Friday, March 12, 2010

The Moment You've All Been Waiting For.

What I've Learned From Six Years Of Blogging About Work, Clothes, Makeup, Boys, Family, Cats, Dogs, and What I Ate For Lunch (the Thousandth Post):

Every time you post about something horrible, the intrinsic goodness of people comes out.

Trolls, in addition to being lacking in the reading-skills department, are as flinty and irascible as the bridges under which they live.

A post about mascara will get more responses than a post about tragedy.

A post about cats will get more responses than a post about mascara.

A post about phlegm will get the most responses of all.

Neko Case is perfect blogging music.

Sometimes my recipes really do come out right for other people.

People new to this blog tend to read back to 2004, the first year, and draw my attention back to things I'd forgotten. This makes me happy.

Getting angry is fine; *staying* angry is what'll kill you.

Dogs are always good subject matter when you can't think of anything else.

Burnout is okay. It passes.

Contrariwise, sometimes you have to post six times in a day, just because you think of crazy shit that happened at work.

The worst things that happen to you personally (like divorce, breakups, a malicious boss) are the catalysts for the best things to happen to you. No, really.

Some things you can't recover from.

There are things worse than death. GVHD is one of them.

Brain tumors make people say weird, weird shit.

Parents (specifically mine) may not understand why the hell you chose to do this with your life, but they're proud and amazed and sometimes favorably impressed by it.

I'm a better writer sometimes than I thought.

Other times, I look back at what I wrote and cringe.

Life is more like Through The Looking-Glass than anybody will admit. Sometimes you really do have to run as hard as you can to stay in the same place. Luckily, believing six impossible things before breakfast is a talent of mine.

I've made a number of mistakes in my life. Most of them I've written about here. All of them have to do with saying "No" or "Goodbye".

The people you notice the least (housekeeping, pharmacy, nurses' aides, the guy taking tolls at the airport) are the most important people to get to know. They are the people who can make things happen, and without whom the world would stop turning.

There is no excuse for disrespect. Unless they disrespect you first.

Sharpening your tongue is as important as brushing your teeth.

Blogging is all about letting things go without editing. Dooce would probably disagree with me, but that's okay: that's why she has zillion-dollar contracts and I don't.

Blogging is all about stealing ideas from other people.

The Internet is for porn.

My best friends are people I haven't met. Yet.

*** *** *** *** ***

If it weren't for the readers of this blog, I would not be typing this at 0403 on a Friday.

Six years ago, this blog started as a response to a statement Beloved Sister made: "You're really smart. You should write this stuff down." In the six years I've been typing, the responses I've gotten about posts, about style, about content, have made continuing to type a rewarding and challenging thing.

When I'm wrong, there are plenty of people who are quick to correct me. I hope I've been as quick with the mea culpas. When I'm sad or stressed, there are always personal emails waiting in the Jo-Box (no snickers from the Peanut Gallery, please) that give me courage. When I'm right, or when I post about something that I've never seen before, there are people who've done or seen the same things, and make me feel less alone.

What I'm tryin' to say, here, in my sleep deprived state, is that readers and commenters are the reason I blog. It's no longer some huge ego-driven thing; it's more about hearing what other people have to say about experiences that might or might not be common.

Six years on the InterWebs has gotten me friends, boxes of foods I can't get in Darkest Texas, one lover, two cats, and a hell of an email inbox. I've been very fortunate in ending up with some of the smartest, ballsiest, most compassionate commenters I've seen.

Thank you. Thank you.

Onward, then, to the second thousand posts.

15 comments:

TheSchaft said...

Thank you for writing from the heart as well as the brain.

This is one site I visit every day, and sometimes I leave laughing, sometimes crying, but always impressed.

Amy said...

Thank *you*!

Northwoods Baby said...

You quoted Trekkie Monster. I pink puffy heart you. More.

AtYourCervix said...

Here, here! Bravo! Wonderful summary of what blogging is about :-) Congrats on #1000

'Drea said...

One of my fave of your lessons: There is no excuse for disrespect. Unless they disrespect you first.

yrsis said...

Very, very nicely done thousandth post; it's both self-referential and outward-looking, and graceful the whole time. How did you do that? I wish I could honor this post by matching the balance with this comment.

bobbie said...

Congratulations on #1000!

I'm glad you're here ~

Heidi said...

Jo,
I started reading a couple of years ago when I was in philosophy grad school and hating every minute of it. Now I'm a nurse and definitely love more minutes than I hate. And you were a big part of what made me decide to switch, and you've helped keep me going and excited about nursing during some rough patches. So, like others have said: No, thank YOU.

messymimi said...

I'm glad you are here.

Bardiac said...

Congrats on your postcount!

You have artichokes; how could you possibly need any other food? (And I'm forever grateful for your microwave artichoke thing, because even a not great oldish artichoke is better than none at all!)

ps. Thanks for writing a great blog.

Anonymous said...

Personally, I cant stomach much of Dooce and her writing style. There is no flow like yours. Your writing is easy to read and your words have a way of just flowing into my brain.

CandyGirl said...

"You quoted Trekkie Monster. I pink puffy heart you. More."

Ditto.

I am not anywhere near being in the medical field, but I love reading your blog.

You are an awesome writer and I wish you were my friend in real life - quirky, smart and funny is a rare combination. :)

Congrats on reaching 1K. I'll be sticking around to read the next thousand.

Jenn said...

Congrats on getting to a 1000. You just have a way of sucking me in, I'll have a crappy day and there is a music video or a picture of AWESOME shoes or I'll have a great day and you will have a wonderful story. I love all your posts. Thanks for keeping me entertained!

Tiffany Newell said...

congratulations on 1000 posts!

Anonymous said...

Mazel tov for six years and 1000 posts. I've probably read 98% of them, laughed a lot, cried some, and certainly learned much. djs