I blog, therefore I am

There has been a great deal of discussion at the Academy lately, regarding blogging. As in, "Exactly how much time are you spending blogging each day?"

Point well-taken. At least, it is well-taken in theory - right after all the defensive yelling and screaming. But I can't argue with the fact that I'm spending way too much time on the computer. My adult daughter says "AHA! You're on the computer again!" at least 12 times per day. And the rebuttal that "I'm doing the bills" or "I'm working on the budget" only goes so far. I'm on the computer so much that I've had a couple of keyboard blowouts.

So why DO I blog so much? Because it makes me real. Without it, I'm toiling in obscurity, having no contact with the outside world. When I worked every day, I had that connection: dealing with conflict (REAL conflict - not the "someone stole my Power Ranger guy" conflict); using my brain to strategize things from budgeting to planning to staffing to fourth quarter revenue; being a part of a larger whole; putting my creativity into solutions to actual business problems; talking with other adults. Now that I'm home with the kids, I miss it.

Don't get me wrong - I certainly feel blessed to be doing what I am doing, and there is nothing quite like the satisfaction of watching the end-product of your labor, behaving like the angels you know they are (you know, the way I never behaved as a kid). But still, I don't feel whole. I don't feel accomplished.

Is that wrong?

So I blog. I put the stuff in my head down on paper - er, virtually speaking. Granted, when I look back at all the words, thoughts and pictures, it doesn't amount to a whole lot. Its like someone being obsessed with trivia - you know so many facts, but you can't function in normal society. In other words, there is still something missing. But I feel a whole lot better about it. I can deal. The real trick is finding that balance.

Which I haven't.

Yet.

Last election night, they had a television reporter stationed at a local bar that had been reserved for a blogging event. So let me paint for you the raucous scene in that bar: there are several dozen nerdy-looking people, all sitting alone in their chairs, each with their noses stuck in their laptops, keying away furiously. Oh dear God, don't ever let that be me.

I've posted 115 entries in the past three months - that's more than one per day. But that number doesn't tell the story. I swear I'm spending hours and hours a day on the computer. Writing is only a part of it. There's all that other time: uploading and fixing photos; reading and rereading what I've written, and then fixing it; thinking about what I'm going to write; researching things that I'm writing about; getting completely sidetracked while doing that research; checking other people's blogs to see if there is anything new; reading other people's blogs; commenting on other people's blogs; commenting on other people's comments in my blog; checking for other people's comments in my blog; checking to see if someone has commented on my comments in other people's blogs; emailing people offline about their blog; answering offline emails about my blog; sending people links to great blogs and blog entries; changing the links in my blog; checking the profiles of bloggers and commenters; and the MOTHER of all blog time-sinks ==> checking to see how many people are reading my blog. What, you don't have Statcounter? Ooh, do go get it! And then prepare your family for the loss. They'll get over you, eventually.

So actually, a more accurate title for this post might be: "You read my blog, therefore I am."

Hey, thanks for reading.

And speaking of Statcounter, today I got a visit from someone in Germany who had previously been visiting the following web page: http://porn####tv.blogspot.com/2006/12/100-european-####-jobs.html. Ticky-tacky. Ticky-tacky. OY! OY! OY! I can guarantee that blogger isn't getting anything done around the "haus".

I have SERIOUSLY got to clean up my act around here.

And get some hausverk done.