rants and raves

[cujennaboo5c]

I'm sleepy.  At first I COULDN'T sleep.  Now I find that I can, I just don't WANT to.  I have my issues, I know I know.  *yawn*

I talked to the apartment managers yet again today.  I'm trying to get it through their head that if they want me to pay rent they had better tell me how much it is!  Finally I got through to someone that knows what is

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[haplochant]

Scars tissue is unable to tan, so it will definitely highlight any scars. Remember when I laid down on the iron in your room freshman year? Yeah, I have a big white spot on my back whenever I (used to) go tanning. Not that I can tan much even when I try. But yeah, tanning is bad for you. Sunless tanners will color your scar, however.

As for blogging, it's difficult to make a personal journal widely appealing and still keep your close friends interested. Some of my friends have stopped reading my journal much since I started trying to make it more interesting to the general livejournaler, because they were looking for a way to keep up with me. On the other hand, I have a lot more readers, now and get loads more comments, and have even become "e-friends" with people I hated at Clemson. Sometimes I wish my journal were a little more personal, but it's difficult to keep personal from = whiney/bitchy and it's difficult to keep whiney/bitchy from alienating someone. If I write overwhelmingly negative, I usually make it friends only to keep it away from the world at large. :)

But, here are two things I think would help keep your journal personal while opening it up to a wider readership: First, context. It's difficult for strangers to read an entry because they don't know who any of the people or places you are talking about are. Even if you've been married and blogging for 18 years, it's a good idea to say "my gorgeous husband Jim" instead of "Jim" so that new readers don't feel out-of-the-loop. Even people you think know you may need little context reminders every so often. Doesn't it suck to listen to your friends throw out random names when you don't know who they are? Invite people into your life! Second, it usually helps interest people if you can extrapolate your personal experiences to a larger context, give your readers something to think about (especially something they can easily comment on/argue with/respond to), or ask them questions.

It is violating to realize your own unoriginality, isn't it? I struggle with this all the time, especially when I consider my prospects for the future. There is a really interesting passage about this in Dostoevsky's The Idiot that I think I'll make a post about when Thom leaves.