Thursday, March 31, 2011

Marcia Marcia Marcia

I would just like to start off by pointing out that not once this whole season have I complained about the weather, being cold, rain, gray skies, lack of sunshine, nothing. And to tell you the truth, there were few days that I even wanted to. Our little pop culture librarian. She's finally growing up.


Today the weather made me a little cranky though. My inner brat shall not be squelched completely.

To counterbalance this lack of annoying weather-whining, I know I have been a leetle whiney about work lo these past few months. There have been times that I have thought about work so much that it put me off wanting to post anything here, because I just could not See Past It to write about anything else. That sentence I just wrote there makes me want to pukey up a cukey. Honestly, lady. Get a grip.

This got me thinking the question that is so tedious: why do I blog again?

For about 98% of the time I have been writing this blog (look kids! math!), I have had the attitude that I was writing about something that made me happy (yes, I am one of those people that writes and then guffaws at my own self, like Bob Hope or Harvey Korman or Jimmy Fallon) and then throwing it out into the world like a message in a bottle (so un-green, throwing shit in the water like that), and if people happen to see it, wow, that's pretty cool. I am old enough to still marvel at the power of the Interwebs in this way. I have never marketed the bloggy, or told my friends about it (some of them know by now, but not because I was obnoxious hey-Read-My-Blog-Girl), or anything like that. Most of my blog friends are people who I have commented on their blog, so then they come over and comment on mine, all neighborly. I know there are other people out there, but I don't know how you found me, or what makes you stay, if you do. After a couple of years, when I started to get curious about this question, I installed a sitemeter, which was fun for a while (look! someone stopped by for 3 minutes one time from Tanzania and then never returned!), but then I got rid of it because I kind of liked not knowing how many people were out there. And I started to get all philisophical about whether It Mattered that there were three people reading, or three hundred, and I wanted to be all "it makes no difference, yo, I am nonchalant," because I like to try to impress myself sometimes.

So most of the time, I just write, and post, and I really have a pretty hazy idea if anyone is reading beyond like, ten people. And if anyone ever comments to say howdy, I really do feel delighted, each and every time. And if anyone ever says anything to me in person about the blog, well then that just blows my mind and bugs me out. It really does. I don't tend to get a lot of comments, and it's not like people are knocking down my door to tell me that they read this stuff, so each time it happens I am still agog. The internet: it is magic. Oftentimes it can be porny magic, but it has other magics too. Really it does.

Yesterday, I got an email from a blog friend, telling me that she basically met a new BFF because they both read my blog. Like, dudes. Friend love was found in the comments section of this little space. Birdies, rainbows, hearts, kitties! You know how, in Sleepless in Seattle, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan meet because they both are listening to that horrible Dr. Marcia Fieldstone? Hey, I was totally that horrible Dr. Marcia Fieldstone! Sort of! So yay me! That is way better than getting a lot of hits on a sitemeter. If only there was a meter that counted happy shit like this, I would totes sign up for that.

I have been feeling a little yawny about blogland lately. My blogland in particular. I think I was on my way to asking that tedious question of myself again. But now, I won't. I blog because I just like to. Simple as that. And if nice people meet each other in my blog comments and want to leave their Seattle houseboat and boring Bill Pullman in Baltimore (it is sort of scary how much I remember about that movie) and meet on the top of the Empire State Building, and I could be Dr. Marcia for them, then hells yes. Total bonus.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was worried you were announcing your retirement from blogging, and I was all, "Nooooooooooooo!!!", so I'm glad that wasn't the case. I will so meet you on top of the ESB. ... Although I read many popular and even more obscure personal blogs, there are few good writers who actually come across as likeable, and you are right at the top of that list! -- Laurie

Claire said...

I totally get this post. I'm always questioning if I should stay in blogland and does anybody read it. But then just like you I get so excited when peeps comment and get all interactive, and often at work I walk past someone's screen and see the blog and feel all 'awwww' inside...I always read your blog and have found others that I enjoy as a a result too. Yay to the blogs! Long may they live!

Jan Ross said...

I should comment more so you know how much I appreciate your blog! I started reading years ago when I was also a librarian and here I am, years later, working as a travel blogger/writer and still reading. I look forward to reading your posts and get so excited when you pop up in my Google Reader. I love your writing and enjoy everything you write about so much. I love your unique words and your perspective and...well...everything. Don't ever stop!!

Deborah said...

I've been a reader for years, although not much of a commenter. Post what you feel, you'le always be in my Reader.

Kathy said...

I have no idea how I came across your blog a couple years ago, but I've been reading ever since. Every post makes me want to be your BFF. Keep writing!

Matt said...

A really resonant post for me. I sometimes get tired of my own yammering, but I can't stop. Few of my posts work, in my view, leastwise the way I want them to work, but I keep trying. If I was more honest, I would post only when I feel I have a really good piece completed, but people started reading and commenting and then I began to feel some pressure to not be too long away between posts. Like you, I've never met the people who now comment on my blog most often -- and I WAS that irritating person who emailed everyone I knew and told them I'd started a blog.

Yours was the very first personal blog I subscribed to. I found (via google) your post on the Balls of Bothell because I was writing my own. I liked your breezy style -- and I mean breezy in a good way -- but style schmyle, what kept me coming back was your celebration of people in your life, and your indefatigable cheerfulness while also being realistic about life's icky bits. I second everything that's been said above -- (Debbie nailed it) -- except that I don't really want to be your BFF.

Erin said...

Dude. PLEASE do not stop blogging! I found your blog through a crazy impromptu web quest I went on looking for blogging librarians (I'm currently in library grad school), and it quickly became one of my favorite blogs in general. So funny and quirky--I totally have a friend-crush on you, which is kinda sad because 1. I know I'll likely never actually meet you, and 2. it kind of makes me a creeper. Damn it. I hate it when I unwittingly turn into a creeper. Anyway, blog on! ;)

Anonymous said...

Know you have some loyal fans. I am, too, of the librarian type. I enjoy your kind of writing. I enjoy finding a new entry. Not really know why. Write on!

cj said...

I've been reading your always enjoyable entries for years now. I think I came to your blog via my daughter (who also lives in Seattle) or one of her friends. Whatever the reason, your words always seem to resonate with me. Keep writing! CJ

Stacey said...

Haha, I love this. I enjoy reading your blog. Just so you know. I also feel similarly about my own blog (which I will go on about, lest I become hey-read-my-blog-girl). I blog b/c I like doing it. And that's enough. :)

cadiz12 said...

whenever I hear of people meeting in the comments of a blog, i feel all warm and fuzzy. :)

blogging was kind of a fad for a lot of people, but there will always be readers for people who truly enjoy doing it for whatever it is to them. i enjoy reading your posts!

Anonymous said...

I read your blog for three reasons:
1. It makes me LOL for REAL!
2. It makes me cry or want to cry.
3. It makes me think "that's very interesting"

Someone referred to your style as breezy. I'd agree if you call Vonnegut "breezy." I prefer "irreverent and universal". The ideas and behaviors you illustrate make us slap our forehead and say, "I wish I'd said that".

Keep on truckin'. Please.

The Unattractive Houseguest said...

I've been secretly reading your blog for a while. Didn't know if you'd appreciate me intruding. You're a great writer and very positive. That's good. We need to read the good stuff. So keep it up.

Sara said...

Howdy.

My blog works much the same way and I've learned to be ok with that. I'll probably never be little miss blog-popular, but I'm also not out there posting five times a day and fitting into some niche lifestyle.

I like my blog for that and I like your blog for that, too. :)

Lily Starlight said...

Howdy.

I like your writing style too.

Jenna said...

Don't go Librarian Girl! I've been quietly reading you for years, and you are on my daily round of blogreading. Keep it up.

abc@MEDT7462 said...

I read your stuff! And laugh like crazy. My husband introduced me to your blog about a year ago. I think he learned about it from a fellow librarian. (He works at a public library and I am a public school librarian. But we are not as boring as we sound; he also teaches high school percussion - steeldrums specifically and I garden a lot.)
Anyway, we enjoy your writing. Keep it up.
~Mableton, GA