So this is what a hangover is. I don’t remember this picture being taken. Why am I putting this on the internet?
I was eating a PB&J out of tinfoil during class and thinking about blogging, as I often do. I had recently read a friend’s blog that he just started a few months ago and doesn’t update very often. Its future doesn’t look good—a few more months it will likely become another blog corpse silently occupying net space. As I read his first tentative posts, I was reminded of my own blogging beginnings that stretch back to my senior year of high school.
It was a secret blog, called The Drevet (now deleted), and I posted a mere two times. The first one was the obligatory and awkward, “Hello world,” in which it seemed I was preparing to face all of humanity and be utterly rejected. It was the kind of introduction that set the bar so low even I couldn’t reach it. After only two months I stopped thinking about The Drevet and life moved on.
As I continued to reminisce and munch on my sandwich, I stumbled across another phase of beginnings: college. At this point, I suddenly realized the striking similarity between getting drunk for the first time and blogging for the first time.
When I first overindulged, not a moment before I turned twenty one (wink), I was fascinated with the very experience of it. “Wow,” I thought, “so this is what being drunk is like.” It didn’t matter what came next in the evening because we were already having an awesome time through the act of inebriation itself, which was to us was inherently interesting.
In the beginning, I was also captivated by the phenomenon of blogging. The fact I could publish whatever I wanted for strangers to read and maybe enjoy was both thrilling and terrifying. And just as newbies feel awkward around alcohol, like they’re doing something taboo and exciting, I would get nervous in front of the computer screen, staring at the blank blog post box and wondering what I would say to the world. What if someone actually read it?
As a baby lush, I felt the constant need to discuss my level of sloshedness with my fellow drinkers, “I’m not drunk guys,” “Do I seem drunk?” “I’m drunk drunk drunk drunk drunk,” etc. To everyone else this kind of blathering indicated it was time to change conversation partners. The more experienced drinkers had already found out that being drunk is not interesting or special, but to me the topic was endlessly engrossing for everyone and worth repeating dozens of time in the same night.
Similarly, in the first blog posts, I was self conscious about the fact I was blogging and tended to talk about the act itself, how it was hard to think of something to write or that I didn’t think anyone was reading it (no one was), and the end result was that I wouldn’t say anything at all and my predictions would come true. And just like a group of okay friends that get drunk at home hoping for something exciting to happen and then end up going to bed early, I wasted the potential of blogging by using it in a sarcastic and apathetic manner, only to defeat myself in the end.
Through many unfortunate nights and some unfortunate blogposts, I learned the real magic comes with a critical combination of both substance and medium: blogging and content, or alcohol and activities. But like most things, this is the kind of lesson that one must learn through their own experience, though we hope for our own sakes that newcomers learn it before anyone heads to the bathroom to vomit.
And my metaphorical vomiting days aren’t over yet. I will always be learning both how to drink better and how to blog better.
Snotting black 
I tried so hard to teach my Mexican and Honduran amigos the phrase “blowing chunks,” but they just wouldn’t learn it. Is that a name for my blog. I sure hope not. 🙂
Ah what a wonderful expression….I should have used it in the post. Alas, alas. I’ll have to blog about vomit again.
I posted a grand total of once on my first ever blog.
I’ve found the secret to making writing a blog easy is to pick a single subject I’m interested in. I’m not very good at floundering around for something insightful to say, I end up just rambling about nonsense.
And as much fun as it is to ramble (nothing wrong with it in fact), it’s not something I would expect many people to read. So I’m with you on choosing a topic and then writing. It adds much needed focus.
This made for some very entertaining morning reading material! You are incredibly dead on, and funny.
Glad you enjoyed it!
haha so true…totally agree with you!
Let’s drink to that!
Hey! Good post, and it is quite interesting to me! I set up my blog for publishing my book on it (as I write it!) so obviously I got the excited/nervous stuff at putting my stuff out to the world. However, I’ve not really done any actual bloggy blogs, if you know what I mean – they’ve all revolved around my book! There have been a couple of “sorry but my next chapter is coming v soon” blogs though, so I guess they fit the blogging about blogging you talk about! Anyway, well done on getting FP! Keep up the good work 🙂
Thanks so much and good luck on your book. Writers gotta write!
I don’t drink so that analogy doesn’t quiet fit in with me, that said, as a blogger I can imagine the connection. It’s been just over half a year for me as a blogger, and although blogging does help when improving your skills to write, make a point or encourage a debate – I find it exciting that throughout the day – I seek around me stuff to write about.
The excitement becomes an overwhelming taste of power that those so many people who actively read your blog or stumble across it can have a peek into your imagination.
It is a wonderful way to share your world. Thanks for reading.
I think it takes a while to find your blooging voice and style, much like you drink everything on earth til you find the one that results in the least painful hangover. Love your analogies and the bedside table covered in empty bottles!
I wish I could claim all of them! Alas I am not so worthy.
I’ve found that beer tends to work well for me—spiced rum not so much, especially not when you drink it out of a Solo cup without measuring. Bad. idea.
Since I am old, I am working backwards and published my memoir, then started blogging.My publisher told me to get a platform blah blah, but I became fascinated with the art and discipline of blogging and my first love poetry and social justice for the mentally ill and abused became my theme instead of a platform I can’t climb on anyway. aloha
Sounds like a great topic, something many people don’t know very much about. Aloha and thanks for stopping by.
Thank you, Please stop by for my latest blog I am about to post. It’s about how words are powerful and we should use them in the right way aloha
LOL I enjoyed your post. It reminds me of my first public post. I spent considerable time picking the name of my blog, choosing the dash board options, figuring out everything, and then I was all set…. ready to go. Gonna do this thing. I am gonna shout out to the world and let them know just how much I have to say. Let em all know how intelligent I am. Give the world some good stuff. Soon, Hollywood will be calling asking me to write movies. I can see it… I am on the red carpet accepting my Oscar. So here goes…my first post…
And I spell “Beach” wrong. Heh. But not just in the title. Not just a glaring miss-spelled title.
Oh no, I spelled it wrong all the way through the posting. I tell all my facebook friends. I twitter it out to the world. And I spelled beach – beech. The spell checker didn’t grab it because apparently, there is some tree named beech which the spell checker knew and which I was happily ignorant off until my first post. Note to self, Go to the beach for some sun, go to the beech for some shade. Take care.
NOOOOO…..spelling disaster. Damn beech trees, with their whispering green leaves. Well I hope you made a solid recovery.
I think I found the blog I’m going to keep coming back to just to learn how to blog. Loved the post.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the whimsy that characterizes most of my posts.
Thanks for this. I enjoyed reading it.
I don’t know why I bother blogging.
It’s like shouting at the top of your voice in a crowded street.and nobody listening.
I’m glad you stopped by. My theory is that the more worth you put into a post, the more people will want to read it. Get out there and comment on other people’s blogs!
Just don’t drink and blog…
😉
And certainly don’t drive at the same time.
Nice comparison but No comparison………best thing is that you have started taking blogging seriously does this mean that you have started taking drinking seriously or is it vice-versa ?
But what will happen to me ? I do not drink….does that mean that I cannot blog !
Ha Ha Ha !!!
Many congrats on being freshly pressed !
I had only once this chance in the past for my wordpress blog http://ajaykmishra.wordpress.com
My best wishes.
Thanks very much! No need to drink in order to blog–you just have to have the will to type and press publish.
What a great description is ‘blog corpse’ – ha! Your blog is great.
Thanks for reading! So many blog corpses in the closet of the net. It can be a scary place.
I have a new blog I just started, you and your followers may enjoy it.
Check it out if you get a chance and let me know what you think….am I repeating your rookie mistakes?
http://thebackpackingjournal.wordpress.com/
Welcome to the blogosphere! The biggest challenge will probably be updating consistently. Don’t look at the stats! They don’t make your content better! Will look at your blog…now!
You write really well, a natural. Congrats on being freshly pressed.
Thanks so much! I can eat peanut butter really well too….
lolol ……….. interesting to read this – comparing drinking with blogging. I never think of it. I’ve never be drunk before and will not be getting drunk any time in the future. I see that more as a degree of self-control issue – something that you want to let it be or not.
Take care before any harm is done. 😉
The blogging damage is irreversible.
great analogy, thats a really funny way to compare the two.
Glad you approve! Thanks for reading and Happy Day After St. Pat’s day.
Reminders of my blog (which i recently tossed after a good 8 years on Xanga) and my complete personality changes- I kept trying o redeem the wreckage at various times but almost to no avail. I got a good number of views due to my many posts, but overall it was unstable.
I noticed that the actual talking about blogging usually doesn’t come off too well- or one needs the proper ‘personality’ to carry talking about it to the audience. I doubt I have that ‘i can talk about my blog charismatically’ personality though.
I’m a new one on wordpress- Xanga was a rather tightknit community but I perceive WordPress to be the opposite (almost).
I used to be on Xanga too—it think you’ll find WordPress is AWESOME! Welcome and good luck on your blogging journey.
I wouldn’t say I talked about the act of drunkedness a lot but my first few blogs (which are very recent) do focus on the concept of blogging. It’s being new to the club and feeling it out.
And bloggers by nature like to talk things out. Some things just have to be said.
Honest writing style. Ethos is effective in this context. Keep up the good work.
Aye aye, Cap’n! Now I want some cereal….
Very right…. blogging is thrilling and terrifying all at the same moment… I myself had a blog in 2008, wrote for about an year and then it went into oblivion… now I am back, hoping to be consistent this time… 🙂
Chuck something or other at Terrible Minds (http://terribleminds.com/ramble/) said once that aspiring writers need to stop aspiring and start writing. I found that to be good advice.
well said… got to keep that in mind…
Nice comparison between drinking and blogging. Although I’ve never partaken of any alcoholic drinks, I thought the reference was quite humorous 😉
I just started my blog on March 1st of 2012. Sometimes it’s hard for me to write, as I’m still trying to find my voice in this magical world. But I shall carry on in my endeavours.
Thanks for the inspiration–I don’t want to be one of those people who just takes up web space!
Stay hot, everybody.
You keep it hot too—-and keep writing!
This is exactly how I felt when I began blogging. I was conscious of the fact that I was writing something that could be read by any stranger anywhere around the globe. And I wanted to write something sensible that others would feel like reading. But over time, I have realized that I should just stick to being myself and let it show through my writing/blogging. 🙂 Great work! Congrats on being Freshly Pressed! 🙂
Thanks so much! Glad you could relate!
Awesome!
It’s amazing to me that the more we try to separate ourselves as individuals, we find out how truly alike we all are!
I started my blog to tell my life story – Haven’t gotten to that part yet. Too busy observing all the nuances of today!
Thanks for this! Way fun!
Glad you enjoyed it! The good thing is that there’s no shortage of things to talk about when you take a good look. I have a list of over 200 topics that I’d like to write about one day and it keeps on growing.
Reblogged this on MyFutureBlueCat and commented:
Thanks for sharing your experience – very well written and worthy of being reblogged thousands of times!
Thanks so much! May others learn from my mistakes—all of them!
Beautiful analogy! I agree with every word, and you crafted it so well. I’m still working on the blogging part (I’m pretty good on the drinking side already, ;-), but I hope you’re right that it gets better in time. And you should know, I believe you’ve been Freshly Pressed like, how many times now? Congrats!
Two many times to count….get it?
Thanks for reading!
Very interesting. Love the analogy of drinking to blogging. Blogging can be addictive.
Yet another way the two are connected!
Interesting post. Well written. Congrats on being freshly pressed.
Thanks a lot! Scintillate on!
Fun Post!
Congrats on being Freshly Wasted….oops, my bad…I mean Freshly Pressed.
Mr. Bricks
PS Friends don’t let friends blog drunk, just sayin’
Friends also don’t let friends tweet drunk…..oh the things you can say. Thanks for reading!
if i’m drunk, or even half, i can’t write two words wroth two cents. i wish i could because it would give me an excuse to drink even more red wine.
at first, i saw the headline, and i said, “oh what a surprise. yet another FP blog about blogging. hoooowwwww original. how bullshit.”
but then i read it, and i’m not right.
I don’t know if I can write 2 words wuth $.02 when SOBER, so I usually write more than 2, haha! Nice read though! & congrats on FP!!
Thanks so much! Not many people can write two words worth 2 cents. Maybe one day I’ll get there….
Drinking and writing don’t go together for me either. Literally I lose my ability to type and I sound like one of those spammers from Nigeria trying to get people’s bank account numbers.
Thanks for reading despite the doubt—I agree the field of “blog tips” can be a crap shoot and the suspicion was well deserved.
hey. “edrevets” does that involve the name “steve’ backwards?
Super secret messages in my username….shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Kudos for being Freshly Pressed 🙂
I love the analogy, and relate to it quite a bit. This was a good read, thanks.
Thanks for coming by!
Haha, great post. I’ll bet you’re really wondering about posting that picture now that all of WordPress is watching. I’ve been there too…just when you start to loosen up, you find out there really are readers, and it gets a little scary. I think I’m older than you, yet I’m a fairly new blogger, so I get it. I read that you’re supposed to write drunk, edit sober. I really do go by that. Sometimes a glass (or 3) of wine loosens my brain up, but I never hit the publish button until the morning when I’ve reviewed what I wrote (it’s usually crap, haha). Yet sometimes I can make something out of it. My few months of blogging have taught me a) everybody won’t like your stuff and that’s okay, because they may not like you in person either, and b) there are some people who will really like your stuff. I’m learning not to try to please everyone, but it’s a journey. The thing, I think, is to be yourself. I’m still working on that too. Great post, and congrats on being Fresh Pressed…isn’t it fun?
So much fun! Someone said that the audience doesn’t make the message, and in wordpress terms I see that as the number of pageviews and followers doesn’t make your blog better. You do. Sometimes stats can be addicting, but ultimately I’ve found I have to write for myself. Unless I write a meta post for all the bloggers on WordPress.
My blog is a secret as well. I haven’t told my friends or family as I am sure they would disapprove. Congrtulation of FP!
Thank you very much!
Blogging and drinking are addictive, but what is it when you do both simultaneously?
A bad idea.
Just kidding, but seriously, for me the two don’t go together easily. Best to read those Sat. night posts in the cruel morning light.
Actually, it’s the best answer, not kidding.
you do seem to have a lot of blogging/ drinking experience :).. nice analogy and great read.. congrats on being FP (even if it’s under Food!)
For the life of me I will never understand how WordPress categorizes the Freshly Pressed…..it’s certainly a strange arithmetic.
If I were FP’d i wouldn’t bother about the category.. 🙂 you deserve the honor.. enjoy it!
Wow…Great insights! I went through some of the same experiences when I first began blogging. It’s incredibly awkward and lonely posting for the first couple times!
But hopefully you make it through the wilderness and are comfortable wearing your own blog.
Yeah, it’s comfy and seems to fit nice…Just my size!
Blogging about blogging about blogging…nice… 🙂
My brain just exploded.
Not everyone blogs out of narcissism and indulgence.
Thank God.
I think anyone who works on something that will be available to anyone and everyone to read will feel anxiety. “What if they hate it? What if I don’t notice a typo?” and, of course, the self-doubting of “Why am I doing this? No one cares if I write.” Getting past the fear of rejection and hopping onto a wagon of your own making, seems to be the first step to learning about blogging.
I’m still a novice to the trade myself but I don’t think you ever stop learning in any field of practice. I feel it’s necessary to let go of the worry of acceptance and come to the realization that, when you’re getting started it doesn’t matter if you’re popular or if people like it. The point is to write and keep writing.
CG
http://burnedcookware.wordpress.com/
Completely agree with your last sentence especially—so much of blogging is just the act of updating regularly. It’s that simple and that difficult.