A month or so ago, I was invited to write for a site that I won't name. It was a group blog with a decent readership, authored by a diverse group of people. The owner approached me because he thought they could use the voice of a "young, urban female" and he liked what he read here.
I was extremely flattered, as no one ever asks me to write anywhere. More than that, I was intimidated. The posts that I read there were well-written and intelligent, if somewhat bordering on intellectual to the point of being dry. It was a far cry from the occasional storytelling and whatever else it is that I do here, but I was excited about the challenge and signed on for their standard requirement: 3 posts a month about anything I wanted.
I wrote a few posts but never linked to any of them because I didn't care that much about them, and I ended up mostly skipping or skimming the posts from the other authors (that whole "dry intellectual" thing is really not what I like to read in my free time). A few titles caught my eye, though, so occasionally I read some things.
And frankly, I was disgusted.
I found myself reading a post talking about how Equal Pay Day is "hooey." I read a post about how feminism is a bunch of bullshit because men have been the oppressed gender all along. I read a rant about "lefties" and their tyranny in forcing Brendan Eich out of the top spot at Mozilla because of his past donation to Prop 8. And that wasn't even all of them.
I read these posts and fumed. I wrote, and never published, angry retorts. I decided I didn't want to get involved in a comment war that would surely end in nothing but frustration. Where does one even begin in trying to reason with someone who doesn't believe the data saying women are paid less than men?
The more I read, the more I hated myself for being a part of that site, and the less I ever wanted to link to any of my posts and drive traffic there. I knew that this site encompassed a diverse range of perspectives but, perhaps naively, it had never crossed my mind that among the diversity would also be bigotry. Living in a city as wonderfully liberal as New York, you never really encounter those people. You know, the ones who don't believe in things like, oh I don't know, fucking equality.
I sent the site owner the following email:
While I never thought I would last forever on the site, I certainly
thought I would make it longer than this. But alas, here I am, tendering
my resignation as an author on ----. In my short time there I've
seen a few too many ignorant, hateful posts that stem from people
leaning so far to the right that they're actually just leaning
backwards. I've never been one to mind those of different political
leanings when it comes to, say, fiscal conservatism or the debate over
universal healthcare, but I can't get down with anyone who legitimately
does not believe in a) all humans being treated as equals, and b) that
there is so much work to be done towards said equality. While I realize
that others' opinions don't reflect on me, I have no desire to share the
same virtual space as them. And so I thank you so much for this
opportunity, as you have been nothing but gracious to me, but I cannot
continue with this. I apologize for all the effort you went through to
get me on board, and I do hope you find a new "young urban female" voice
soon. Perhaps one that is a little braver than I and wants to tackle
the challenge of converting the ignorant over simply choosing to
surround herself with people who believe in equality, open-mindedness
and tolerance - and only those people.
Arielle
Our exchange went on from there, and included the owner linking me to a photo of the offending author's son and his African American prom date, which he had posted as a comment elsewhere on the site. The intent was to make me see that this person is not, in fact, a bigot. I told the owner that I was glad that at least this man had evolved enough to accept racial minorities as equals. And after a few more back and forths, we had said our goodbyes.
At first I thought maybe I should have stayed on as an author, using my "young, urban female"ness - 3 qualities which seemed to be underrepresented on the site - to make some impassioned arguments in favor of some of those values that we "lefties" hold so dear. But I didn't join the site to go to war. I didn't want to read posts by "colleagues" and feel outrage. Writing is a hobby for me; something I do for fun. And so I said my non-literal "fuck you" to ignorance and left. It may have been the quietest possible "fuck you" I could have mustered in that situation, but I was making my point.
If having tolerant, accepting, loving friends and family is a bubble I'm sheltering myself with, I will happily stay cocooned in here most of the time. I like to believe that in the moments when I do choose to fight the good fight, it has been, and will be, in ways more powerful and effective than a petty comment war could have ever been.
Showing posts with label Blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blogging. Show all posts
Going Public
Monday, September 9, 2013
Labels:
Blogging
Some of you may have noticed that links to my blog posts now show up on my Facebook page. In fact, according to a very cursory glance at my blog statistics, most of you are reading this because you saw a link on my Facebook page (hi friends! welcome!).
A lot of bloggers add an RSS feed of their blogs on Facebook and it seems like to many of them it ain't no thang.
Except it is totally a thang.
"Make blog Facebook appropriate" has been on my to-do list for probably 2 years now. I would put it on my actual to-do list, let it sit there festering for awhile, take a look at my old blog posts, freak out, and then remove it. Rinse and repeat.
It's not like my blog has ever even been all that inappropriate. Aside from some cursing it's not particularly vulgar, and while in my 11 years of blogging I certainly have a history of talking about copious amounts of drinking, even that has slowed down as I head into old age.
I think any personal blogger can relate to the fact that there is a certain level of paranoia that can come with knowing that people are reading your shit. I never experienced this paranoia when I had my business blog because frankly, I don't care if you enjoy my discourse on the difference between the Dow and the NASDAQ. But when you put your own personal stuff out there, you may as well be giving people access to...everything. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who has had those moments where someone mentions something they read on your blog, and you had no idea they knew it existed and you sort of blanche for a moment before realizing that, um, this is kind of what you signed up for.
Some people learn this lesson the easy way, by having a friend mention a totally innocuous blog post when you didn't know they were one of your readers. And some people learn it the hard way, by almost getting kicked out of business school for blogging (truthfully!) about your program.
Unless you're really adept at keeping yourself anonymous, there comes a point where every blogger needs to say to themselves, "Why am I posting stuff for people to read if I don't actually want people to read it?" What I mean is, it seems totally illogical to have had a series of blogs all these years yet somehow try and preserve this arbitrary distinction between the people who read it and the people who don't. "Real life" friends have always had access to my blog, just not necessarily all of my real life friends. But there was never really a rhyme or reason to it.
So a few weeks ago, I cleaned up my act. I deleted a whole lot of posts, saving some of them in a Word document. I committed to using this space for more appropriate, will-not-get-me-in-trouble-or-embarrass-me content. I also committed to using this space not solely to chronicle my life, but as a place to actually do some real, thoughtful writing. The kind of writing that, if you're someone like me and you need to write to keep yourself sane, is fulfilling. Because even if it's a stupid blog post about why you decided to add your blog's feed to your Facebook page, it's still something you put effort into as opposed to just saying, "here's what I did last weekend."
It's scary, to be honest. I have less control over who reads my blog now than I ever have, because even if only 5 people click over here from a Facebook link, I have no idea which 5 people those are. Maybe it's my besties, or maybe it's some random person that I only met once at a party and will never see again (still, either way, hello!). But it's one of the few ways in which I'm starting to exercise some maturity.
Maybe one day I'll even get to the level of not cursing on here.
Eh. Fuck that.
A lot of bloggers add an RSS feed of their blogs on Facebook and it seems like to many of them it ain't no thang.
Except it is totally a thang.
"Make blog Facebook appropriate" has been on my to-do list for probably 2 years now. I would put it on my actual to-do list, let it sit there festering for awhile, take a look at my old blog posts, freak out, and then remove it. Rinse and repeat.
It's not like my blog has ever even been all that inappropriate. Aside from some cursing it's not particularly vulgar, and while in my 11 years of blogging I certainly have a history of talking about copious amounts of drinking, even that has slowed down as I head into old age.
I think any personal blogger can relate to the fact that there is a certain level of paranoia that can come with knowing that people are reading your shit. I never experienced this paranoia when I had my business blog because frankly, I don't care if you enjoy my discourse on the difference between the Dow and the NASDAQ. But when you put your own personal stuff out there, you may as well be giving people access to...everything. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who has had those moments where someone mentions something they read on your blog, and you had no idea they knew it existed and you sort of blanche for a moment before realizing that, um, this is kind of what you signed up for.
Some people learn this lesson the easy way, by having a friend mention a totally innocuous blog post when you didn't know they were one of your readers. And some people learn it the hard way, by almost getting kicked out of business school for blogging (truthfully!) about your program.
Unless you're really adept at keeping yourself anonymous, there comes a point where every blogger needs to say to themselves, "Why am I posting stuff for people to read if I don't actually want people to read it?" What I mean is, it seems totally illogical to have had a series of blogs all these years yet somehow try and preserve this arbitrary distinction between the people who read it and the people who don't. "Real life" friends have always had access to my blog, just not necessarily all of my real life friends. But there was never really a rhyme or reason to it.
So a few weeks ago, I cleaned up my act. I deleted a whole lot of posts, saving some of them in a Word document. I committed to using this space for more appropriate, will-not-get-me-in-trouble-or-embarrass-me content. I also committed to using this space not solely to chronicle my life, but as a place to actually do some real, thoughtful writing. The kind of writing that, if you're someone like me and you need to write to keep yourself sane, is fulfilling. Because even if it's a stupid blog post about why you decided to add your blog's feed to your Facebook page, it's still something you put effort into as opposed to just saying, "here's what I did last weekend."
It's scary, to be honest. I have less control over who reads my blog now than I ever have, because even if only 5 people click over here from a Facebook link, I have no idea which 5 people those are. Maybe it's my besties, or maybe it's some random person that I only met once at a party and will never see again (still, either way, hello!). But it's one of the few ways in which I'm starting to exercise some maturity.
Maybe one day I'll even get to the level of not cursing on here.
Eh. Fuck that.
A very special anniversary
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Labels:
Blogging
10 years ago today, on March 18th, 2002, I did something that was unremarkable at the time, but that now, when I look back on it, seems totally amazing:
I wrote my first blog post.
It wasn't on this blog, and it wasn't on the blog I had before this one, or even the blog I had before that one. But 4 blogs ago, before people even started using the word "blog," I started writing.
I thought about copying my very first blog post to show you all what it said, but it's boring and pretty un-funny.
I don't think I could have anticipated that 10 years later, I'd be reflecting on what a major force blogging has been in my life and that it would include:
- Introducing me to some truly wonderful people who I now think of as friends
- Getting me into some momentary yet scary-as-shit disciplinary problems in graduate school
- Strengthening my friendship with my bestie
- Sharing parts of myself and my life that I might otherwise have kept locked up
Even when I take unintentional blogging breaks and remain silent for 1, 2, 3 weeks, blogging is always on my mind. I don't even really feel emotions anymore, I just compose posts in my head as I experience the ups and downs of my life (seriously, do you guys do that? Just me?). Most of what I've "written" in my head hasn't even made it out, doomed to forever remain in my mental Drafts folder. But it's always made me feel good to think of something and know that, if I had chosen to write it down, it might have manifest itself as a well-crafted sentence.
I often forget how truly, amazingly rewarding I find writing. How sometimes when I write even the most insignificant of blog posts, I look at the clock and wonder how it got to be 2 in the morning. I never regret the sleep I've lost - getting lost in the sound of my clacking keyboard as it pierces through the dead-of-night silence is much more fun.
I can't believe that it's been 10 years since I started carving out my little space on the internet. Here's to the next 10. =)
I wrote my first blog post.
It wasn't on this blog, and it wasn't on the blog I had before this one, or even the blog I had before that one. But 4 blogs ago, before people even started using the word "blog," I started writing.
I thought about copying my very first blog post to show you all what it said, but it's boring and pretty un-funny.
I don't think I could have anticipated that 10 years later, I'd be reflecting on what a major force blogging has been in my life and that it would include:
- Introducing me to some truly wonderful people who I now think of as friends
- Getting me into some momentary yet scary-as-shit disciplinary problems in graduate school
- Strengthening my friendship with my bestie
- Sharing parts of myself and my life that I might otherwise have kept locked up
Even when I take unintentional blogging breaks and remain silent for 1, 2, 3 weeks, blogging is always on my mind. I don't even really feel emotions anymore, I just compose posts in my head as I experience the ups and downs of my life (seriously, do you guys do that? Just me?). Most of what I've "written" in my head hasn't even made it out, doomed to forever remain in my mental Drafts folder. But it's always made me feel good to think of something and know that, if I had chosen to write it down, it might have manifest itself as a well-crafted sentence.
I often forget how truly, amazingly rewarding I find writing. How sometimes when I write even the most insignificant of blog posts, I look at the clock and wonder how it got to be 2 in the morning. I never regret the sleep I've lost - getting lost in the sound of my clacking keyboard as it pierces through the dead-of-night silence is much more fun.
I can't believe that it's been 10 years since I started carving out my little space on the internet. Here's to the next 10. =)
Because everyone loves a little stress
Monday, October 3, 2011
Labels:
Blogging,
No sleep til...BROOKLYN
First of all, BIG NEWS!
I bought a domain! Booyah! The address of this blog is now www.iamnotthemermaid.com
Wonderful, right? I have always secretly hated the name "More Than A Mermaid." I thought it sucked and don't know why I picked it. Not the Mermaid is 100 times better. And now it matches my Twitter.
Second piece of BIG NEWS:
I'm moving.
"Arielle, didn't you just move?"
"Yes, yes I did."
My roommates and I have decided to move into the apartment directly above ours. It just got redone so it is nice and shiny and new. The price is the same and it gets way more light. Amazing.
The downside of this is that we decided on this move a few days ago. And we have another few days to complete it. Naturally, the Jewish holidays fell last weekend and this weekend, taking out the bulk of time that I could have used to transport my stuff upstairs. And of course I have plans every night this week (yes, I'm sitting here blogging when I could be moving but it's 11:30pm so...I don't feel like lugging crap right now).
Oh and also, I'm getting the flu. You know when you wake up one day feeling a little bit icky and you just know that in a day or 2 it's going to be a full blown sickfest? I'm right there. All day today I thought I was hungover (I was, at least in the morning, oops) until I realized that my body ached not because of the shots I had yesterday, but because my immune system is about to shut down.
NICE. Good job, life. Way to keep it together.
I bought a domain! Booyah! The address of this blog is now www.iamnotthemermaid.com
Wonderful, right? I have always secretly hated the name "More Than A Mermaid." I thought it sucked and don't know why I picked it. Not the Mermaid is 100 times better. And now it matches my Twitter.
Second piece of BIG NEWS:
I'm moving.
"Arielle, didn't you just move?"
"Yes, yes I did."
My roommates and I have decided to move into the apartment directly above ours. It just got redone so it is nice and shiny and new. The price is the same and it gets way more light. Amazing.
The downside of this is that we decided on this move a few days ago. And we have another few days to complete it. Naturally, the Jewish holidays fell last weekend and this weekend, taking out the bulk of time that I could have used to transport my stuff upstairs. And of course I have plans every night this week (yes, I'm sitting here blogging when I could be moving but it's 11:30pm so...I don't feel like lugging crap right now).
Oh and also, I'm getting the flu. You know when you wake up one day feeling a little bit icky and you just know that in a day or 2 it's going to be a full blown sickfest? I'm right there. All day today I thought I was hungover (I was, at least in the morning, oops) until I realized that my body ached not because of the shots I had yesterday, but because my immune system is about to shut down.
NICE. Good job, life. Way to keep it together.
The curse of an old cell phone
This past weekend, I had the wonderful opportunity to hang out with some fabulous bloggers (I would link to all of you but I'm lazy) at BlogHer. Not that I was part of the conference (on my unemployed budget? heavens no), but I managed to snag some people's free time when they weren't meeting Padma or eating cheeseburgers or whatever else they were doing over at the Hilton.
There were a number of moments over the weekend where I just had to laugh to myself because, as is sort of understandable for people in social media, everyone was on their iPhones and BlackBerries all the time. I mean, ALL. THE. TIME. The reason I thought this was funny is because I think I'm the lone person remaining in the 20-something age bracket who does not possess a smartphone.
I KNOW. I will give you all a moment to go grab some Benadryl for the hives you just broke out in at the thought of having a phone on which you cannot check email.
I've been meaning to upgrade to a BlackBerry ever since I became eligible for a new phone almost a year and a half ago. The thing is, my little LG flip phone is the most reliable thing I have ever encountered in life, and for awhile I was loathe to fix something that technically ain't broke. Now that it's come to the point where I really WANT to upgrade (phone still works like a charm, though), I refuse to do so until I have a job. It will be both a congratulatory present to myself as well as a lovely confirmation that I can now officially afford the inevitable increase in cell phone bill that will come with having to pay for data.
My lack of a smartphone has never really bothered me all that much, mostly because I've been able to work around it and it doesn't inconvenience anyone other than myself. However, I was reading BusinessWeek yesterday and came across something truly disturbing.
33 percent of iPhone users find out-of-date gadgets a turnoff.
As if I wasn't already doomed to fail at the NYC dating scene. I'm now doubly doomed.
Epic fail. Going to hang my head in out-of-date phone shame.
UPDATE: I wrote this post this morning and planned on posting it when I got home from my temp job (you know, one of the few temp jobs that didn't reject me because I don't have enough admin experience). I have since been offered this job on a full-time basis and turned it down (I am not a receptionist, thank you), but negotiated a way to stay here until I find a permanent job that I actually want and maybe needed an MBA for. Does this mean I am now allowed to get myself a Blackberry? Or is that cheating? Does having a fake job to go to until I get a real job count for something? I can't decide.
Important Announcement!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Labels:
Blogging
Today is a very important day in Arielle-land.
Today is the day that I am introducing to you all my fancy brand new blog!
Yes, new blog.
No, I am NOT by any means getting rid of the Mermaid.
Around a month ago I started a new blog that was more focused on business-y things. But don't be afraid, it's not boring business-y things (at least I don't think so). Topics I've covered so far include: advice for women on how to ask for a raise, Panera's new "pay what you want" store, Coke Freestyle machines, and Microsoft trying to make Hotmail cool again.
The blog is mostly me commenting on things I read about in the Wall Street Journal. It's a way for me to keep on my mental toes and not downward spiral into intellectual laziness now that I will presumably never be in school ever again. I'm also trying to keep it (kind of) professional and will be more public with that blog than I am with this one. So while I will reference that blog here, I won't be referencing this blog over there. This is still friends only. =)
If this sounds even mildly interesting to you, stop by! I've been writing for a month with no one reading and giving out the address for the first time is VERY EXCITING TO ME!
Join me at An MBA is Forever.
YAY.
Today is the day that I am introducing to you all my fancy brand new blog!
Yes, new blog.
No, I am NOT by any means getting rid of the Mermaid.
Around a month ago I started a new blog that was more focused on business-y things. But don't be afraid, it's not boring business-y things (at least I don't think so). Topics I've covered so far include: advice for women on how to ask for a raise, Panera's new "pay what you want" store, Coke Freestyle machines, and Microsoft trying to make Hotmail cool again.
The blog is mostly me commenting on things I read about in the Wall Street Journal. It's a way for me to keep on my mental toes and not downward spiral into intellectual laziness now that I will presumably never be in school ever again. I'm also trying to keep it (kind of) professional and will be more public with that blog than I am with this one. So while I will reference that blog here, I won't be referencing this blog over there. This is still friends only. =)
If this sounds even mildly interesting to you, stop by! I've been writing for a month with no one reading and giving out the address for the first time is VERY EXCITING TO ME!
Join me at An MBA is Forever.
YAY.
Why I hate Twitter
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Labels:
Arielle's least favorite things,
Blogging
Yes, I'm on Twitter. I don't know why, though, because I don't tweet that often and I get annoyed by at least 90% of tweets. I guess I stick with it so I can stalk the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck. Which I only visited about 6 times last summer.
Here are some specific types of tweets that drive me nuts:
1) FUCKING FOUR SQUARE. Full disclosure: if I had a smartphone, I probably would have joined it. However, I haven't, and I DO NOT GIVE A RAT'S ASS WHERE YOU ARE. I don't care what dumb place you're the mayor of or what you're doing there or anything of the sort. Didn't anyone read about that website that's something like pleaserobme.com that utilizes stuff like Four Square to know when you're not home so they can STEAL YOUR CRAP? Doesn't that worry anyone? Obviously not.
2) Tweeting to tell me you blogged. Newsflash: if I wanted to read your blog (and if I follow you on Twitter, I do), I WOULD SUBSCRIBE TO YOUR BLOG. I don't need you to tweet me a link to your newest post. I HAVE IT.
3) Too many back and forths between the same 2 people. If you want to have a conversation, I should let you know about this great invention called calling/texting/gchatting/whatevering. If it only concerns the 2 of you and you're going to go back and forth "@"ing each other, please understand that I will want to taser you.
4) Excessive tweeting about niche subjects I don't care about. I know I can't really stop this one because people get involved in whatever they get involved in and you want to tweet 100 times an hour with the same hashtag that I don't even understand. You're free to do what you want, but after awhile I will unfollow you. Sorry.
5) Telling a story through multiple tweets. Hi, it's called microblogging for a reason. You get 140 characters. If you have something lengthier to say, take it to your blog (just don't tweet to tell me you took it to your blog, mmkay?).
After writing this, I feel like maybe I should delete my Twitter account. Except seriously, I do love following food trucks. Dilemma.
Here are some specific types of tweets that drive me nuts:
1) FUCKING FOUR SQUARE. Full disclosure: if I had a smartphone, I probably would have joined it. However, I haven't, and I DO NOT GIVE A RAT'S ASS WHERE YOU ARE. I don't care what dumb place you're the mayor of or what you're doing there or anything of the sort. Didn't anyone read about that website that's something like pleaserobme.com that utilizes stuff like Four Square to know when you're not home so they can STEAL YOUR CRAP? Doesn't that worry anyone? Obviously not.
2) Tweeting to tell me you blogged. Newsflash: if I wanted to read your blog (and if I follow you on Twitter, I do), I WOULD SUBSCRIBE TO YOUR BLOG. I don't need you to tweet me a link to your newest post. I HAVE IT.
3) Too many back and forths between the same 2 people. If you want to have a conversation, I should let you know about this great invention called calling/texting/gchatting/whatevering. If it only concerns the 2 of you and you're going to go back and forth "@"ing each other, please understand that I will want to taser you.
4) Excessive tweeting about niche subjects I don't care about. I know I can't really stop this one because people get involved in whatever they get involved in and you want to tweet 100 times an hour with the same hashtag that I don't even understand. You're free to do what you want, but after awhile I will unfollow you. Sorry.
5) Telling a story through multiple tweets. Hi, it's called microblogging for a reason. You get 140 characters. If you have something lengthier to say, take it to your blog (just don't tweet to tell me you took it to your blog, mmkay?).
After writing this, I feel like maybe I should delete my Twitter account. Except seriously, I do love following food trucks. Dilemma.
The proper usage of the STRIKE
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Labels:
Blogging,
I'm awesome
Look, friends. I've seen some atrocities in blogland recently and I CAN'T TAKE THE HORROR ANYMORE.
People need to learn the proper usage of the strike. You know.THE STRIKE.
Since I invented the strike back in college (many of you will disagree with this, but I care not), I am the perfect person to tell you all how to properly use it. SPREAD THE WORD. I will not tolerate incorrect strikages any longer.
The first common strike mistake is striking out the wrong word. When the truth is something unfortunate and you want to pretend to cover it up, it becomes amusing. If you cross out the fake word and NOT the real word, the humor is gone. Example:
The dessert was an assortment of different flavored miniature tarts. They were so freaking amazing that I atetwo eighty-six.
See? Not funny.
The second common strike mistake is striking out the word and then not inserting the fake word at all. This is just flat out stupid because then what the hell are you striking for? NOTHING, I SAY. Look:
The dessert was an assortment of different flavored miniature tarts. They were so freaking amazing that I ateeighty-six.
Dumb. Pointless strike.
Here, my friends, is how that sentence should appear:
The dessert was an assortment of different flavored miniature tarts. They were so freaking amazing that I ateeighty-six two.
See? It is evident here that I actually ate eighty-six tarts (this sentence is clearly based in reality, and while I didn't count actual tarts consumed, it was probably pretty close to that number) but since I know that 86 is too many, I'm going to pretend I only ate 2. But we all know that no one can eat just 2 tiny delicious tarts (a post about my catering job and the delicious food that comes with it is forthcoming).
And there you have it. How to use the strike. Use it well, bloggies. Use it well.
People need to learn the proper usage of the strike. You know.
Since I invented the strike back in college (many of you will disagree with this, but I care not), I am the perfect person to tell you all how to properly use it. SPREAD THE WORD. I will not tolerate incorrect strikages any longer.
The first common strike mistake is striking out the wrong word. When the truth is something unfortunate and you want to pretend to cover it up, it becomes amusing. If you cross out the fake word and NOT the real word, the humor is gone. Example:
The dessert was an assortment of different flavored miniature tarts. They were so freaking amazing that I ate
See? Not funny.
The second common strike mistake is striking out the word and then not inserting the fake word at all. This is just flat out stupid because then what the hell are you striking for? NOTHING, I SAY. Look:
The dessert was an assortment of different flavored miniature tarts. They were so freaking amazing that I ate
Dumb. Pointless strike.
Here, my friends, is how that sentence should appear:
The dessert was an assortment of different flavored miniature tarts. They were so freaking amazing that I ate
See? It is evident here that I actually ate eighty-six tarts (this sentence is clearly based in reality, and while I didn't count actual tarts consumed, it was probably pretty close to that number) but since I know that 86 is too many, I'm going to pretend I only ate 2. But we all know that no one can eat just 2 tiny delicious tarts (a post about my catering job and the delicious food that comes with it is forthcoming).
And there you have it. How to use the strike. Use it well, bloggies. Use it well.
NaBloPoMo
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Labels:
Blogging
I'm lifting this post from my old blog, because a) it's still relevant and b) no one can read my old blog anymore. It's still pretty accurate down to the very end where it talks about putting up Halloween pictures sometime in the future. Here goes.
It's been awhile since I've written a post basically hating on other bloggers so I think it's time for one of those yet again.
I'm sorry, people who are participating in this NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month, for you people who read this blog because you're my friend and want to keep up with my goings on, not because you care what the bloggy community is doing) nonsense, but I just don't understand why someone would think this is a good idea and how on earth they got people to buy into it. To me, NaBloPoMo is like the pet rock craze. One day people are going to be like "wait..people..actually..like...went for it?"
Okay, so you post every day for a month. And? Where's the part where I should be impressed? It is NOT THAT HARD to spew some words onto a page once a day for 30 days straight. There are people who do this for their jobs. I would, in fact, go as far as saying it's pretty damn easy. The only caveat here is vacations or other time constraints and not physically being in front of a computer every day. But I'm pretty sure the challenge isn't meant to be "Find time to write every day," it's "Instead of Facebook stalking, take 10 minutes to write, okay? Okay."
And now some of you are going, "Well, if you say it's so easy, why don't YOU participate and show us how easy it is? You're just trashing on everyone else because you know you couldn't do it."
To those who feel this way: you're wrong.
I could post 3 times a day if I wanted to. But I prefer to write only when I have something to say, and thus I'm not going to force myself to put a boring post together just because I signed up for some challenge where I said I would.
Don't get me wrong, I love a good challenge. That challenge where you write a novel in a month? Now THAT is legit. You know who totally admits that she could never write a novel in 30 days? This girl.
Except those of you who are doing it solely for the prizes - right on. I briefly considered it for that reason alone.
And those of you who are doing it to find other cool blogs - I support that too.
Those of you who are doing it for the "challenge" - I just don't see the big deal. Sorry.
For the record, I still love all you wonderful bloggers. I just think you're all better than this mildly sad excuse for self-fulfillment or whatever it is. If you want to really test yourself, add a theme to your NaBloPoMo-ing to see if you can come up with 30 unique posts. Or write each post as one long yet still grammatically correct sentence (we did this in a Creative Writing class in college - totally not easy).
Aaaand I'm done. Halloween pictures forthcoming.
It's been awhile since I've written a post basically hating on other bloggers so I think it's time for one of those yet again.
I'm sorry, people who are participating in this NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month, for you people who read this blog because you're my friend and want to keep up with my goings on, not because you care what the bloggy community is doing) nonsense, but I just don't understand why someone would think this is a good idea and how on earth they got people to buy into it. To me, NaBloPoMo is like the pet rock craze. One day people are going to be like "wait..people..actually..like...went for it?"
Okay, so you post every day for a month. And? Where's the part where I should be impressed? It is NOT THAT HARD to spew some words onto a page once a day for 30 days straight. There are people who do this for their jobs. I would, in fact, go as far as saying it's pretty damn easy. The only caveat here is vacations or other time constraints and not physically being in front of a computer every day. But I'm pretty sure the challenge isn't meant to be "Find time to write every day," it's "Instead of Facebook stalking, take 10 minutes to write, okay? Okay."
And now some of you are going, "Well, if you say it's so easy, why don't YOU participate and show us how easy it is? You're just trashing on everyone else because you know you couldn't do it."
To those who feel this way: you're wrong.
I could post 3 times a day if I wanted to. But I prefer to write only when I have something to say, and thus I'm not going to force myself to put a boring post together just because I signed up for some challenge where I said I would.
Don't get me wrong, I love a good challenge. That challenge where you write a novel in a month? Now THAT is legit. You know who totally admits that she could never write a novel in 30 days? This girl.
Except those of you who are doing it solely for the prizes - right on. I briefly considered it for that reason alone.
And those of you who are doing it to find other cool blogs - I support that too.
Those of you who are doing it for the "challenge" - I just don't see the big deal. Sorry.
For the record, I still love all you wonderful bloggers. I just think you're all better than this mildly sad excuse for self-fulfillment or whatever it is. If you want to really test yourself, add a theme to your NaBloPoMo-ing to see if you can come up with 30 unique posts. Or write each post as one long yet still grammatically correct sentence (we did this in a Creative Writing class in college - totally not easy).
Aaaand I'm done. Halloween pictures forthcoming.
What 20sb means to me
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Labels:
Blogging
A week or so ago, it was the 3rd/4th/I don't know 20 something bloggers' video blog day. The topic? What the 20sb community means to you. As I watched some of your videos, I thought about what I would say if I were to do a vlog of my own. "What does 20sb mean to me?" I thought.
The answer: nothing. The 20 something bloggers community does not mean a damn thing to me. This realization was a little bit sad, but I think deep down I've known it all along.
Seven and a half years ago, I started my first Xanga site. I had never heard the word "blog" back then, so I called it my "online diary." I put a link to it in my AIM profile since, as we all remember, in college AIM = the world. My friends would occasionally talk to me about things I had written, or the handful of people I knew who also had Xanga sites would comment through Xanga.
There was ONE time where I received a Xanga comment from someone I didn't know. Once in five and a half years. And I was weirded out. Severely. "What is this random person doing reading my site? Who are they and how did they find me? And why are they communicating with me?"
Almost 2 years ago, I made the leap from Xanga to Blogspot. Xanga seemed sort of passe and I felt that I had outgrown it.
As soon as I made the move, I felt overwhelmed. All of a sudden I was getting comments from people who just "stumbled upon this blog," and I signed up for this 20sb website thing that I didn't know how or why it existed. I learned about things like guest posting and memes (which I still don't know how to pronounce) and the fact that bloggers give these little award badges to each other and that if you don't get one you're supposed to feel like that kid in elementary school who never got any Valentines (we obviously did not partake in this ritual in Jew school, but I watch TV, I know what's up).
Since that time in 2007 I've become a bit more accustomed to this "community" thing. I've had guest posters and I have guest posted; I've met bloggers in person; I've even gotten in TROUBLE for blogging, which is something I don't think I could have fathomed in eleventy billion years back in 2002.
Despite the fact that I'm a bit more comfortable with the state of my blog than I used to be, I can't say that it has really impacted my life too much. Sure, I've found blogs that I absolutely adore because the writing is fresh and funny, I've hung out with bloggers and shared stories over beers, and I found bloggers who I hope I do get the privilege of meeting one day. But have any of these people really had an influence, large or small, over my life? No. This is obviously not to say that I don't like the people I've met in real life (excuse me, "IRL"), but I don't exactly think I've made any best friends (I would apologize to those of you who I HAVE met, but I'm sure you all feel similarly about me). This is ALSO not to say that I begrudge those of you who have made close friends out of bloggers. If you have, that's fantastic.
I thought about this for a bit, and realized that in order to make the connections, you have to put in the effort. I read far more often than I comment, mostly because I'm just too lazy to click away from my Google reader. And while I used to look regularly for new blogs to add to my reader, I just don't care anymore and only add new blogs when I feel so inspired. And the 20sb boards? After briefly dabbling in them, I realized I just flat out don't want to read them anymore.
The thing is, I don't think I want to put in the effort to make the connections. The 20sb community is a SCENE. 20 something bloggers has become so much about attention and comment whoring and who can meet the most people in person and flaunt it to the rest of the internet. Frankly, I can't get down with it. I wonder how many people are really writing because they love to do it and how many are writing to garner new readers. Which, you know, if that's your thing, that's fine. But to me, having one "real" friend come up to me and say, "Arielle, I love your blog" is far more meaningful than having 1 or 20 or 100 people I've never met comment on something I've written. And the most meaningful thing of all is reading over something I wrote, whether a freshly submitted blog post or something I wrote years ago, and thinking to myself about how much I really like it (this happens less often than I would like, unfortch).
We aren't in high school anymore. We aren't even in college (at least, no one I read is). I have no interest in inserting myself into the right bloggy clique, or trying to make myself known so that next year people vote for me for some meaningless award like "Best Blog Written By Someone Who Has Lived in New York, New Jersey AND Massachusetts."
So while I'm not taking down my 20sb profile any time soon, I'm also not about to go out of my way to try to make new friends here. I will continue to read new blogs when I want to do so, and will comment as I see fit. Just like I did in 2002, I will write what I want, when I want. Because while I'm sure there are some great people out there, I can't spend the entirety of my online life trying to connect with them. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, I will continue on my merry way. But blogging for other people means losing my sense of self in this crazy blogging world which I entered, years ago, for no one else but me.
And that, my friends, is that.
The answer: nothing. The 20 something bloggers community does not mean a damn thing to me. This realization was a little bit sad, but I think deep down I've known it all along.
Seven and a half years ago, I started my first Xanga site. I had never heard the word "blog" back then, so I called it my "online diary." I put a link to it in my AIM profile since, as we all remember, in college AIM = the world. My friends would occasionally talk to me about things I had written, or the handful of people I knew who also had Xanga sites would comment through Xanga.
There was ONE time where I received a Xanga comment from someone I didn't know. Once in five and a half years. And I was weirded out. Severely. "What is this random person doing reading my site? Who are they and how did they find me? And why are they communicating with me?"
Almost 2 years ago, I made the leap from Xanga to Blogspot. Xanga seemed sort of passe and I felt that I had outgrown it.
As soon as I made the move, I felt overwhelmed. All of a sudden I was getting comments from people who just "stumbled upon this blog," and I signed up for this 20sb website thing that I didn't know how or why it existed. I learned about things like guest posting and memes (which I still don't know how to pronounce) and the fact that bloggers give these little award badges to each other and that if you don't get one you're supposed to feel like that kid in elementary school who never got any Valentines (we obviously did not partake in this ritual in Jew school, but I watch TV, I know what's up).
Since that time in 2007 I've become a bit more accustomed to this "community" thing. I've had guest posters and I have guest posted; I've met bloggers in person; I've even gotten in TROUBLE for blogging, which is something I don't think I could have fathomed in eleventy billion years back in 2002.
Despite the fact that I'm a bit more comfortable with the state of my blog than I used to be, I can't say that it has really impacted my life too much. Sure, I've found blogs that I absolutely adore because the writing is fresh and funny, I've hung out with bloggers and shared stories over beers, and I found bloggers who I hope I do get the privilege of meeting one day. But have any of these people really had an influence, large or small, over my life? No. This is obviously not to say that I don't like the people I've met in real life (excuse me, "IRL"), but I don't exactly think I've made any best friends (I would apologize to those of you who I HAVE met, but I'm sure you all feel similarly about me). This is ALSO not to say that I begrudge those of you who have made close friends out of bloggers. If you have, that's fantastic.
I thought about this for a bit, and realized that in order to make the connections, you have to put in the effort. I read far more often than I comment, mostly because I'm just too lazy to click away from my Google reader. And while I used to look regularly for new blogs to add to my reader, I just don't care anymore and only add new blogs when I feel so inspired. And the 20sb boards? After briefly dabbling in them, I realized I just flat out don't want to read them anymore.
The thing is, I don't think I want to put in the effort to make the connections. The 20sb community is a SCENE. 20 something bloggers has become so much about attention and comment whoring and who can meet the most people in person and flaunt it to the rest of the internet. Frankly, I can't get down with it. I wonder how many people are really writing because they love to do it and how many are writing to garner new readers. Which, you know, if that's your thing, that's fine. But to me, having one "real" friend come up to me and say, "Arielle, I love your blog" is far more meaningful than having 1 or 20 or 100 people I've never met comment on something I've written. And the most meaningful thing of all is reading over something I wrote, whether a freshly submitted blog post or something I wrote years ago, and thinking to myself about how much I really like it (this happens less often than I would like, unfortch).
We aren't in high school anymore. We aren't even in college (at least, no one I read is). I have no interest in inserting myself into the right bloggy clique, or trying to make myself known so that next year people vote for me for some meaningless award like "Best Blog Written By Someone Who Has Lived in New York, New Jersey AND Massachusetts."
So while I'm not taking down my 20sb profile any time soon, I'm also not about to go out of my way to try to make new friends here. I will continue to read new blogs when I want to do so, and will comment as I see fit. Just like I did in 2002, I will write what I want, when I want. Because while I'm sure there are some great people out there, I can't spend the entirety of my online life trying to connect with them. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, I will continue on my merry way. But blogging for other people means losing my sense of self in this crazy blogging world which I entered, years ago, for no one else but me.
And that, my friends, is that.