Lauren Read My Blog?!?

Los Angeles, California

I first started thinking about writing a blog back one summer ago, when I met Andie, who had just started a cool blog. Andie is a friend of Lauren's. Lauren is a lovely young woman whom I know from Tahoe. There is more backstory here (not surprisingly involving a bar, martinis, and what have you), but that's on a strictly need-to-know basis. Suffice it to say that when we were back in Tahoe in August, I asked Lauren about Andie, and told her how our encounter and conversation had led me to blogdom. I then mentioned the name of my blog to Lauren. I think it's a funny title, and since she knows Sandra, I thought she might think so, too.

Meanwhile, on the blog front: when I began my blog last January, I made a personal commitment to write at least two posts per month. That was enough to give me time to write and edit, while at the same time being little enough to assuage those pesky feelings about the self-absorptive, read about me here factor (see below). And I pretty much honored this commitment, and was writing merrily along for about six months. But in August, I got discouraged. You see, originally, I didn't want my friends to read my blog. In fact, the few friends who I even told that I was writing a blog, I admonished to not follow it. In fact, to not even read it. I was still struggling with the "read all about me here" aspect of blogging. But little-by-little, some of my friends did begin to follow my blog. Now, no one can tell this by looking at my blog, as I opted to leave the followers list off of the blog (after having some problems this aspect of the template, but that's beside the point). Anyway, along about August I was in a funk regarding family issues and the heat, and I began to think along lines that are dangerous to any project. Namely, what is the point?

But then . . . but then . . . I got an email from Sandra! And she reported that she had gotten an alert from Lauren, who had read my last blog post and mentioned that I had experienced a rough week in my care of my mother. I was astounded. Lauren read my blog? "Lauren read my blog!" I told Billy. And we looked at each other (me with that open-mouthed, trouty look that one can take on when they receive surprising news). Then, I had a little epiphany. If Lauren read my blog, I thought. Who else has read it?

Stats. There is a tab on Blogspot that is entitled Stats. I placed the cursor on that tab. I clicked. Holy hits!!! As in, hits from China, Japan, Canada, one of the Scandinavian countries (I get them confused), and one (1!) lone hit from Great Britain. Quite a number of hits from the US. Of course the post with the most hits was the one with the Michael Jackson tag. I suppose in the back of my mind I might have known this, and that was why I tagged it thus. But I have been hit on from all over the world. Now, who knows who has actually read my blog, or more importantly, who has revisited it. But right now, I don't care. I am energized and, as a result I am once more ready to rock and write. Because people in China have perhaps read my blog. People in Denmark, or Sweden, or Norway may have read my blog. And that guy . . . or that chick in Great Britain just might have read my blog! But the real kicker wasn't about them, global community that they comprise. The heartwarming gee-whiz moment was when I learned that Lauren read my blog. Thank you all (especially Lauren) for reading my blog.