A Blog Blog

My recent goal has been to reach 100 blog posts, so I write this one in celebration of the 100th post! (Keep in mind not all of them are published yet due to need of editing or personal content.) I thought it was about time to write a post about my blog itself.

The first two summers that I lobstered, I was feeling very creatively inspired, yet I never expressed that inspiration. I thought about painting or sketching some daily scenes, taking pictures on the boat, and writing, but never followed through with these ideas. This winter I was once again feeling inspired and I expressed the idea of writing a blog about fishing to my good friend Annie. She was excited about it and nudged me to get started. So I started to write for the first time probably since college. I decided to write in the context of a blog since I thought that if it was publicly accessible, I would be more likely to continue writing. This is the first time that I have written out of the context of academia (besides my personal journal), for fun not obligation.

I started to tell my friends about the blog and they actually read it and actually liked it. My family, of course, ate it up. My dad sent the link to all his friends. My aunt printed out my posts so that my Grandma could read it. My friend announced the link at our local music jam and fellow musicians read it. Although I only have had 3 "followers" my readership has spread like a wildfire.

Once I started writing these short essays, new topics kept coming to me. It is a common occurrence on the boat for me to be working away lost in my thoughts when a blog post comes to me, causing me to smile or giggle. Cap probably thinks I'm a nutcase by now. If only he knew.

Naturally, you are probably wondering if Cap has read the blog, since he is the key player. I told Cap about my blog upon its inception, but he didn't seem that phased. Whenever I post a picture or video including him in it, I ask his permission to include it in my blog before posting it. I have made an earnest effort to keep all characters anonymous and to write respectfully of others, including Cap. My intention is, when I am done blogging, to print out some of my favorite posts as well as some that I am unsure about in terms of local anonymity and hand these posts to Cap in printed format. I look forward to hearing his feedback. I hope he is not offended in any way.

I suppose in some ways this is my informal "Acknowledgements" section. I would like to thank Annie and Sandy for their unwavering encouragement. They have both offered positive and constructive feedback to nearly every post in this blog. Those are some devoted friends, right there. Not only have they supported me, but they broadcast my blog widely to their friends and acquaintances. Their enthusiasm has motivated me to keep writing.

Ultimately, my goal is to produce some sort of printed version of this online journal. Annie has generously offered to assist with the graphic formatting of some form of book. This will be one of my projects this winter, when I am done with lobstering.