My First Week as a Blogger: I am amazed!

(ID characteristics have been changed to protect privacy).

I originally set up this blog, so I could post comments on other blogs. Now that I've generated an audience, I don't have time to comment on other blogs! I collect news and other articles from all over the world. I received a wonderful article grousing about political correctness. (One of my FAVORITE dead horses to beat!) So, I fired off an email to the author, in England. I asked about the rules for re-publishing, as I wanted to share the article on this blog. To my shock, I was given information and a positive review of my work, which may be published, in a free paper for the disabled in Manchester! (I've been up for less than a week, and am already international!)

Now that I have a blog, I'm constantly on the look-out for the strange, funny and/or interesting. Since I'm a hopeless news junkie, I was grazing through my 200+ items from NetNewsWire. This week's picks will be posted on this blog under: "The Absurdity Report". I had a problem, how to pull the feed from my aggregator onto my blog. A few clicks and a download later, I'd captured my desired stories. (Eventually, I'll actually read up on how to do what I'm already accomplishing!)

Last week the internet seemed to stumble for a few days. Friends, I'd notified about, my blog, were unable to find it. Even after warning one of my favorite atheist friends, that I do speak of God, this person was unhappy that they couldn't access my work.

THE REVIEWS ARE COMING IN...


I'm astounded that some folks are writing two paragraphs, in discussion groups, lauding my praises - huh? (I'm still getting used to having an audience!) No, I don't like (understand, or appreciate either opera, or hip hop), I have been properly chastized. Opinionated... I'd be a boring read if I wasn't opinionated. I do agree, however, since God chose to save me, (this fool), I am working on giving grace to the person, but not to the actions. Thanks to one and all!

MY LIFE AS A CIRCUS...

My friend Phillip, who is to creativity what a Jack Russel is to dogs. (Jack Russels are like an animal on speed). They will sit in your lap and tremble. I thought the animal was having a seizure. The owner informed me, the dog was perfectly healthy and so full of energy! (This black and white medium-sized dog is featured on Disney's Dr. Doolittle.)

I have spent a lifetime worshiping order. The old me would never have published on the net, or anywhere else, without a Master's degree in English. I actually read instruction manuals before using a product. I plan my life to be stable, predictable and (to my shock) boring.

Then came Phillip. A man who enjoys leaping into the air, just because he can. His wife, the practical one in their marriage, gently reminds him to make sure: a) he's standing on a diving board, and not a cliff, and b) There is a body of water, underneath his perch.

Phillip jumps anyway. His response: "Wow, a canyon... once I get out of this cast, I can do something with this!" I have never met someone like Phillip before. His love of life is contagious and intriguing. He introduced me to Skype, (computer based telephony), file sharing and digital photography. This was not a plan on his part, just his way of operating. I got Skype set up, but didn't really know what I was doing. I then started receiving text messages.

Phillip and I chatted for awhile and then the first file download request popped up on my screen. The day before I 'd changed my preferences (after reading, the Mac desktop was unstable). Now, I'm staring at three download requests. I okey'd them, but couldn't find the files! You know, when the guilt forces you to organize/neaten-up? Then you can't find anything for three months? I scrambled to locate the files, while Phillip continued our chat. A leisurely affair, ranging from the serious to the comical. I love it - and him.

Phillip is extremely busy. Not hearing from him for a week or two means nothing more than he's busy. Meanwhile, I've made several new friends on Skype. My friend in Vermont introduced me to his friend in England. (oh, my, the entire country of England is sexy, oh, that accent!)

I adore my male friends. They are wired differently from my female friends. Have you ladies beheld the famous male preen and strut? Not to mention, the sense of daring-do, which will cause a normally sensible male, to spend two hours working with your cell phone, to implement a feature? I've thrown out questions of curiosity, where I am not looking for a change in my phone, but just a factoid. My phone has been whisked away, only to return with amazing improvements. The best part, for me, is how self-satisfied a man is, at the completion of one of these fishing expeditions! I truly enjoy the male spin on things.

I am now on a three-way conference call with Vermont and England, with two gents, both from an electronics and engineering background. Its around 2 PM in California, 5 PM in New York and 10 PM in England. We were actually speaking to one another via Skype and our computers. Suddenly, England got an idea: how fast can we text message? (Bigger boys, just have bigger toys!)

My machine suddenly began emitting a stream of audio signals, alerting me to the presence of text messages. No easy pace here. One word per line, or random letters began marching down my screen. Vermont thought this was great fun and tried to 'get to California first'. I'm watching my text message screen scroll like a set of TV credits. I'm amazed we can speak and type at the same time. While all this text stuff is happening, there is no loss of conversational banter.

I added my own contribution by singing the beginning of 'The Rubber Ducky Song'. Then my text screen stopped moving, while the signal kept repeating. I happened to notice a new person had joined the growing list next to the text screen. Phillip! How cool is this? I figured,

I'd answer his one or two questions and we would be done. WRONG! First, he can't find my blog (At least a third of attempts have been failing, but I'm getting rather fast at typing it all out again!) Back to Vermont and England, who are now attempting to share phonos with me.

Then Phillip is back. He jokes about my blog, but then moves into a serious philosophical and religious discussion. Mind you, his observations are terrific, but I was still basking in the afterglow of 'The Rubber Ducky Song'! I can't switch intellectual gears like that! But, I bet Phillip could handle it! (Humor won out.) I bid Phillip temporary farewell, and returned to the inter continental frolic.

I realize now, that, like Phillip, I bore easily and LOVE new stuff (change). This has come as a total surprise to me. Phillip, you the man!