Wearing the gold hat

There are a number of blogs I read; I guess that's one of the benefits of my job. One I started reading at some point in the past year is Single-ish. Single-ish is a Glamour magazine blog written by two single folks living in New York city (or at least used to be - Ryan just stopped writing for them, but Erin is still there). I enjoy this blog because it offers a very different view of the dating life than one finds in small-ish town southern America. Reading through the archives recently, I found this blog by Ryan that I keep thinking about. The combination of Fitzgerald's writing and Ryan's honesty has made me consider how often I wish people could see me wearing the gold hat - and honestly, it's something I worry about far more than I should. I think it's probably a fairly common desire for us as humans, but I also think that it's something that I, at least, need to consider more often.

Others

Tonight, I was desperately trying to open a pickle jar. Like, I was to the point of banging it on the counter, at the point that I was afraid I might have to give up and get my brother to open it the next time he was here (which would mean he might eat half of my pickles as payment). My poor roommate, who maybe has the flu, asked about all the banging (she may have thought I was dying in the kitchen) and told me all I had to do was wedge the end of a spoon under one of the dents around the mouth of the lid and I could lever it and break the seal. Did it work? Easily. And was my pickle delicious? You bet.

While I was finally enjoying my pickle, I started thinking, not just about how handy my roommate's suggestion was, but also about how helpful and necessary others are to us. My sick roommate was willing to help me even though she felt like death; living with her helps me not worry about constantly getting mugged as much as I did when I lived alone. It's true that other people can be frustrating, and I'm one of the first to talk about how I'd like to work in a closet at work or secretly wish I could do things without always having to be friendly and talk to a thousand people. But, really, others are what we need. Others help us accomplish things we couldn't do on our own; they allow us to better understand what we believe, and may help us in establishing and changing those beliefs. And, one thing I've always thought but really have learned so much more by working with the public is that everyone has a story. It may be happy, or sad, or a roller coaster, but everyone has one. While there is always the possibility that others can hurt us, they more often help and encourage us.

So, maybe this wasn't an interrobang moment. But I hope that I can at least remember to try to appreciate the next person who makes me want to lock myself away.

Getting Started

It seems that blogging would be something simple enough to start...just sit down, and start writing, right? Maybe not so much.

For the sake of introduction, why am I starting a blog? I'm starting a blog after many years of encouragement by one of good friends who has blogged for years, but also because I'd like to try something new (hello, Rocktober). So, we'll see how this goes.