Drunken Gibberish: Linking and Philosophizing About Weblogging

Last night I had dinner with my best friend on this earth Wendy and her extremely handsome beau Travis. I can say gushing things about him because my brother Jesse (see previous post) and I were the ones who set them up. I would not set my best eternal friend up with someone who is ugly. That is just not my style.
Once Wendal and I get to talking, heaven and hell cannot stop our utterances. Hence, we were at the restaurant for a solid 3 hours. Travis must've been entertained because he routinely filled my cup with Coke as if prodding me to carry on, in-like manner. Cause Coke makes me all SPAZZY!
Due to his attentive cup-filling, I did not sleep last night. What does one do when one cannot sleep? One reads blogs! I followed a link from Eddy's Cosmos back in time to Gracie J. Brunswick which was my sisters blog before she had a name change and became the NieNie that we know (despite pangs of hardcore jealously) and love today.
Oh the simplicity of the blogging world back in those days! I knew a handful of people who blogged: Eddy Cosmos, The Jolly Porter, Jeneck (who has since had a name change and is now just squiggly line J), Oh Judy!, Nie Nie, Nie Nie's sister-in-law who has my alternate dream life Ada Chef, and our always enjoyable cousin Jayne. I read all of Gracie/Nie's old posts and laughed aloud at ensuing comments. Especially the Council Woman's comments (back when she was just Mom.) I had no idea how witty my Mother was! She is wittier than your mom! Take that!
Ah yes, life back then (in May) was so much less complicated! We thought the blogger templates, with their colors, were great -why change them up? Posting photos? Real fancy!
One night in September, as my blogging world had greatly expanded, I started to feel a phobia that perhaps hasn't been named yet. A fear that people I didn't know were reading my personal essays! How dare they do so without commenting? I started to feel violated! It caused me to erase all of my posts up until that point and turn off my comments. I wanted to carry on, as if I was writing to the same bloggers I knew before, and my husband (despite the fact that he doesn't esteem blogging so much.) Also, sometimes allowing comments has a disabling affect that can make you feel like you're either the Homecoming Queen, or in the Nerdy Marching Band (to use Joe's "Blogging is High School" theory). 15+ comments meant that I was certainly wearing a tiara, anything below that and I was playing the flute. Or was I the batonist? No matter.
Months later I started meeting fellow bloggers, like amazing Carina. Would you believe that there was a community to be had, friends to make? Blogging connected me to Jen Galamorous, who has since had a name change to La Yen, who makes me laugh everytime she comments (almost as clever as The Council Woman!) I met her in January and she is MOST enjoyable. I've reconnected with high school friends, mission companions, ward members, Segullah staff, and my newest boyfriend. Don't get me started on the people I can't wait to meet someday (Emily!)
I've actually thought about having a blogging conference for people to meet and discuss its social implications. I'd like to talk about my theory that spiritual women have an incredible desire to write. Then I remembered that my version of hell on earth is the concept called The Conference. Hell's hell is having to eat lunch at the The Conference.
As long as I am spewing this stuff out, I'll also say that sometimes blogging makes me want take up cave dwelling. Every month or so I want to quit. At the basic level I think it makes me feel selfish. I feel embarassed for talking about myself too much while expecting people to appreciate my (so called!) life. I turned my comments back on because I needed more conversation. Less cjane more cjane&friends.
My friend Ashley (who once had a blog since been disbanded) married a guy from across the pond. They started writing via the internet, although not on a dating service, and ending up getting married. When she got engaged I remember thinking, perhaps the internet was invented so that two fine people across the world could fall in love and get married. It's not really about paying bills online, or E-bay, as it is about the ability to expand our love to places we can't physically visit.
I think blogging has a divine purpose to connect people (especially women) with eachother without feeling the necessity to start a playgroup next Wednesday. Somedays I would go so far as to say that it's healthy and respectful. It is making friends from home -no need to leave your children for adult conversation. Blogging: A heaven-sent concept that makes being at home a little less lonely! From Susan in Moscow, to Lanis in Twin Falls. Whether you are a closet blogger (Angie, I read you!) or a commenting fool (Mom, comment again sometime!) [Techinically, at the end of this paragraph, I should write another sentence which would include the words "laughter" and "sharing", except I don't believe in the use of those words. Or singing them. Or using them in poems. Or in general.]
And now you see how sentimentalslashphilosophical I get when I am wasted on Coke. I just love you man! Thanks for telling your stories...and listening to mine.