Poshdeluxe

travis: writing to reach you

so, a while back, matt asked me if i would like to be in an e-book about blogging. and i was totally flattered, even though i think e-books are kinda… 2001. i mean, who reads e-books?

no offense.

or maybe *most* bloggers read e-books, cos everything they do is on a computer, including ordering pizza (remember how cray it was when sandra bullock ordered pizza via the www in “the net”? oh, no one else saw that movie? cos no one else was obsessed with jeremy northam? ok then). i think maybe i’m a bad blogger sometimes, cos i’m not all entrepreneurial about it and i don’t have ads on my page or magazines requesting interviews with me (although wouldn’t it be cool if you could buy stock in this blog?!! and then we could have shareholders meetings at mugshots and also the park!). plus i actually *have* a full time job.

but guess what? that’s what this e-book is all about! i think? so today, for the purposes of the e-book, i’m writing about how i blog while i’m at work. and i know that sounds really boring, so i’m going to try to spice it up for you As Much As Possible.

but i can’t use any copyrighted images, so my plan of throwing in a few pics of puppies and christian bale isn’t gonna really pan out.

anyway, without further ado, here is how the magic happens.

every morning, i get to work, open up google reader and drink some coffee. this may not sound that connected to my blog entries, but trust me, i’m like amy winehouse when it comes to caffeine. sans the atrocious ballet slippers and incarcerated husband.

i read a LOT of blogs, including jezebel, perez, feministing, austinist (even though i think it’s laaaame), anaka’s diary, various music blogs and of course, the blogs of my friends. whenever i find something particularly interesting, i save it as a link for that day’s blog. usually these things will end up at the end of my entry, but sometimes an article or story will give me actual writing material.

mostly, though, my blog entries come from either stuff i do, like trips and alamo events, or little thoughts and wonderings that have wiggled their way through my subconscious like tiny garden worms. um, gross. unless the worms have little faces. then, yay!

in general, my job is pretty easy and mindless, so i can spend most of the day mulling ideas over in my head. when things are busy, it gets a little tricky, but because i’ve made blogging such a habit, i always keep tossing possibilities around in the back of my mind no matter what’s going on in the office. sometimes, this can smell vaguely of homework, which is *annoying.* but usually, my brain likes the challenge.

although, unlike homework, you don’t get stickers for good blogging. i’m sorry to tell you this, but it’s true. and i’m not talking about, uh, “e-props” even though i *am* writing this for an e-book (sigh). i mean, like, a sticker with a bunch of grapes that says GRAPE JOB! or an “A+!” scratch ‘n’ sniff apple. if anyone wants to look into virtual stickers, that would make a great e-book.

anyway

throughout the day i think about possible entries, and i keep surfing the web and emailing friends and occasionally, i look out of my lovely office window:

i always write my blog at the end of the day, cos i’ve found that i need the PRESSURE to write something that’s actually passable. and there’s nothing that says pressure like “OMG! it’s already 5:00 and ten people will be checking my blog tonight and what if there’s nothing new for them to read? THEY’LL NEVER COME BACK.” i mean, we’re talking high stakes, you guys.

when i start typing up my entry, it’s all about the stream of consciousness. my fingers hear words in my brain and then type-ity type type type pants!!

i wear warmers cos my hands get cold, btw. and also cos they help me feel punk rock while sitting behind a desk.

sometimes i get stuck, and then i make this face.

and then i squish my dwight head stress ball a few times.

and then i eat my afternoon snack, cos afternoon snacks are essential for success.

TASTY BUSINESS!

after i’ve typed up a draft of my entry, i read it over a few times. i like my blog to sound like me, cos, well, it’s easier than sounding like someone else.

and then i hit this button that says “publish.”

and then sometimes my blog suddenly disappears into the void of the internet which REALLY MAKES ME ANGRY and then i have no more snack left and usually i hammer out a brief I AM REALLY ANGRY post and call it a day.

but usually, *usually*, the blog is published and then the next morning, i get to read everyone’s responses! and since i have such incredibly intelligent and pithy friends, the comments are pretty much my favorite part of blogging.

hmm… did i leave anything out? oh yeah.

so now you know the truth about how my blog is made. not as exciting as orange crayons, but hey, what is?

LINKS

first, major E-PROPS to becky for sending me that photo of the puppy with a cast.

OMG!!! just when i thought “step up 2″ was the perfect movie… they’re making “step up 3″… in 3D!!!!!!! SWEET CRACKER SANDWICH.

anyone want to knit me a cozy for my french press? i’m serious. i will pay you. and then my fp will be all warm and snuggly!

josh posted this link on his blog, but it’s just so awesome, that i have to post it here also. imagine garfield… without garfield. therefore, imagine awesome.

did anyone catch the perez post about scarjo’s album, which david bowie called “twice cool”? dude. only david bowie could get away with that phrase. it’s, like, the new “double true”!