Happy 7th Blog-iversary to Me!
Once a year I get to troll the internet looking for cakes. It is so much fun. I had no idea there is so much creativity out there, so much daring. I found a wedding cake that is tilted! Something in me loved it, loved the spirit of a woman who would marry knowing life is often off-kilter and messy.
I love white roses, so this year I have sent some to myself:
Come on by, have some virtual cake with me to celebrate seven years of blogging:
And here, an elegant combination of cake and white roses:
Seven years ago in Kuwait, I started blogging. There was a wild blogging scene in Kuwait, a lively community. Blogs were candid, and many were substantial, dealing (carefully) with political and economic issues in Kuwait. I remember reading and learning, and finally gathering up my courage to write my very first entry, and it has been a recurring theme, cross-cultural communication. I learned so much from my life in the Middle East, Tunisia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait. I made the most amazing friends. It changed my life and my perceptions utterly.
Of the three Kuwait female bloggers who inspired me to start blogging, Jewaira has gone private, 1001 Nights is a good friend, a mother, and an author š and Desert Girl is still going strong. Mark, at 2:48 a.m. is also still going strong, so strong that he has been able to leave his full time employment and operate on a consultant basis.
Of course, as any blogger will, I sometimes think of quitting. There are days I find myself with nothing to say, nothing in my life so interesting that I think it is worth sharing, not even a news story worth noting. So I’ve had to ask myself why I continue.
I do it for myself. When I started, I had a reason and that reason still stands. I forget things. This isn’t age-related, it’s busy-life busy-world related; we forget the details.
My Mother saved all my letters from Tunisia. I remember reading them and laughing because at three, my son’s best friend in his day school was a boy he called Cutlet. I know his real name is Khalid, but Cutlet was as close as this little American boy in a French-Tunisian school could get. I had totally forgotten, until I read the letter. So my primary reason for continuing to blog is documentary – just plain record keeping, like an old fashioned diary. Noting things in my daily life or the life around me.
Even now, sometimes I see a post written long ago, usually one of our Africa trips, Botswana, Namibia, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Zambia – will start getting a rush of stats. It thrills my heart. It makes it all worthwhile, knowing something I have put out there is helping others, even years later. Perhaps one day, I will quit blogging, but leave the blog up, with these informational articles.
My stats make no sense at all, one of my biggest stat gainers this year was a news article I tossed off about the prank on the South Korean pilot names after the plane crash landed in San Francisco. It just made me giggle, and I couldn’t resist printing it. It ended up with a life of its own, as many entries do – and you just never know. Someone pins an image and you get a million (ok hyperbole here) hits you never expected.
In the end, I believe that those who keep blogging do it because as Martin Luther once said, “I cannot other.” We do it because something within needs to be expressed, even if it is just some kind of daily record. I know it’s why I blog.
September 6, 2013 - Posted by intlxpatr | Adventure, Africa, Blogging, Botswana, Community, Cross Cultural, ExPat Life, Friends & Friendship, Interconnected, Jordan, Kuwait, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Travel, Tunisia, Zambia, Zanzibar | Namibia
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Happy anniversary, and please don’t stop…it’s one way to keep feeling connected with you and Adventure Man!
LOL, Grammy, where is YOUR blog? I’d love to check it! š
Happy Anniversary , Job well done . May bloggers gone the twitter way, because its the quick fix , but true bloggers like you stayed the course .
Thank you and keep on blogging
We so often say we wish we had met you, Daggero, we enjoy your comments so much and for so long now. AdventureMan said of your recent comment “he really has an eye for detail, doesn’t he?” I have always speculated you are an engineer š as engineers are so often capable of seeing the larger picture.
Twitter is too limiting for me š
Happy 7th!
I am so glad you chose not to emigrate to Twitterville or any such social media. So glad to have found you and Adventure man š and I look forward to your 17th now! The clock is ticking…….
Best wishes,
AHAV
LOL 17th! Well, who knows, when I started, I wasn’t looking ahead. A lot of blogs came and went, and I wasn’t sure anyone would care what I might have to say. . . I find Twitter pretty vapid. I’m keeping an eye to see where the young are headed next; I want to be the techy-grandmother, but I’m already wondering if I will keep up š
We enjoy your comments so much, and the names you choose when commenting š Thank you!
You are right , your guess is spot on . i am an engineer .
Greetings to AdventureMan , its is really a nice trip you are taking in Alaska
very enjoyable , lots of nice photos
He always loves your comments, Daggero. Many thanks.