When people ask me, “What do you do?” I used to answer, “I write.” But I got tired of the reaction: The eye rolling coupled with steam blowing out their ears—forming a cloud of contempt and disapproval over their heads.
But now I say, “I blog.” It presents a less “struggling-writer pulling her hair out in the attic” picture and more of a current technology-oriented thing to do. It also stops the cloud formations as people wonder if it is it something they want to do or can do.
Some will ask what I blog about. The short answer is: Everything.
The long answer is Social Commentary about Life In America based on a FuchsiaWoman Philosophy divided into eight categories (Live, Learn, Relate, Read, Write, Listen, Watch, Wear); plus podcasts, videos (more to come) and a photo gallery (coming soon).
[Note: I’ve never had a chance to spout off that over-abundance of information.]
Some people will say, “I’d like to blog. But I don’t know what to blog about.”
The cloud now forms over my head: HUH? Are you kidding me? There are tons of Blog Topics flying around the universe on any given day that all you have to do is look and pluck one out of the air.
What am I talking about?
First of all, I disagree with the definition that a blog is a “personal diary.” Nobody’s life is so fascinating that you can jot down whatever you did that day and wha-la!—worthwhile reading. OK, maybe Oprah, maybe Brad and Angie, but not the majority of us.
A blog is your thoughts about something. It is not a recitation of your daily activities.
To me the following is NOT blog material: Today I got up at 7:00 AM and made a pot of coffee. Then I read the Sunday paper. In-between relieving my bladder I vacuumed the living room carpet before the caffeine buzz wore off.
That is what I did today, but it won’t be posted in a real blog of mine. WHY? Because it doesn’t have a point.
I get Blog Topics from past or present experiences. For instance, yesterday I took a flight from Orange County to San Jose. I was overwhelmed with so many Blog Topics I had to write them down.
Here are Blog Topics that popped into my mind:
[Blog #1] I told my Dad I had to be at the airport at 9:00 AM. My plane didn’t leave until noon. But I had to get out of the OC Torture Chamber before my head exploded.
[Blog #2] When I checked my suitcases at the Southwest Airlines sidewalk booth, I got into a discussion on growing herbs with two skycaps (as I was carrying a grocery sack of freshly picked basil and rosemary). Turns out the skycaps were backyard gardeners and practitioners of the medicinal use of herbs. Interesting chat.
[Blog #3] Maybe the animated and long conversation with the skycaps (I had three hours to kill!) was the reason my luggage ended up in Seattle instead of San Jose. I normally would have gotten a bit (OK, maybe a lot) perturbed at the thought of losing my stuff and verbally make the Southwest Lost & Found Personnel aware of my level of irritation. But this time I was plain ol’ pleasant as I calmly described the missing luggage and its contents—even a brand new pair of Anne Klein floral D’Orsay pumps that might be lost forever. I was so darn happy to be back in San Jose I could have kissed the filthy airport ground—if I didn’t think it might be harboring H1N1 germs.
[Blog #4] My conversation with a flight attendant about two recent incidences on SWA flights. The first was the mother and bratty son who were tossed of an airplane because the kid wouldn’t stop screaming and the other passengers couldn’t hear the safety information.
The second incidence was the attractive young lady who was escorted off the plane because “her skirt was too short.” This young woman made a big stink about this insult to her wardrobe and made TV appearances asking SWA for an apology (and possibly compensation for the humiliation). The flight attendant told me that what the young lady forgot to mention was something else she forgot: HER UNDERWEAR. The woman sat spread eagle with her skirt hiked up and her crotch in full view to all passengers. Not appropriate airline décor and certainly not hygienic. The flight attendant told me SWA chose not to mention this in the public statement and instead issued an apology. I guess a pantyless customer is better than no customer at all.
I could go on…
Like the woman who sat next to me in the boarding area—making cell phone calls trying to get clients to provide a newspaper reporter with a testimonial about her business. The clients must have said, “I’ll let you know,” as she kept replying, “Call me back today. You’re a doll!” [Blog #5]
OR how I was pimped by Airport Security at the x-ray screening area because I had the possible terrorist audacity to stash a half-full plastic bottle of water in my purse. The rules allow three ounces only! [Blog #6]
OR like the man who—with 50 open seats left on the airplane—chose to sit next to me on the flight. Where else would the guy who looked like a member of ZZ Top sit? I peeked at the textbook he was reading: Biosemiotics. Never heard of it. I figured I better talk to this guy so I could blog about him. [Blog #7]
My point: Blog Topics are everywhere! Everything and everyone has a story.
The moral of this story: If you can see the interesting in the ordinary, your Blog Topics will likewise be interesting.
Lastly, if you write well, your blog posts will be terrific reading. Let me know where they are. I look forward to reading them.
