addicted to blogger......

So you go a few days without connecting to blogger, and you feel cut off from the world... or at least the little world you built up here on the computer screen. You go in to read and comment, and poof!.... a big warning appears where the comment box should be. You've been dealt an expired page that issues instructions on how to refresh, or check your toolbar. This, all after a nice comment that may have taken some time to compose, now belongs to cyberspace.

So what is it that makes us come back all through the day to check on the status of blogsphere? Is it the fact that an inherent need for man to communicate with another is a strong desire, or a genuine care for a community that we have built up for ourselves? Perhaps it also includes a need for people to keep caught up on the daily news through a non-professional medium. But if you ask me, I find that a lot of people who use this format, are more worthy of a journalism degree than most of the news I can get through regular TV. What makes it more interesting is that we can meet people from all around the world we otherwise might never have met. That in itself has been the gravy on my mashed potatoes.

The vast varieties of blogs make it the most interesting to keep in touch because you can travel through and read anything from politics to pure rants, poetry to fiction, and personal daily material. Somehow we can get caught up in all of it, and take it more personally ourselves just for having to have gotten to know the authors. They have become friends, and in many cases, part family. How interesting and unusual this should come about, for if you really look at the bottom line, we have raised the status of "pen pal" to a new global height.

This was nothing that I was the least bit interested in last summer. Heck, I didn't even know blogs existed. I started reading my nephews blog on a daily basis for the humor and wit he can display so well. When he took a small hiatus, a reader of his started his own blog, and I jumped over there to read and comment. Signing in anonymously, the reader recognized me, and explained how I could become more involved by starting my own blog. Taking me completely under his wing, he set up my account and kept in touch with me through the whole process. What intrigued me the most, was that one of his commenters was a "neighbor" of mine from New England. I wanted so much to speak to her because I enjoyed her posts, and felt we had so much in common. It has turned out to be another great friend I would make in this world, because my gut feeling was right.

One thing led to another, and I was meeting new people scattered from Canada to New Zealand. This wouldn't have been possible on my own.... as I don't have the time to physically visit all these locations, but through the sharing of their stories and pictures I can take myself out of my office for a short visit to another part of the world without ever making a plane reservation. In short, I have become a voyager on a mind-expanding journey. I am addicted to the daily happenings of the people I meet here. I may not always be able to think of things to say and respond to after reading, and sometimes have to put it to the side to carry on with real life, but it is something I carry in my mind through the day. It is an addicting process, because the need for human touch is so precarious and precious; it's what keeps me coming back.

So lately, my posts and comments have been few and far between.... and it's not because I can't find anything interesting to read. I've experienced some problems with blogger.... but then haven't we all? And I decided I needed to take a short hiatus and get a few things done myself, as I started to fall horribly behind in my life. I still log on everyday to read... I can't bear to take that part of my day away from myself, but sometimes I just can't find the right words to express as a response. Nor can I find the right format for my daily rants. I've landed on "Writers Block" island with many ideas, just not enough cohesiveness to put it all together. But like any addiction, I can't tear myself away to completely abandon the project. Nor do I want to. Some addictions are good for you, and this is one of them.

Many thanks to all of you who come to read here, and life will return to normal on my little part of the screen soon. After all, you are the best addiction I've had yet!