Pseudotherapy

Welcome to Day Three of my Big 5th celebration! In honor of my five-year anniversary on July 3rd, I?m doing a week of posts celebrating my quirky blogging history. You?re all invited to join me in this retrospective romp.

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You know that saying about the best-laid plans? Yeah, right here. In the fantasy world that lives between the covers of my notebook (the spiral-bound kind), these posts were supposed to include screenshots of my previous blogs. Because I’m obsessive like that, I’ve kept a screenshot of each blog I’ve done. Even some of the one-day ones. I had an entire folder of them, and planned to use them as appropriate. The folder is MIA. I fear that somehow, in one of life’s mysteries, it escaped transfer from my old hard drive to the new one, although how it could have done so I can’t imagine. The other possibility is that it somehow got dragged into a different folder, BUT! If so, it would still show up in my searches. Whatever, it’s apparently gone. Hence the lack of interesting visual elements this week.

And now for some good news …?WE HAVE A?Question Of The Day WINNER!!! Actually, we have three. Even though it’s only Day Three, I’m declaring Eden the winner?for Day One’s question, because you can’t get much closer than EXACTLY RIGHT. Yes, Eden was spot on with her guess of 13 as the total number of my blogs, past and present. Woo hoo, she gets a prize! Well, don’t get too excited. It’s not a trip to Bali or anything.

We have TWO winners for Day Two’s QOTD. Bec and Kevin both had the correct answer yesterday. Bec posted hers first, but I’m also awarding a prize to Kevin for expanding on the details. See the update I added yesterday if you’re wondering WTF? Oh, and those prizes? Will be announced on Saturday. Come on, did you really expect me to have this whole thing ready ahead of time? You had to know I’d be pulling it together on the fly!

Speaking of all my previous blogs, here’s a list of them in approximate chronological order:

becoming mrs. bret (2003-2005)?- My wedding/early marriage?blog, where I appropriately lost my blogcherry.

Chronic Listaholic (2004-2007)?- Lists, lists and uh, lists. Even my Lost Bloggers participation (as Amelia Earhart) was done in the form of lists.?Mainitaining this?finally cured my list-making compulsion.

Heinous Haiku (2005) - Deliberately awful haiku, with an occasional serious one thrown in. Only ran about six months, but?did get featured as?the Link of the Day on some other haiku site that I can’t remember.

readme.txt (2005-2006)?- A daily-journal-type blog, with heavy use of my photos. When we moved East, I closed this one and started Poppy.

Poppy Among The Peaches (2006) - My transition blog when I moved to Georgia, aka “The Daily Downer.” I wrote about how miserable I was, over and over. Kevin used to post these valiant pep talks in the comments (”Think positive! Make an effort to meet people! Try LEAVING THE HOUSE!”). When I started getting used to living in Georgia, part of my therapy was to demolish this sobblog and create …

The Write Coast (2006-2007) - My first WordPress blog, and my personal favorite, truly a work of love. More, much more on this tomorrow.

Pseudotherapy (2007-current) - Yeah, you’re reading it.

Kitchen Mojo (2007) - A very short-lived cooking blog. Cute design, but Too. Much. Work.

The Edge of Ennui (2007) - A private blog known about only by Hilly and Lesli, where I poured out my darkest secrets and heartaches. It seemed like a good idea, but I got scared and took it down.

Pseudofitness (2008) - Hilly, how long did this last? Three weeks, maybe? I got all fired up to exercise and diet and shit. Created this ADORABLE companion blog to chronicle my progress. I think I worked longer on the design than the blog was actually up. Attention deficit? ME?!?! *cough*

Hodad In The Green Room (2007-current) - My sadly-neglected surf-culture blog. I had great plans for this, but can’t seem to remember it even exists. Sure had fun designing it, though!

Child In Time (current) - A platform for my family stories and reminiscences, still in the development stages. I’m now on the third design concept.

Sex Changes (2008) - The blog I used for GBBMC2008,?on which I was the Week 3 writing winner.

A few of these show up in the Wayback Machine, but most of them are long gone. It just kills me that I’ve lost my collection of screenshots, because some of these had really cool designs.

Okay, how about a Question Of The Day? Without fear of reprisals, what blog advice would you like to offer me? What one thing do you think would help improve the quality of Pseudotherapy in some way? Don’t be shy, and don’t worry about being tactful! I want the gritty truth. Make your suggestions in the comments. For today’s question, there is obviously no right or wrong answer, so I will award a prize to the suggestion I like the best.

Welcome to Day Two of my Big 5th celebration! In honor of my five-year anniversary on July 3rd, I’m doing a week of posts celebrating my quirky blogging history. You’re all invited to join me in this retrospective romp.

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After about six months of publishing becoming mrs. bret, I had learned a bit more about this new blogging thing. For most of my life, I’ve been a compulsive list-maker, and while sorting through my piles of hand-written lists one evening, it hit me that I could use a blog to organize them. At that point, it didn’t even cross my mind that other people might enjoy reading them, too. People outside my family, I mean. I still hadn’t seen many blogs other than the ones that came up in the Blogs We’ve Noticed list on Blogger’s front page, and I had no idea what a growing phenomenon it was.

I launched Chronic Listaholic on January 8, 2004 with a list of Ten Must-See Drug Movies. No fanfare, no introduction, just a simple list of ten. I choose that list solely because it was a short one to type. Blogger still had no built-in commenting, but I had done my homework and signed up for a free account with Haloscan about two weeks after the debut of CL. My very first comment EVER was posted by my friend Lia on January 17th (not counting a comment from Bret posted as a test). Several more followed that day, and pretty soon I started getting comments from total strangers. I was astounded and thrilled that anyone had even found my little blog, much less taken the time to comment. My?unhealthy comment fixation probably began that very day.

Chronic Listaholic was truly my training ground for blogging. During the three years that I maintained it, I learned how to include images in posts, prevent spam comments, customize the standard templates, and provide an RSS feed. Above all, I took list-making from the level of simple hobby to finely-honed art form. And I began to make friends around the blogiverse in earnest. Among them, a guy from Washington State named Dave2.

Dave2 found his way to Chronic Listaholic via a Google search, which landed him on one of my movie lists, My Ten All-Time Favorite Zombie Movies.? Although he didn’t comment that day, I guess Dave2 liked what he saw because he kept coming back. I was already a fan of his Blogography, and had even included it on a list of my ten favorite blogs (and if I made that list today, it would still be included). Dave2 was definitely Chronic Listaholic’s biggest fan, and?through him?I connected with?Kevin and Kim. Kevin’s Lost Bloggers in April of 2006 introduced me to Karl and Suze. Through Karl, I met Hilly. As is only fitting for a demi-deity, Dave2 is ultimately responsible for almost all of my online friendships, because even though back then he was only getting 10 or so comments a day (!!!),?they were the cocktail party for our little corner of the blogosphere. Sizzle, Belinda, Bec, Neil … we all found each other’s blogs via comments we made at Blogography. Bow down before the power of the Dave!

I’m honored to say that all those early fans are still with me, many blogs later. They’ve become genuine friends, and I’ve since met and socialized with several of them in person. Although I laid Chronic Listaholic to rest in February 2007 (for which I don’t think Dave2 has ever forgiven me), my blog friends had followed me to The Write Coast, and they followed me here. I know I can count on them to always have my back. Because that’s what friends are for.

Question Of The Day: What was the event which inspired to Dave2 to mount his white monkey horse and ride write valiantly?in my defense when the reputation of Chronic Listaholic was threatened? Post your guess in the comments ? the first person with the correct answer wins a prize!

UPDATE: We have a winner, folks - actually, two. Bec was the first to post the correct answer, but Kevin fleshed out the details, so both will receive prizes. The incident? Dave2 reamed The Bitches at I Talk 2 Much a new one for their harsh review of Chronic Listaholic. They absolutely shredded the (then) yellow-pad-&-felt-pen design, claiming it made them want to gouge out their eyes, and said my list concept bored them to death. I kept posting, but alas, no fatalities occurred. ;)

Today begins a week of celebration here on Pseudotherapy. Hard to believe, but I’ve been doing this blogging thing for five years as of Thursday. On July 3, 2003 I published my very first post on my very first blog, becoming mrs. bret.

A simple, basic Blogger blog, BMB nonetheless opened up a whole new world for me. Back then Blogger didn’t even offer a comments option, and I was too much of a n00b to know about services like Haloscan. In fact, in the beginning I didn’t even know commenting existed! I was writing BMB for friends and family across the country, as a way for them to follow mine and Bret’s wedding preparations, and they responded via email or phone. It worked wonderfully, needless to say, and impressed the hell out of my audience ? none of whom had even heard the word “blog.” I enjoyed it so much that I continued to write on BMB through September 2004. By then, I’d also launched Chronic Listaholic, and was more into a “conceptual” blog with a real design. I didn’t make a decision to drop BMB, it just happened. It had served its purpose, and I had outgrown it. There would be more blogs in my future, however. *cough*

And that’s my first Question Of The Day for you, dear readers: How many blogs have I had altogether?? I’m counting only blogs that remained up for at least one month, none of the week-long wild hairs. And here’s a clue: None of you can possibly know ALL of them, so up your estimate by a few. The person with the answer closest to the actual number will win a wee prize! Plus, you get one point for each blog you correctly name, and the person with the most points will also win a prize. Email your guesses to qotd@pseudotherapy.com by midnight July 5th.

Throughout this week, I’ll post a daily QOTD, with small daily prizes. I’m also cooking up an actual contest (maybe two). In addition, Monday through Friday I will be spotlighting bloggers who have played a part in my growth here in the blogiverse. And each day I’ll feature one of my previous blogincarnations, with some fun flashbacks. Plus, watch for a couple of special announcements along the way! And now … par-tay!

Totally SEMI-Related Aside: Kevin, I have not forgotten I still owe you a prize from LB. Now, I can finally fulfill that promise. Details forthcoming, pinky swear. Bonus points for patience and faith!

Awhile back?I was looking something up on my first blog, and out of curiosity decided to go back to my very first blog post. Lo and behold, it turns out that July 3rd will mark the fifth anniversary of my blogosphere debut! I think that calls for a celebration.

Now, I’m no Dave2, but I think I can make a passable attempt at commemorating the event. So I’ve been working on some ideas for ways to make that week (June 29-July 5) fun for both my readers and myself. If all goes well in the preparatory department, I’ll have a special post every day that week, each celebrating some way that blogging has enriched my life. I’ll be spotlighting bloggers and events that have been special to me, and words that have helped me grow as a writer. And each day will feature a flashback from my blogistory.

I’m also hoping to offer a contest or two, complete with prizes! AND there will be an announcement that will make some of you very happy indeed.

I hope you will all plan on stopping by each day to help me celebrate!

For the past 30 days I have been participating in a research project. A co-worker’s daughter is working on her Masters thesis, and sought volunteers to help her gather data. Everyone who agreed was asked to refrain from using a specific form of communication for 30 days while keeping notes on the impact on their lifestyle. Originally, she hoped for 10 volunteers for each type of communication ? instant messaging, text-messaging via handheld device, verbal cell phone use, blogging. Work-related use was exempt from the ban, and it was all done on the honor system. We were asked to resist cheating as much as possible, and to thoroughly document all cheats as part of the research.

I was coerced into volunteered to participate as a blogger, or rather blogger in absentia. My first offer, to abstain from cell-phone use, was firmly declined on the grounds that you have to actually be a cell-phone user in order to suffer from said abstention. It seems even my co-workers’ offspring know my feelings about those loathesome invaders of serenity (and yes, they all think I’m quite mad). I was one of only four bloggers who participated. Of the initial seven cell-phone abstainers, three dropped out of the study within the first week. They simply found it impossible to be out of constant contact with the world (for one young woman, the last straw was having her very first panic attack when she had to drive to Santa Barbara sans Razr ? no one to talk to, aagh!). I don’t think Amy succeeded in getting 10 volunteers in any of the four areas, but those of us who agreed gave it our best efforts.

The first week nearly drove me nuts. Not so much the non-blogging (which was actually a relief ? no pressure!), but the non-reading and non-commenting and non-contact with other bloggers. Yeah, I cheated. I read blogs here and there, although I tried really hard to not comment, and I was faithful about documenting each incident. And I worked on weaning myself away. No offense to all the rest of you, but Snackie’s World was toughest for me to give up. That girl is the crack of the blogosphere.

I was shocked by how boring my life seemed without blogs. What had I done in my leisure time before 2003? Watched TV? Read books? Actually left the house? Yikes. This would take some getting used to.

It did indeed. But each day was a bit easier, less boring. I finished a book! And the very next day, my copy of Carly Milne’s Sexography arrived, so I read it, too (but just in case reading a book written by a blogger was a violation, I documented that). The television gods blessed me by launching the new season of my beloved “So You Think You Can Dance?” For the first time, I actually sat on the couch and gave a showing of Transformers my full attention, and was ASTOUNDED at how much I’d been missing in my previous peripheral viewings. I watched, attentively, all four hours of The Andromeda Strain, and although at times it felt like my brain passed out from scientific-jargon overload, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Online, I became more active on some of my photography websites, worked on website designs and, umm, shopped. At work, instead of spending breaks and lunch hours at my computer immersed in the blogiverse, I went for short walks and out to lunch with co-workers. Oh, and one more big difference: I got more sleep. Instead of lurking on Twitter until all hours, I went to bed before midnight. It felt good. It ALL felt good.

And now it’s over. I’ve turned in my notes and, as you can see, resumed blogging. Yet my heart is not fully in it. I’ve been a member of the bloggerati for five years come July 3rd, and I don’t think it’s been good for me. I’ve allowed it, encouraged it, to take control of my life in an unhealthy way. I turned what was originally a pleasant hobby into an obsession that consumed all my waking hours. I’m not exaggerating. When I wasn’t writing a post, I was reading other blogs, or thinking about what I’d write next, or worrying about my perceived lack of popularity. I have the greatest admiration for those of you who can pop out a decent post in 15 minutes; the only times I’ve managed that were when the post was only a few lines long (this one, for example, has taken me four hours to complete). Too much of a perfectionist, I guess, too self-critical. I don’t want to go back to that. I’m enjoying actively LIVING my life again.

So I have a decision to make. I’m not going to rush into it. My inclination at this moment is to just say sayonara and shut Pseudotherapy down, but I’ve been-there-done-that too many times before, and regretted it. I need to see if I can achieve a balance in my life that incorporates blogging without letting it dominate. I might need a schedule or some such thing. And if I am to continue, I’ll also need a serious attitude adjustment, because my worth as a human being is NOT determined by this blog and its readers. Somehow I have to keep reminding myself of that should-be-obvious fact. I have to stop “competing” and remember why I started blogging in the first place ? simply, to write what I feel.

However it ends up, I think this will be a most interesting summer.