Why do I blog?
I might be one of the only “bloggers” who has never checked her stats. Not only do I not know how, I don’t really care about my “numbers.” As far as I know the only people who read a given post are the people who comment. If that is to be believed, most days no one is reading. Save my mom and my boyfriend’s mom.
Every once in awhile I am curious how many people are reading and think about emailing Tim (my common law brother-in-law and administrator of my site) to figure out how to check the stats. But then I talk myself out of it because I really don’t want my blog to be about popularity. I want it to be about my writing and about my life. If I start worrying about who is reading and how many comments I have, I won’t be doing this for me anymore - I will be doing it to win Homecoming Queen.
I know many people treat their blogs like campaigns; strategically commenting on lots of other sites to get more of the right kind of readers. Don’t get me wrong: I read your site but because I like to, not to get something from you. I know I should comment more though and I’m working on it. I usually only comment if I have something witty to add. Lately I’ve been all tapped out.
So why do I blog?
I love to write. I use this forum as a practice place to keep my writing voice active. Eventually I would like to write another piece of fiction (I wrote a screenplay when I was 19) and believe writing needs practice. I also want to keep track of my life events, much like in a journal. I never write in paper journals but this has worked out for me. Lastly, I have a lot of friends (both friends that I knew before and friends I made “online”) and family who I like to keep in contact with. This gives us all a chance to stay connected.
Okay that’s interesting, but I should actually include something here that’s about me. Get off my soapbox and give the crowd (of two mothers) something to hang their hats on.
Oh, right. Well unlike bloggers I don’t check my stats, but like many bloggers I do have a cat. I am a cat person which means that I believe that my cat is the cutest and smartest cat that has ever existed. But in this case, it’s actually true.
I’m 32. I grew up in Kirkland, Washington and was homeschooled. I then went to college in Seattle (UW, Go Huskies). I lived alone in Seattle for years and just recently moved to Pullman, Washington which is in the Southeast corner of the state. I decided to go back to school here at Washington State University for my second Bachelor’s degree. My first one is in English and this second one will be in Psychology. I hope to attend grad school eventually and get a PhD. This will be the third time I’ve applied for grad school. The first time I got accepted (Masters in Teaching) and then quit on the second day of classes. The second time I applied for grad school I got rejected (film school) and quit wanting to be a filmmaker. Let’s hope this new whim sticks.
I think it will stick because this is what I’ve really wanted to do for a number of years. I’ve never had a career, merely an odd assortment of jobs. Don’t get me wrong - some of those jobs have been fun and I’ve met some of my best friends at those jobs, including my boyfriend.
Oh yeah the boyfriend has been my boyfriend for almost three years. I was temping at his company and he had a crush on me and even asked me out on a date to go to a Mariner game. Then he canceled our date and I decided to hate him. He didn’t even give me the baseball tickets. Tool. So like I said, I went on hating him for almost a year until I saw him on my bus. I tried to avoid him on the bus but he marched right over to me. He had moved two blocks from where I was living. I tried to avoid him some more but he insisted on being my friend for seven months. I finally decided I liked him when he sang the Bee Gees, and then once when he was droning on about WWI battlefields I decided I “fancied” him. We just moved in together. He is currently screaming because he is watching Euro Cup soccer.
Speaking of the Mariners and soccer, I love sports. All major sports except car racing. My favorites are baseball and tennis. I’m athletic but I never played sports because I was too terrified of failing. I still can’t hit a baseball in front of my father because I’m afraid.
People often go into the field of Psychology because they have their own issues. Clearly!
Oh yeah I have OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder). Many people say “Ohmygod I totally have OCD” and they just like to have things be clean or hate it when their nail polish chips. I truly have a diagnosis. But I took anti-depressants for years and spent seven years doing Cognitive Behavior Therapy and I’m mostly fine now, and even off of the drugs. I’m never “cured” though and remain vigilant.
I mention the OCD because it is an important part of why I am the way that I am and part of why I’ve decided to go into Psychology. Once when my OCD was really bad I made a deal with God saying that if I could get better I would eventually help people with the same problem. That’s not only why I decided to go into Psych; I volunteered at a nursing home during college, and I worked with a close friend of our family who is a child with Muscular Dystrophy. Those experiences were some of my favorite in my life and I finally accepted that I should do for a career what I am interested in.
I forgot about my deal deal for years (that was seven or eight years ago) and only remembered it when I was sitting in my OWN psychologist’s office after I told him I was moving here to go to school. I suddenly remembered and started to cry because I realized how far I had come from those dark moments.
By the way, WSU is where my psychologist got his PhD. Circle of life!
I also really want people to be comfortable discussing mental illness. It still holds such a taboo in our culture and it shouldn’t.
That’s a lot to digest. You perhaps wanted something quick and breezy?
Here’s a simple primer on the people in my life to catch you up:
Amieable: me
Longball: my boyfriend. For stories on him, click here.
Landshark or Gladys: my tabby cat with extra toes. For stories about my cat, click here.
Edelfod or Al or Owl: my sister. Edelfod is a name I made up for her when we were kids. She’s living in Brooklyn, NY and is an elementary school teacher. She is one of my heroes.
Tim: my sister’s boyfriend of many many years. He also hosts my site and helps me with tricky stuff.
Papa Amieable and Mama Amieable: my parents. They often comment under the pseudonyms: “Papa Smurf” and “Papa Smurf”
My “Travel Companion” is one of my best girlfriends. We worked at the same grocery store in high school and bonded over our love of Abba and Absolutely Fabulous. She lives far away. As the name implies, we love to travel together. Sometimes she comments under her own name which I’ll keep secret in case she wants it secret!
My “Soulmate” is another one of my best girlfriends. We met at one of my nondescript jobs and bonded over our love of U2 and Sex and the City. She lives far away. She also comments sometimes under her own name which I’ll keep secret.
My hobbies are knitting, watching sports, reading and gardening.
You can learn more “About Me” on the pages titled, “About: Year One” and so forth. I do a little more “About” each year I have this site. I like to look at how my “Abouts” change as I change.