Archive for the ‘Biography of a Blog’ Category
Monday, July 6th, 2009
I ask, because it could be my Third Blogiversary today, but it seems like cheating given my on-again-off-again relationship with blogging. Nonetheless, I have been hanging out here for three years. When I started writing I had two kids still in diapers, an internet crush on Adam Bonin, a fear of talking with my kids about their bodies and sex, a real problem with grocery shopping, little time to go to the movies, and lots of excuses for everything, including why I never blog. Three years later … well, everyone’s out of diapers, at least.
Posted in Biography of a Blog | |
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
In my new office, at my new desk, if I sit idly for too long, everything goes black. The bright fluorescent lights in here run by motion detection. If I sit still for too long the office sends me a message. You’re not doing anything. It says. Do something. Are you even in here? The darkness snaps me out of my daydream. I wave an arm to summon the light, and I settle back in to working.
Over the last month, while I have been learning a new job and facing new stages with my children, Mommy Tracks has been dark. Today, though, the Blogosphere spoke to me. Reminded me I’m here. I am delighted to report that the fine editors at Blog Nosh magazine have published an essay I wrote last year about the fear and excitement that accompany taking your oldest child to Kindergarten. If you found me from Blog Nosh, welcome. I am waving my arm, and I will be settling back in to blogging soon.
Posted in Biography of a Blog | |
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008
Starting in a couple weeks I will step cautiously on to yet another new track – the tenure track. As I set off into that new world, I will also be sending 7 to a new school, launching 5 into Kindergarten and enrolling Kong in his first season of full-time daycare.
And, so, once again, the approach of September has me feeling a combination of fear and excitement. I won’t be talking much about work here, but I do intend to keep observing the conundrums of life and parenting. Bear with me if posting remains a bit slow, and thanks for reading.
Posted in Biography of a Blog | |
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008
I gave up a lot of things during the holidays and the doldrums of January. I didn’t just quit blogging, I took an much less intended breather from exercise. But, finally, last Saturday on my favorite holiday, Groundhog Day, when the temperature briefly jumped enough to take it outside, I met up with Running again.
Last year at this time I wasn’t a runner. In fact, well into the spring of last year, I hated Running. During the early parts of my training for last fall’s Twin Cities Ten Mile, I had to give myself strange assignments (like silently, and geekily, reciting the Periodic Table of Elements) to help pass the time when I was running, to keep me moving, to avoid thinking about how much I hated it.
Throughout my training, I kept waiting to feel that “high” that runners always talk about. I kept waiting to experience that “lost time” where I just wandered into my thoughts oblivious to my aching legs and burning lungs and forgot I was running. Unfortunately, it never really happened.
To be honest, even when I ran the Ten Miler, the first half went okay, but I spent miles 6-9 arguing with running. The mantra Boy, running sure sucks would start to creep into my head, and I would push it away. At about mile 7, when I couldn’t keep pace with my friend D. any more, Running and I got into an argument.
“You’re right,” Running said, “this does suck, why don’t you just walk.” And I said, “*&&^ you, Running. I gave birth to nine pound babies. I can do anything for twenty more minutes.”
Despite the argument, I was elated to finish, and looking forward to keeping up my training. But I sort of fell off the wagon, and I really hadn’t run, at least not for any length or with much consistency, since the race – until last Saturday, when I crawled back on.
As it happens, by the time I got out running on Saturday, I really had myself all worked up about a number of personal issues, including, of course my purported crisis de blog about which I’ve been whining endlessly. Somewhere around mile 2 it occurred to me that I have a nasty need for purpose and structure that sometimes holds me back. It occurred to me that I don’t really need to have A Great Bloggy Plan. I don’t really need to know why I’m writing or for whom. The thing about the format of the weblog is that I can just blog when I can about what I can … just because I like it, and that’s reason enough.
The fact that this came as a complete shock to me should give you some insight into one of my faults (one those who know me observe frequently) – I can spend a whole lot of time analyzing, worrying and stressing my way to conclusions that seem quite obvious.
I was still mulling all that over Saturday during my run when I suddenly realized that I’d run more than a mile without paying any attention at all to Running. I had made it to the end of my goal without thinking about Running once. Not only was I lost in my brain, oblivious to the physical strain, but I also had such endorphin-induced clarity of vision.
As I walked to the car, smiling and contemplating all this, Running piped up enthusiastically, “So, Leo, does this mean we’re finally friends now?”
“Nope,” I replied, “We’re still not friends. Now, Running, you’re totally my bitch.”
Posted in Biography of a Blog, Ten Mile Madness | |
Thursday, January 31st, 2008
Actually, it’s really not the dog’s fault. I thought the INTERNET BREAK would help me solve my bloxistential crisis, but I haven’t found any answers.
I know other people deal with this, so tell me, please – if you’re a blogger, why do you blog? who do you blog for? what do you blog for? what do you expect from the blogging process? If you’re a blogreader why do you read blogs? what keeps you reading?
Now that I have delegated all that thinking to you all, I’m going to go watch the Season Premiere of Lost.
Posted in Biography of a Blog | |
Monday, July 30th, 2007
A little over a year ago, when I first accidentally stumbled into the blogosphere, I was as ignorant and blissfully unaware of this bustling conversational underworld as Lewis’s Lucy before she wanders through the wardrobe into Narnia.
Before that first chance encounter (thanks to author Jennifer Weiner plugging her own blog in one of her novels) I had never thought of the Internet as a place for connecting or making friends. Indeed, having prematurely begun the process of turning into a cranky old lady, I thought of cyber-conversation in terms of chat rooms visited by pedophiles and MySpace pages where ‘kids-these-days’ inadvisably broadcast and permanently record their angst. No, this was certainly not a place I needed to spend any time.
As I poked along reading people’s political manifestos and personal journals, I innocently thought: ”Wow, how cool that a few people self-publish their creativity and, on occasion, their personal trauma into these nifty things called weblogs.” [Yes, I probably even thought the word ‘nifty.’ My naivety and geekiness sometimes shock and amaze even me.] Of course, as I quickly learned, that was an understatement of immeasurable proportions. According to a Pew Trust Study, published last summer, approximately12 million Americans were actually blogging, with more than 40 million more reading blogs.
As my comfort level with the concept increased, though, so did my addiction. At that particular moment (three.kids.under.4, people!) I wasn’t getting a lot of adult interaction. And, well, once you’re in Blogia – every mouse click carries you to another person’s world and another candid conversation with a fabulous mother, or father, law student, critic, politico, lactivist, activist, pacifist, actual writer, gossipmonger, or collection of lippy lawyers overanalyzing pop culture. Of course, that’s without mentioning mainstream-media-sponsored ‘blogs’ or internet magazines or the blogs of the famous. I was fascinated. I clicked. I read. I lurked. The bills and dishes piled.
Never one to enjoy the sidelines (in anything except actual sports, of course), it didn’t take long before I had a blog of my own, two virtual friends, and my very first bloggy crush (on Weiner’s husband, Adam Bonin, of course).
At first, I kept it (the blog, but, sadly, not the crush) to myself, content to have an outlet for my long-quieted longing to write and unconcerned with whether people actually read any of my musings. But as I have become more comfortable I have recently realized that, indeed, I actually want people to read this blog.
Unfortunately, getting established in Blogia can be a bit overwhelming. In fact, to the newbie mommyblogger hoping to carve out even the most miniscule sliver of readership – it’s downright intimidating.
One click takes me to Mommy Needs Coffee where I learn that Jenn Satterwhite has actually interviewed Gloria Steinem. Another click and I am Nashville bound in Suburban Turmoil with Lindsey Ferrier who skillfully veils mommy war controversy into her own brand of humor to the tune of hundreds of comments per post.
The day I stumbled into Blogher was particularly humbling as I realized that there may be more blog titles with the word “Mommy” in them than cracker crumbs under the seats of a whole fleet of Honda Odysseys.
Lately, as I have pointed and clicked my way through this universe, I have asked myself … what can I do to get people to read this blog? How can I convince the lurkers to join the conversation? I’m a rabid researcher, so, of course, I did some studying. I looked into it, and I think I’ve got some ideas. I’ll tell you what I discovered.
But not until later this week. Maybe Thursday.
In the meantime, feel free to tell me in the comments – if you’re already reading this blog – what would you like to read about?
Posted in Biography of a Blog | |