Welcome to the new and improved almost right word. I am proud to say that I didn’t need to hire a blog designer for this redesign. I did it myself! Thanks to the extremely helpful forums and support, brought to you by DIY Themes and Chris Pearson, designer of infamous WordPress themes such as Cutline, Neoclassical, and this one right here, the easily customizable Thesis theme. You may see a couple more changes over the coming weeks. I’ve put the design process on hold for the moment, leaving minimal tweaks and turns for the near future.
I had plans of hosting a giveaway in honor of the new look, but, alas, the plans did not materialize in time. Expect one in the future!
My biggest struggle with blogging is the moment I look back. When I reread things I’ve written in the past, I begin to wonder what others think when they read it. I feel torn in two — on the one hand, I say, “Fuck it. It’s not about what people think of me or how I appeared at the time. It’s about the growing process, the learning process. It’s about becoming a better writer.” But then, there is the conflicting part of me that wonders, “Who will find this blog? Who will read the personal reflection posts and the self-examination posts? Who will judge me or learn more about me than I would share with them in person? 
Who reads this and remains a quiet lurker?” It could be someone I once worked with. It could be someone I once dated. People who, in the real world, would never learn such personal things about me.
And so, I struggle. I tread a line between anonymity and self-exposure. I contemplate putting a picture of myself in the midst of the text — just for a reader to see me. I contemplate using my first name. Sometimes, I even think about using my last. I envision a new page with links to articles I’ve written. And still, the fear grips me tightly and I remain withdrawn in my mask. A secret kept. A shield of protection. Yet, here I am, sharing with you, some of my thoughts, some of myself. And you hardly even know who I am.
Is this the beauty of blogging? Is it about the mystery? And where do you draw the line?
I’ve been MIA lately and will be, even more so, next week when I’m on my way to Akumal, Mexico. Until then, here are a couple links for you to enjoy…
Style Rookie: Jamie at Oh! How Lovely! turned me on to this blog, written by a 12 year-old (yes, you read that right). It’s mostly a “fashion blog,” with a little of her personal flavor thrown in. I find it endlessly amusing.
matt pond PA has released a free, digital EP appropriately titled The Freeep, which I discovered via I am Fuel, You are Friends. If you haven’t already heard matt pond PA, go check it out.
Enjoy your pumpkin pie.
Some good stuff around the interwebs lately…
Nilsa at SoMi began a movement, of sorts, which she called “BlogSecret” — “you write a secret and have it posted anonymously on someone else’s blog.” Nilsa notes, ”It is said (through the results of lots of research) that the 
simple act of writing about a secret is highly cathartic and has been found to have genuine health impacts up to several months later. But, what the research doesn’t say is it takes courage, lots and lots of courage to reveal something you’ve held close to your heart.” Nearly eighty bloggers responded to Nilsa’s challenge and the results all make for good procrastination reads.
As a Southern Californian myself, I found In Which I’m Californified (courtesy of This Recording) to be hilarious and well-written. After living in L.A. for only one month, Meredith Hight reviews the city with great accuracy. Think L.A. Story. Think In-n-Out burgers, no parking and multiple freeways. Read. It.
Jamie at Oh! How Lovely! has started a discussion regarding blog annoyances and then she presents the flipside. The comments alone are worthwhile — It’s interesting to see what people hate about blogs. The number one annoyance seems to be a tie between partial feeds and light text on a dark background. Jamie’s blog has been recently profiled by Paste Magazine as “one who gets it.”
Ben from No Ordinary Rollercoaster ”recycled” a post for Who’s Your Dauchsund. I’m not normally a dog blog fan, but A Year of Calvin: Part One is an irresistible story of bringing home a puppy for the first time, and the fear of fatherhood.
And for a laugh, check out the two bloggers who were simultaneously named “Sexiest Man Alive” by People magazine.
Since I have been recently awarded the Brilliante Weblog Premio by two very lovely bloggers (Knaphrodesiac and Half-Deserted Streets), I felt it was time to return the love (though clearly the award could use some design-tweaking). Below you’ll find the five bloggers to whom I’m passing this award, in addition to a few lines about their blogs, written by them. Enjoy!
• SoMi ¦¦ learning :: exposing :: sharing — Not only has Nilsa done an awesome “Issues” series in honor of the upcoming election (and allowed me to guest post as part of said series), but she also got married this past weekend! I figured this could be a wedding “gift.” And she certainly deserves it. Nilsa writes, “Learning about the world :: Exposing things previously unknown :: Sharing with blog- readers :: How a seemingly random set of experiences and observations thread themselves together.”
• Not a Girl, Not Yet a Wino – Kris offers her readers thought-provoking posts that are well-written and truly inspiring. She’s also got a sense of humor as snark is a regular feature. Kris writes, “I started this site three years ago as an outlet for pent-up creative energy. During that time, it’s become a good friend and a most attentive lover.”
• Cleveland’s a plum – Alexa’s Featured Blogger Friday series makes me laugh out loud every Friday morning. Alexa wrote, about her new series, “every friday i will be featuring a blog that i love by having the featured blogger fill out the survey below. it’s all sorts of wrong, potentially inappropriate, and i love it. i’m all up for making people uncomfortable! it’s still fun though. i hope you all enjoy the feature and learn a bit more about each other in the process.”
• Chelsea Talks Smack – Chelsea has recently wrapped up an extended journey through Europe. Her stories have been amazing — the kind that inspire you to pick up and go. Here is an excerpt from a recent post on her adventures: “Notes from the Road: People smoke, drink and guzzle caffeine like a motherfucker….we’re downing smoothies, vitamins, 8 gallons of water and staying “smoke free” and we’re still unhealthy. I wonder if our health has more to do with our minds than our bodies??“
• Nicopolitan — In addition being handy when it comes to tech-help (as I know, from personal experience), Nico’s blog is often laugh-inducing, particularly his latest post entitled “It’s Twitter, Bitch.” Nico writes, “I break and reconstruct this blog all the time. Blogging is already a popular and practical publishing platform for what I do and for that in which I’m involved. The only way to learn constructing and reconstructing is to dive headlong into it. And the personal stuff? That’s just good fodder for practice. After all, there is a real person behind this username.“
