Just Jabber

I think I am more in the mood to talk/write than I am to stamp tonight. While my husband was still awake, we talked a little bit. We were both following the New Hampshire primary on our respective televisions. Yes, we have separate televisions in separate rooms even though my chair (whatever chair I'm sitting in) is less than eight feet from his chair, a big leather recliner. While we're pretty much on the same page when it comes to politics, I'm more open minded than he is, which means our conversation isn't always friendly. The separate televisions are due to the fact that he's a channel surfer and an inconsiderate one at that. I get very unfriendly if someone I'm listening to is cut off in mid-sentence when he changes the channel. Two TVs helps keep the peace around here. With regard to the primaries, I was surprised by the outcomes again. The next few weeks are going to be interesting. The only thing I wish is that between primaries, the news commentators would stop speculating and talk about something else. There's got to be something else going on worthy of reporting.

For the past few days, I've been thinking about this blogging thing. What got me started pondering the subject was a very popular blog - one that I was following every day - that suddenly went private. I began following this blog a month or so ago when it was named one of Blogger's "Blogs of Note." I don't know what criteria Blogger uses to name these blogs, but once they're recognized, they get a ton of traffic. This particular blogger posted a photo a day and wrote a little commentary on what was going on in his life. When I picked up on his blog, he was in the midst of a rather hopeless love affair, which is probably why I kept reading it. In addition, his photos were awesome, and he seemed like a nice, sensitive guy who was doing what the rest of us are doing - just making his way through life one step at a time. A lot of people left comments on his blog, and I believe, from what he said, that he felt obligated to answer all of them. There were also hundreds of people reading his blog every day who weren't commenting. I think the numbers got to him. I think he felt like he was on a stage performing for a faceless audience. I think I understand how he feels. On a blog, regardless of the subject content, you open yourself up, and you wonder what others think. It doesn't bother me all that much. For one thing, I don't have hundreds and hundreds of people coming here every day, and besides, I write for a living. The press releases and magazine articles I pen appear all over the World Wide Web and in print publications in the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia. I don't know who reads what I write, but obviously someone does, because I'm still getting a paycheck every two weeks. When I started working at the local newspaper 11 years ago, I told the editor I would be there until it wasn't fun anymore. After five years, I burned out and quit. It wasn't fun anymore. I suspect that was how it was with the onepicaday blog. That's how it will be with me.

Finally, here's something that made me giggle a couple days ago. When I'm on the 'puter (as Bjorn calls it), my back is to the television. I really don't watch it, just listen and occasionally turn my head to look at it if something piques my interest. Anyway, a couple of nights ago, I caught the end of a commercial, something about "Cottenelle Comfort" and then the tagline delivered by the sweetest of female voices, "Be kind to your behind." It struck me as so darned funny. I write taglines for print and online advertising, too. Usually, I try to keep a running list as they pop into my head. Every once in a while though, I'm presented with a graphic image and asked to come up with something on the spot. Sometimes it's easy - something just comes to me - and at other times, I can spend several hours trying to come up with ideas. By the way, the company I work for distributes electronic components, nothing as fun as stamps or even toilet tissue.

Now that I've jabbered for a while, I'm ready to call it a day. I suppose I should have a separate blog for my babble . . . One more thing, although I use Dictionary.com and SpellCheck faithfully, I don't have a proofreader. If there are other errors due to such things as overwrite or brain farts, forgive me. I'm too lazy to go through it tonight, and besides, I rarely see my own errors.