So, What's This Blog All About Anyway?

That is indeed a good question - one I’ve been playing around with since June. I think I may be beginning to figure it out. And guess what, there’s another cosmic trip to the main library involved. I should give you the history first, though.

In early June I attended one of Christine Kane’s Women’s Retreats in the NC mountains. It was a truly wonderful experience – one of the best of my life actually. For a while prior to that I’d been thinking about starting a blog. The problem was I didn’t think that I had anything worthwhile to say. On the last morning of the retreat one of the other women asked me if I knew anything about blogging. I told her that I didn’t, but that it was something I was interested in. She told me that to her I seemed like someone who would be into that. I didn’t think much about it in the moment. On the solitary three-hour drive home that afternoon I started to. My brain said knock-knock mka, someone said something important to you today, you should pay attention. So I did. During that drive I decided that I would start a blog. I didn’t know what shape it would take or where I was going with it. What I was certain of was there would be no negativity, no whining, and no bitching. If I needed to bitch, whine, or rant I’d do that in my personal paper journal that no one reads but me. I vowed to only put out good energy and positive vibes through my blog. (Roll your eyes, if you must.) That’s all that I started with.

So for the last few months I’ve been plugging away - posting essayesque items, poem-like creations, stories about my dog and cat sometimes illustrated with digital photos, etc. - stuff that’s important to me and maybe a wee bit entertaining to my friends (I haven’t had the guts to tell my family – except for my brother who wasn’t very impressed – about this blog ‘o mine.) I’ve been pleased with what I’ve been doing, but I still wasn’t sure exactly what I was doing. I knew that it was making me happy and that writing was becoming an important part of my life. In order to figure out what was really going on with all this and because it is fun I decided to see what cool books on writing I could find in the library catalog at work. One evening I put together a short list (short book lists are difficult for me so I had to be very selective) of call numbers and headed over to the main library during my dinner hour. One of the books was fairly new and still in the current literature section. I tend to get overly excited and carried away when I visit the main library (yeah, yeah I’m a big library geek, I know) so I had written in big fat letters C U R R E N T L I T next to the call number of that book on my index card. Well I headed right to the stacks, gathered up the books from my list, and went back to my office. My butt had already hit the chair before I realized that I had totally ignored my note to self about the current lit book. I had found another book in the regular stacks with a call number so close to it that I didn’t realize that I didn’t have the one I had initially intended to grab. Oh well, best laid plans I thought.

What I ended up with was a skinny, paperback text for undergraduate writing students, The Elements of Autobiography and Life Narratives by Catherine L. Hobbs. By simply reading the preface I knew why I’d been drawn to this book and it wasn’t just the purple cover. (tee-hee) Hobbs says, “Self life writing...is presented here as a means of self-expression as well as a way to grow, by developing insight into our lives...this text works not to develop ‘true selves’ or ‘authentic voices’ but rather to make manifest and explore the diverse voices and subjectivities we all have in response to the complexities and fragmentation of life in these postmodern times.” Yes! I had an answer finally, at least a partial one. I am trying to make sense of my life, of this world in which I live, to learn from my exerperiences both past and present. This is what I am doing. My blog is for me and if my friends enjoy reading it and if I get a few positive comments along the way that is icing on the cake.

So that’s where I am at the moment with all this stuff. I’m writing for mka. You guys and gals are welcome to come along for the ride and tell me what you think about my journey. I’m sure having fun. :)

Comments

Anonymous said…
What a great example of inadvertant serendipity. You did not take the book you thought you wanted, because the one you really needed was already in your pocket. That is soo cool; I love such little gifts from life. It helps one's faith each time. It also helps to know one has good friends and I want you to know that I think you are a wonderful person and that I am grateful to be your Monday dinner friend and no less than the other half of your brain ?! Thanks for sharing your blog - it certainly beats what's on Cable TV, as it is genuine and without greedy commercials. So, keep writing, keep blogging and never cease seeking for wisdom. It may seem to elude us, but then serendipity reminds us that wisdom is alive and well in the universe. May the good force always be with you, my Friend. Love from Jenny
mka said…
Oh Jenny!

You are such a dear person. Thank you so much for your sweet and wise words. I am so thankful for serendiptiy. When I'm having a bad day it keeps me going and turns my attitude around. I really enjoy our Monday night dinners too - night time library people unite!

Love, love, love right back at 'ya!
mka