Friday, January 8, 2010

Inspiration from Goodlife Zen Question 10

10. What made you feel good?

Oh gosh, I just have to tell you what made me feel good this year. Blogging. No kidding.

I’ve loved writing ever since I was a scrawny, stringy-haired, four-eyed, buck-toothed tween. Snippets of tales would appear in my head, begging to be woven into a real live story. Day after day, details would be added in my mind, until several months later, the story was complete.

None of them are finalized in print; I find it difficult to know which of my many characters deserve the honor of being in my first novel. Do I start with my oldest character first? My latest characters—the ones whose complete story appeared to me in a dream? The characters who would seem most interesting to others?

It’s hard to play favorites and decide who gets to go first, so instead, I blog. (Besides, with the exception of two, all my stories are romances--Ugh, right?) Blogging has satisfied that need that won’t go away, the need to be verbal. The need to use words in a new way. Besides the joy of putting finger pressure to keyboard (remember when we used to say “put pen to paper?”), blogging makes me feel good in other ways.

A blog feels like a home in space. There is a place I can always go to express myself without anyone telling me to be quiet. The people who visit me in my space-home are there because they help my home feel complete. The only people I close my door to are those who invade, uninvited, trying to use my comment box as a place to sell their wares. I close the door in their faces. Delete. Gone. My home is my place to enjoy people who are truly likeable and very lovable. They come into my home and leave a piece of themselves for me to enjoy, ponder, laugh at, and cry with. They are like the family members of this home in space. Quangsters.

I like learning new things. At my home in space I have learned to redecorate (thank you, Blogger, for making it free and easy.) I have learned to scrape up old linoleum and place down tile, so to speak. I’ve learned to do things like link to another website, resize photos, copy html, work with advertisers, chat with the guests in my home and be a good guest at someone else’s home in space.

I’ve discovered joy in fun little things: Daily looking at my Google Analytics map to see where on this planet my visitors were from that day, checking my Gmail account to see who left a new comment on my blog, seeing that I set a new record for how many people visited in one day, hearing a comment from a brand new reader and learning what combination of words people typed into Google to find my site.

I feel good when I get to come to YOUR blog to visit. You will never know how much you’ve inspired me or made me a better writer. You've always made me feel wanted. *Sniff.*

I like knowing that as much as I have learned by blogging, I have tons more to accomplish.

For example, I want to learn someday how to be more creative with my blog header and sidebar titles. There are people whose blogs I visit and wonder, “Hey! How’d they DO that!” (See the header and/or sidebar titles of Controlling my Chaos, Sisters’Stuff, and Dream a Little Dream.)

I want to learn how to get my header in the center of my blog. It’s in the center when I look at my blog, but when I move to Computer Geek’s monitor, my header justifies left.

I want to find out why feedburner hates me. Some of you are old enough Quangsters to remember that no matter how many new readers feedburner said I gained that day, the next day feedburner would always say I had ONE reader. Well that glitch seemed to have solved itself. Now it’s stuck on FOUR. No matter how many new readers it says I have, the next day it will always say I have four readers. I’ll get excited some mornings because I’ll think feedburner has unstuck me—it’ll say I have 7 readers, or 5 readers, or 9 readers! But next morning? Back to FOUR. Always eternally back to four. Aargh. But you know what? Whoever the FOUR of you are, I LOVE YOU!

What made YOU feel good?

12 comments:

  1. Randi.....as you know, I'm a Contributing Editor for The Perspiring Writer. This would make a good article for us. May I cut and paste it and send it to Ned for his thoughts?

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  2. Not So Anonymous Auntie M: I would be honored to even have Ned consider it!

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  3. I will send it to Ned. It might need a different opening, by way of introduction.

    Also, in the next issue I'll be publishing an article about journaling, and I mention blogs are a new form of journaling. So it would fit right in.

    Note to other Quangsters: We're always looking for material for both The Perspiring Writer and Yesterday's Magazette (nostalgia). See Randi's sidebar for the magazines. Guidelines are on the sites.

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  4. Hi Randi
    Blogging makes me feel good too. I love the way my daily life is recorded in print. I used to think that a private written journal was the deal...until I started typing it up on a blog. My life suddenly took on another dimension which is difficult to describe. I find it amazing that thousands of miles away...even a few miles away, there are like-minded people who are living, breathing and eating and are willing to share their lives, make comment, offer suggestions, empathise, laugh, cry and cajole. We may never meet but such involvement makes a difference. It's like a full and happy life just got fuller and happier.

    I enjoyed the post Randi.

    Q. Do you see my blog the way I do...in the middle?

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  5. Auntie M: The first time I came to reply to your comment it said "Anonymous Auntie M." hence my reply. Now when I look at it, it just says Auntie M.

    Yes, the post will need a little revamping if Ned accepts it. Thanks for extending the invitation to other writers to submit. I would love to see their names as I open the issue.

    Ken: I am so glad you love blogging because yours is one of the blogs I love to visit! I love your humor and art and the way you are so patient when I am nosy about British culture. You've taught me a lot. Someday I'll have to try some Dandelion and Burdock! your comment today was beautiful--worthy of a post itself! Pay attention to Auntie M.'s invitation to submit to those emagazines, Ken! I'd love to see some more of your nostalgic thoughts!

    Oh, by the way, your header is perfectly centered when I see it. The post and the sidebar align perfectly underneath the header.

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  6. Oh Randi, I'm quoting you like mad below:

    "There is a place I can always go to express myself without anyone telling me to be quiet."
    Uh-huh - exactly! It's my space and I'll say what I want, when I want.

    "They come into my home and leave a piece of themselves for me to enjoy, ponder, laugh at, and cry with."
    Uh-huh - exactly! And you're so welcoming of us!

    "..to see where on this planet my visitors were from"
    "...to see who left a new comment on my blog, seeing that I set a new record for how many people visited in one day, hearing a comment from a brand new reader and learning what combination of words people typed into Google to find my site."

    Uh-huh - exactly! On Jan 7, 2010, I just achieved my record visits in one day. Woot woot! And the google words.. HILARIOUS! I keep thinking one of these days, I should share some of those words/phrases.

    I have to agree wholeheartedly that this makes me feel good. Except that I sort of used this as my answer for your last question... so.. ummm.. :) anyway?

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  7. Well, I KNOW I am one of the privileged four. :)

    I feel the same way you do about blogging. It was also a lifeline for me when we were in Tennessee.

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  8. Blogging has made a HUGE difference in my life. I feel like a fuller person from meeting so many wonderful people who generously share of themselves in each post. I feel blessed to have found a good friend like you through this forum. I'm happy each day that I log on.

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  9. Randi, I have an award for you on my blog :) Hope all is well!

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  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  11. Hi Randi, I have at the starting mentioned it that your blog is a fine example of living with positive attitude and i have seen that you take pleasure in simple things, just like me. blogging seems so uncomplicated and and relaxing isn't it? it's new start to every old thing.

    Lv Naqvee

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  12. Naqvee: Thank you for your nice comments! It's always nice to hear from you. I've been away from blogging for a few weeks but will be over to see what's happening on your site!

    septembermom: Thank you! I'll head over to claim it!

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You won't be paid for it, but at least you'll know that you have contributed intelligence to the universe...

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