Adventures in Blogging

So, here I was, this time last night, internalizing a myriad of feelings that ranged from humbled to embarrassed to, okay, slightly bitter, that only two people wanted to comment on my creepy dentist story. (Thanks Dustin and Blaugustine!) I mean, here I was, asking for real feedback on something I thought was fairly serious, and all anyone stops by for is an update on Jaime Jack and Stench. (They're back on, by the way. You can stop searching now.)

Then, today, LA Observed picked up on the dentist story and sent lots of traffic my way, many of whom were happy to validate my concerns that the hygienist was out of line. (Although not as out of line as Bonnie's, whose dentist took the Creep of the Year prize when he sent her porn.) Among my new readers I met Jennifer, who was happy to walk me through a step-by-step tutorial on how to set up an RSS Feed. And the fact that total strangers can take the time and expend the energy to share their voices (and often, their faces) has reaffirmed my enthusiasm for writing and gives me one more thing to like about blogging.

I've said before that when I first started this, I saw blogging primarily as a way of keeping in touch with my friends and family back east. It has served that purpose well, keeping open lines of communications that otherwise might be spotty at best. But recently I have come to see another benefit, in that it has exposed me to so many new people - strangers with whom I may have a lot or very little in common with, but no matter where we live geographically or what we do professionally, we are all somewhat connected through this powerful medium.

Over the past year I've wasted countless hours reading personal blogs. Hours. Per day. Once in a while, I'll leave comments. But only recently have people outside of my immediate circle started leaving comments for me, and what can I say? It's gratifying. It's nice to know that someone besides my mother, who I think is contractually obligated, checks in every once in a while. So, thank you to everyone who has stopped by and made your voices heard. Know that I am listening. And now that I have met you, I'm probably also reading.