Quentin Tarentino's breakfast and Uma Thurman's lunch
This blogging thing is very tricky, especially when it overlaps with real life. With blogging conventions and what-nots, the virtual-to-real life transition has been talked blogged to death. But there's also the real life-to-virtual situation, like having someone tell you about their blog, or just chancing upon the blog of someone you know, which -- since everyone blogs these days -- is not that difficult to do.
With friends or friendly acquaintances, it's not that big of a problem; drop a note to say Hi, I found your blog, things like that -- generally acceptable standards of courtesy. But then there are other people... well, the thing is that, the only reason why you know them is because you've been unwittingly thrust into a situation that you really have no other choice, such as being in the same class, or having been introduced by mutual friends (or "friends"). You're not enemies -- that's a tad dramatic -- but you simply don't have any (apparent) common points of interest, you don't laugh at the same jokes (it's a victory if you just manage to not cringe), you just don't click. And so with these people, you find yourself avoiding on the streets years later, just to avoid the awkwardness of conversation.
Then you stumble upon their online abode, and it just seems wrong. It shouldn't, because -- after all -- many of the blogs you read are of total strangers, anyway. But you get the feeling that they'd rather you not, just as you'd probably rather they not read what you write. While you're sorting out this dilemma, however, you read, and you realise -- no, you're reminded of something you know but always forget -- that beyond that seemingly impenetrable glass of awkwardness (even hostility), you're not all that different, not as long as you both think and feel, even if they are about vastly different things.
So I guess what I really want to do is to catch that evading eye once in a while, manage a polite smile, even cursory laughter at the jokes I don't understand. You never know how much it may mean to someone else, and even if it doesn't, there's nothing really to lose.
***
On a separate note, tutorials are finally settled! :) I have Tuesdays and Fridays free, which sounds like a good thing -- and it is -- but only at the expense of 10 AM-to-9 PM Thursdays.
***
Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis (Click for full strip)
With friends or friendly acquaintances, it's not that big of a problem; drop a note to say Hi, I found your blog, things like that -- generally acceptable standards of courtesy. But then there are other people... well, the thing is that, the only reason why you know them is because you've been unwittingly thrust into a situation that you really have no other choice, such as being in the same class, or having been introduced by mutual friends (or "friends"). You're not enemies -- that's a tad dramatic -- but you simply don't have any (apparent) common points of interest, you don't laugh at the same jokes (it's a victory if you just manage to not cringe), you just don't click. And so with these people, you find yourself avoiding on the streets years later, just to avoid the awkwardness of conversation.
Then you stumble upon their online abode, and it just seems wrong. It shouldn't, because -- after all -- many of the blogs you read are of total strangers, anyway. But you get the feeling that they'd rather you not, just as you'd probably rather they not read what you write. While you're sorting out this dilemma, however, you read, and you realise -- no, you're reminded of something you know but always forget -- that beyond that seemingly impenetrable glass of awkwardness (even hostility), you're not all that different, not as long as you both think and feel, even if they are about vastly different things.
So I guess what I really want to do is to catch that evading eye once in a while, manage a polite smile, even cursory laughter at the jokes I don't understand. You never know how much it may mean to someone else, and even if it doesn't, there's nothing really to lose.
***
On a separate note, tutorials are finally settled! :) I have Tuesdays and Fridays free, which sounds like a good thing -- and it is -- but only at the expense of 10 AM-to-9 PM Thursdays.
***
Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis (Click for full strip)
posted by Laughingcow at 1:02 pm
3 Comments:
reading this for the second time - nice post. it sounds strange, but because of the way some bloggers write, there are also times I feel closer to them than I do with some of my "offline" friends.
what exactly does this got to do with Quentin Tarentino and Uma Thurman?
BoY: I know what you mean. And that's what pricks me sometimes -- I wonder if I should feel bad for feeling closer to people that I really only know by their words on a screen. I guess with "online friends," you have more of a choice; you can choose which blogs you read and tailor your subscription to your own tastes. With "offline friends," there is a lot more acceptance to be honed. ;) Both have their good and bads. :)
Anonymous: It has to do with the full comic strip (you can click on that partial one to view it) -- just alluding to details that we would otherwise not have knowledge of if not for the internet. :)
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