I’ve been asked a couple times by new readers (in real life, through email, etc) why I blog. Why do I write this daily journal of thoughts, feelings and experiences for the whole world to see? I guess with this new layout it’s as good a time as any to talk about it.

I’ve had a website for a while now, my first one was up on the web in 1994, with some help from Mike when we were in college. It was a pretty simple site, with a couple graphics and mostly scans of pictures and links to my favorite pages. The site stayed more or less the same for the years after that - new pictures added, dry spells in updating because I just didn’t have the time and didn’t feel like anyone was looking at it anyway.

Then in 2002, Mike asked me if I’d ever heard of blogging. Which I hadn’t. I let the idea simmer for a while, and checked around some other sites and found it pretty interesting. I had always tried in the past to keep a diary or journal, but would always lose interest or forget to do it.

But as I’ve said many times before, my memory is pretty flaky. I don’t remember half the things I do, and only remember when people remind me. Other than that, I’m living in the world of ‘Memento’ - each day as a new day. Well, not as drastic as that, but you know what I mean. (yanowhatimean? hardee har har) So I thought that this whole blog thing might be fun, at least for a little while until I get bored of it, like I usually do with things (or forget about it).

So I started up my blog. In the beginning, the entries were pretty silly, I admit. But at the time, I thought I was the only one reading it. It was really just a way for me to look back and remember the things I had done, or to let my family who didn’t live in Chicago know what was going on.

Then, I realized there were people out there reading it. Not a lot, but some. I found in kinda weird that people would be interested in my pretty mundane life. But that’s the thing about blogs - your life could be the most boring thing ever, but it’s how you TALK about your life that keeps people interested, that, and you post regularly.

Knowing that people were reading gave me the little push to keep updating, to keep writing. I’m a stat whore, so I check out my stats every now and then to see how many people are coming to the site. Over the years I think I have a nice little community that comes to check out my daily antics. I’ve said more than once that I’ve been blessed to have so many readers care so much and offer support during tough times. And yeah, I admit, after a while I started writing to entertain others. But the main reason I’ve been keeping up with this is to remember. There have been so many times I’ve searched for something in the archives, or I’ve taken a look at the monthly archives and thought, “Oh yeah! I totally forgot I did that!”

I’ve also used this blog as therapy, to help me vent and filter through my emotions and thoughts. Of course, I don’t always write about everything I’m going through, or vent about all the things that bother me. I’ve learned that there are lurkers out there, some I know, some I don’t know. Writing about work is a tricky situation - I used to do it, but I’ve heard of people who’ve gotten in trouble for writing about work, so I keep away from that. Well, kinda. But my one of the things that I keep in mind when I blog is that you never know who’s reading, so only put the things out there that you’re OK with the whole world seeing. You won’t believe some of the email’s I’ve gotten from people I’ve just mentioned casually in a post!

So yeah, to answer Luis’ question that he posted, “why are you doing this?” Many reasons. But mostly to help me remember the things I’ve done, the things that make me laugh, the things that make me cry, the things that I want to share. And to maybe, just maybe, provide a wee bit of entertainment for anyone who passes by…

Tags: Daily //