Blog Is Beautiful

I’m really liking and enjoying this work-in-progress, but it’s different than I’d anticipated.

I’ve kept a journal before, so I figured this would be the same except on a schmancy web page. But knowing it’s available to the public has me watching my wording at times. I don’t just mean expletives, which I tend not to use much in speech (not because I’m some Victorian goody-goody, but because I can’t pull them off well; people tend to laugh, which sorta negates their whole purpose). I’m referring to my lame attempts to temper my tone.

In a written diary you can state your opinions broadly and without reservation. Yet, I’m hyperaware that others will visit here. Thus, I find myself qualifying my statements with phrases like “in my view” or “as I see it.” I guess I just don’t want to come across as a know-it-all.

Still … a self-centered narrative voice is an unavoidable by-product of a blog. This is *my* site for discussing *my* thoughts. Nyeah! So there! (Insert winking emoticon … HERE.)

Thus, a Disclaimer (with apologies to Miss Manners):
Even though my entries will focus on Me, Me, Me, please keep in mind, gentle readers, that I don’t know much of anything. I don’t even know everything about myself. This is simply a cool tool for me to process my thoughts in word form. If I state that something is so, it means I kindasortamaybe THINK it might be so. If I state that something is the best ever, it means I BELIEVE it’s the best. Your opinion might differ, and if it does, feel free to share it with me. Part of processing is taking in new info, new opinions, new ways of looking at the Mundo.

And now, some ground rules for this journal:

— I will only use my own full name. I will refer to family, friends, and neighbors with made-up silly names or titles (i.e., the Hubby, the Son, the Daughter). If you are already famous, all bets are off. I reserve the right to laud or dis those in the public eye.

— I will avoid discussions on highly controversial subjects such as religion and politics. Mainly because I do not wish to offend or get pulled into endless debates. Also, I find them rather boring.

— I will not always use correct grammar. I can’t help trying (such is my job and my nature), but I’m too lazy and pressed for time to thoroughly edit each entry. Besides, this is stream-of-consciousness writing. And my consciousness don’t use good grammar and stuff.

— On the other hand, I won’t even try to use leet speak or text-message shorthand. Nor will I use slang until it has become an officially adopted term or phrase with a legitimate dictionary entry. Cuz it’s impossible to keep up with the ever-changing jargon. And also cuz I’m a bit of a snob. Once an English teacher always an English teacher …

Speaking of … has everyone gotten the memo? “Friend” is now a verb. I hear people use it that way all the time. “Can I friend you?” “I friended this dude and he turned out to be a total loser.”

It’s, like, My-Space speak? You know? And that’s, like, another memo? For everyone who’s, like, under twenty-eight and female? They now have to inflect every sentence they utter as if it were, like, a question?

Rather than trying to keep up, I’ll stick with my very own old-fashioned diary speak. With luck, people will still want to read this. And maybe even friend me.

Leave a Reply