe someday?), has a great blog. She seems to be the Artistic Blogger type, which is so cool. She features lots of beautiful photos and links to her Etsy shop. It's not an outpouring of her personal thoughts and dreams, but it's a pleasure to look at. You can check her out at Monkey and Squirrel.
Another old friend recommended I read the blog of a plane crash survivor and mother of four. Her blog, Nienie Dialogues, is one I actually look forward to reading every day. I saw her on Oprah awhile back, and thought her story was very inspiring. I cannot imagine just doing the small things she does each day with the painful injuries she sustained. Her attitude is so positive, and her willingness to share her daily joys and hardships is touching.
One of my favorite blogs about vintage junk is Retro Renovation. This lady is all-in, as far as her knowledge about mid-century architecture, decorating, and collectibles. Her blog is chock-full of articles on every single thing you might ever want to know about renovating a retro home, or just making your current living space into a retro wonderland. The variety of topics you can read about could keep a person busy for days.
And once I opened my mind to reading these blogs, it was like a new addiction for me. There are blogs about every possible topic, all of my interests, all of my curiosities, my search for a laugh, and my never-ending desire to peek into peoples lives. I'm just one of those people who walks past a house at night, and cranes my neck to look through the front window into the neighbor's living room, all lit up from the inside. I'm just a curious person.
As with anything in my life, it took a little while for me to convince myself that I had something valuable to say. But then, hey, look at Jorge! If he can do it, why couldn't I?
Like I said, I know I'm late to this party. I know, from reading like, a bajillion random blogs, that there are as many people over blogging as there are starting a new one each day. One guy actually posted that blogging was ruining his writing skills. It was taking away his opportunity to gain perspective on anything. He was in such a hurry to blog everything as soon as it happened in his life, he'd become boxed in by the little snippets of information that he'd defined himself with. That guy was a little too deep for my taste, but I guess it can be a different experience for everyone.
So, right now, I'm blogging every day. I still don't have a respectable amount of followers. I have to stop worrying about if I'm entertaining anyone else and just focus on making each entry something that I would enjoy reading over again....maybe next year...when I'm sick of blogging and have run out of things to say.
Ha! As if....
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