Blogging 101

When I was in high school (ugh…give me a moment…these flashbacks sometimes require special breathing techniques…*sigh*…OK, here we go) my picture could be found in the dictionary next to “insecure”. I know. Everybody’s picture probably belonged there, but I think I may have been an extreme case. To this day I don’t understand the source of my debilitating angst during that time but whatever, it happened.

During my sophomore year I had two friends who were trying to get me to try out for the basketball team. I was athletic, I was tall, and in 1986 you didn’t have to be much more than that. Still, I was more willing at that time to shove bamboo splinters up my fingernails than try out for the team. Everyday I was harassed by my friends to try out, and every day I said “no”. Finally, my friend Nicole brought me the form at lunchtime. “Here,” she said as she handed it to me. It was all filled out. “Sign it,” she said. And so it was on a sunny afternoon in San Diego a young high school girl, under duress, signed a form, put on gym shorts and tried out for the basketball team. I would play for the next three years and attend the State Championships in Los Angeles during my Senior year. If it hadn’t been for the…let’s call it encouragement from my friends, I would have missed out on some great experiences.

Fast forward to 2004 - I was visiting with my neighbor in my front yard. “Are you a blogger?” she asked.

Is she hitting on me? I thought. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Are you a blogger? Do you blog?”

“Do I clog? No. My roommate used to clog in the quad of our college apartment complex but…”

“NO, do you BLOG?”

I was totally and completely confused as I had never heard the word “blog” before. “I’m sorry, I just barely got a cell phone so...."

I think the look on my face was causing her to regret her line of questioning - it was turning out to be far more work than I believe she had anticipated. Nevertheless, she was patient with me and gave me a brief rundown of the blogging world, which apparently doesn’t involve noisy shoes at all. After my 101 crash course I decided to check out her daughter’s website and thus ensued my introduction to the blogosphere. I decided to try it out on my own on a smaller scale and have sporadically emailed family and friends with random topics from my life. It has been very fun for me, and the feedback from all of my great friends and family has been much appreciated.

Then the other night I was talking with one of my brothers who started talking me into doing this on a more regular basis using a blog format. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have known where to start. In essence, he has filled out the forms for me and by being here I have signed the dotted line. While no anticipation of State Championships lies on the horizon, it should be a fun ride!