Wednesday, December 31, 2008

A little T M I

   I was partly inspired to start a blog by a friend of mine who walked across Spain. Who knew people did that? I really looked forward to her daily entries, it made me feel like I was walking along side her, minus the foot sores and bad hair days. I wanted my blog to be a place where I kept my thoughts and ideas about my upcoming trip to Utah in February. I plan to volunteer at Best Friends. (www.BestFriends.org). This is where the Michael Vick dog's ended up. They took them in and started the long process of rehabilitating them so they might find a permanent home where they would find love and be cared for. That's what I had in mind for my blog a few days ago. But in the last few hours my blog had turned into something completely different.  

   A little back history ...
   I am addicted to book stores. Every chance I get I roam the aisles looking at all the books lining the shelves begging me to pick them up and indulge myself between their covers. Now don't get the wrong impression here ... I am not some eyeglassed-clip-tie-wearing-pocket-protector kind of guy. Far from it. I happen to pride myself on the fact that I can throw together an outfit at the drop of a hat. But that's for another entry. I guess if the truth be told maybe its more about the fact that in these book stores are the things that really get me going ... journals. I must have two dozen notebooks with in hands reach right now in various stages of entry's. Leather bound one's from Italy, some with plastic covers with monkeys crawling off the edges. I have a little tiny red that reminded me of the Pope's red leather Prada shoes, no bigger than 2 x 4 (and if you knew my handwriting you would know how impractical that one is) to one as big as 6 x 12 that barely fits in by bag. I have them stashed in the glove compartment in my car as well as the side pocket next to the drivers seat AND passenger side (in case a friend needs to jot down the recipe for Meatloaf Surprise). They are everywhere. But back to the task at hand, my blog.  For reasons I just named I realized I needed to consolidate these thoughts. What better place to share my views on war, animal rights, Obama, family, relationships, the job I have, the job I want to have, gay marriage then a blog for the whole world to see? 

   Are blogs just a place for all of us wanna-be-writers to be self indulgent? A place to voice our opinions that is safe and self-righteous? Am I starting to sound like Carrie Bradshaw? 

   On one of my trips to my fav bookstore I saw a book "The Huffington Post Complete Guide To Blogging". It was fate. So I bought it. That was four days ago and I haven't opened it yet. Those of you who know me know how much I am into "instant gratification". So of course before I read a book on blogging and how to get started, how to get it noticed and how to make an impact I need to just dive in with no lifeguard on duty! Needless to say future posts my be very different as I do plan to read the book.

   I had a friend preview my first entry before I posted it. She sent it back with corrections, spelling and format. As I look back on this post ... it's nothing like that first draft. It was all about my childhood pets, an encounter with a rabid squirrel, my love for animals and so on. But since a few days ago my plans have changed. I wont be going to Utah until June or July so I didn't have this urgent need for a blog. Or so I thought. This blogging thing is FUN! It's so different then writing in my leather journals. So for better or worse I have decided to just type. Errors and all. Type what I am feeling right now on this sunny Saturday afternoon in So Cal. Who knows, maybe future entry's might have some clear form of consciousness. I do plan to blog about my trip to Utah so stick with me and read all about it. In the mean time I plan to have fun with this blog thing. And I can finally get rid of all those damn notebooks. Or can I ?  

   Ok ... so I have finished my first entry. Now what? How do I post it? I see two buttons on the bottom of the page ... do I push "PUBLISH POST"?