Many blogs, including mine, have become less frequent, despite their commendable intentions to provide creative writing and insights. As I read blogs, I often ponder whether others share my perspective. With the instant gratification of Facebook, we receive snippets of life and have fewer reasons (or time) to engage in writing about our training, races, or general life experiences. We never obtain the complete picture, only fragments.
My friend Steve has consistently struggled with training, yet he has always had something to share. I admire that ability. Occasionally, the diverse insights he offers are unfamiliar to me, but I still appreciate his thoughts (most of the time).
I miss my regular blog posting! Even if they are not read, they have a calming effect on my mind. Expressing thoughts in words is a skill that allows me to process life’s complexities. Sometimes, I view my blog as the bartender of a post-blog era. I used to be in a position where people would enter the bar, purchase a strong drink, sit at it, and share their innermost thoughts. I would feign listening and occasionally utter phrases like “I understand” or “You are certain,” merely to make them believe I was attentive. This would culminate in a generous tip. Did I genuinely care? Not really, but they vented, shared, and sorted through the challenges they may encounter daily.
Oh, there was this one time at the YMCA in Fargo when I met a stranger who asked if I used to work at the Doublewood Inn. I told him I still did, and he was so grateful! I was totally surprised because I’d never met him before. He said he got fired from his job and wasn’t looking forward to going home, so he stopped by and got a little too carried away.
I apologized for not knowing him. He told me I listened to him for hours before telling him he had two choices: keep drinking and have no life, or wake up and realize his life is what he makes of it. (I don’t remember saying that to anyone, but he was sure it was me, and I did work there.)
That was one of those really rewarding times in my life. I think about how things have changed. No longer are bartenders free psychologists. There aren’t many places left where we can express ourselves semi-anonymously anymore. So, we blog, or at least I do.
Hey, did you know that the word “blog” is actually a mash-up of “web” and “log”? It’s like a four-letter powerhouse that’s all about sharing your thoughts and writing online! And get this: “We blog” has become simply “blog” on the Internet, in its terrific, straightforward way.
This excellent way to share your thoughts instantly and globally, thanks to technology that has been around for about a decade, means you can’t go back and edit things later (except for fixing minor typos or glitches). Plus, you don’t have to spend hours thinking about what to write. It’s just your spontaneous thoughts flowing out there! It’s not as permanent as regular news, but it’s still visible to everyone. You’re always accountable to your readers and other bloggers, and everything is linked together through hypertext. Unlike print journalism, it’s incredibly open, and its truth is constantly evolving. It’s still taking some getting used to how this affects writing.
Hey, anyone who’s been blogging for a while knows what I’m talking about! We bloggers don’t get a lot of time to sit back and gather our thoughts, waiting for things to settle down and make sense. We blog now, as news breaks and facts come to light.
We’re writing about ourselves at a pretty steady point in all this constant chatting with the world around us. So, in a way, the diary is the closest thing to a blog in history. But here’s the thing: a diary is usually a private thing. It’s all about being real, sticking to what’s happening right now, and remembering how things were. It’s like a personal log. Now, some diaries are meant for others to read, just like letters, but they are usually written after someone has passed away or compiled to create a more thoughtful autobiography. But a blog is different because it’s instantly public. It turns this most personal and reflective form into something super public and immediate. It combines the confessional style with the log format, putting the author in the spotlight like never before!
Okay, time to head to bed! I caught Bye Bye Birdie at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater tonight, and wow, it was a fantastic show at such a lovely venue. I hope everyone’s ready for that blizzard forecast we’re hearing about in the next few days. It feels like ages since we’ve had a real classic blizzard!
All you quiet dreamers, carry on!
Comments from my original blog - I merged the blogs.
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