Blah, Blah, Blog! Why Do I Do It?

I’m a blogger. I like being a blogger. Somebody asked me: “What is a blog, anyway?” I didn’t know how to answer. I looked it up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog Web Log. Ah ha! That’s what it is, a truncation of web log. Blogs take as many forms as there are bloggers. Some are selling goods or services. Some are written primarily for family members; sort of an expanded Facebook post to share travel adventures; others are political soap-boxes. Mine is none of those. Well, I suppose you could say I’m selling fun, or building a name for myself so when the book comes out, people will buy it. But really, I do it because it’s fun.

When I was a realtor in California, our company techie wizard advised me to blog. I did write one or two and posted it to Facebook, but I didn’t feel good about it. So, I stopped. In fact, I stopped doing real estate altogether. I was stuck in the office on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Camelot, I mean Capitola, California, staring at the phone willing it to ring with a million dollar buyer asking to buy a house right now. The phone rang. I jumped, and snatched it out of its cradle. “Monterey Bay Properties”, I chirped, feigning professional perkiness. It was my husband calling to see if I wanted him to bring me lunch. I sighed. He said: “Honey, would you rather be making no money here or in Costa Rica?”

“Hold on”, I said. I went to my desk, pulled a paper bag out of the bottom drawer, pulled the top drawer completely out of the desk and dumped the pens, markers, and paper clips, into the bag. “Okay, let’s go!”

We moved to Costa Rica and now I write.

Why do I blog? I say it in my “About” page: “The kids are grown, the cat’s out of the bag, and the stories must be told!” My life continues to be one big adventure after another. Yup, still crazy after all these years. I thought I would grow out of it, but so far, I have not. There’s more fun coming, such as the re-enactment of the Wonder Woman bungee jump I did some twenty years ago. I’m giving myself the 30 day weight-loss challenge starting … er, ah…tomorrow! Anybody want in? We could have a contest with weigh-ins and charts, and cash prizes. I just need to fit into that costume by jump day.

I started blogging in July. I had trouble learning WordPress, so I got help from a knowledgeable, patient, kind man who set me on the right path. My confidence has grown, I blog regularly, I figured how to include photos in my posts, and continue to learn and expand. I entered the Expats Top Blog contest in December, and thanks to you, my readers, won the Gold Medal.

I am honored that several people have asked me to  guest-blog for them, including Ivo Henfling at Go Dutch Realty, ivo@godutchrealty.com and Retirement and Good Living http://retirementandgoodliving.com. A well respected literary site, created by Jay Harrison, BoomSpeak, http://www.boomspeak.com has welcomed me as a contributor, about which I am thrilled!

So, my friends and cherished readers, I say “Boomers Unite!” We’re not stupid, just old. We didn’t grow up with computers, internet, photo-shop, etc. But we can learn, if we make up our minds. I am a happy blogger. I plan to post Costa Rica stories on Tuesdays, and Boomer-Memoir on Thursdays. And, of course, work on “It’s the Parsley”, the cookbook for my son’s wedding where each recipe will have a family story. These are some of this year’s goals. Along with losing 10 pounds.

I promise to “Blog-On” and thanks for reading!