Eulogy for a person who’s still alive
October 5, 2013
The last thing Kelly would have wanted would have been to have to talk about herself, especially if it were in the third person. It’s true that if you were talking to her, she’d frequently interrupt with “related stories,” but they were always in the first person. She liked to think of it as an endearing personality quirk—the stories were related—but in the end she figured that she likely was just annoying to the other speaker. She tried to control the impulse with only moderate success. The issue probably stemmed from her general enthusiasm for things she liked and her desire to seem relevant.
Which is not to say that she liked people—she’d be the first to tell you that she didn’t. But sometimes actions—or interruptions—spoke louder than words.
Kelly liked to say that she inherited the best from each of her parents. Her mother was an extrovert and loved talking to anybody who would listen, and even if they wouldn’t. She, too, was generally enthusiastic about most things. Kelly’s father, on the other hand, was a quieter, more reserved sort who never made a spectacle of himself. So though Kelly knew that she often was loud and boisterous in her enthusiasm, she pretended that she knew when to dial it back and stop the stampede. Moderate success.
Anybody who is a friend of Kelly’s knows that in recent years, two of the things she was most enthusiastic about were writing and craft beer. And if you asked Kelly herself, she’d tell you that one of her favorite activities was to write her blog while she was drinking beer—and getting kind of tipsy while doing it. If she were here right now, which we know she is in spirit, she’d want everyone to stop moping and go enjoy something you love.
One of the things Kelly wouldn’t hesitate to say she loved most was London, England. She had hoped to move there one day but unfortunately, that’s a dream which will now remain unfulfilled. And that seems like a good way to draw this to a conclusion. If she were here now and succumbing to clichés, she’d say, “Go for it!” One of her philosophies of life was that you won’t know if you don’t ask which, on occasion, led to awkward moments. But she felt that though the answer might have been no, it might well have been yes. And if it would have been yes, wouldn’t you be disappointed not to have found that out?
Blogger Idol
September 21, 2013
You’ve heard me mention before—I’m impressionable. So when my friend casually mentioned that I should enter this year’s Blogger Idol contest, that was pretty much all it took. For the last week, that notion has been niggling in the back of my brain and now that the deadline for auditioning is all but past, I’ve decided that I must spring into action and put myself out there to be judged by the world.
Of course, as a public blog under my own, real name, it’s already out there being judged by the world. Only now, if I’m chosen to continue, I’m going to have to do things to actually promote and try to improve it and gain readership.
It’s not that my goal is to make this some big thing. I write for myself, and if a few people pause to read an entry or two, well, that’s just dandy. I write because I like to write.
But I do like a challenge. And one of my favorite methods of blogging is if I am given a topic. My source used to be a website that engaged in daily “assignments.” Most often that would amount to taking a photo based on some community-voted theme. I would use my photo as the jumping-off point for some writing. That website petered out and so did the frequency of my blogging.
But recently, that wonderful blogger Chantelle over at Fat Mum Slim posted a list of fifty topic ideas, and that was just the jump-starter I needed. I have written through #7 and I have #8 ready to go. I’ve managed not to study the list too hard, so that each next topic is fairly unpremeditated. I like it that way.
And that’s why this Blogger Idol contest is interesting to me. Sure, I could win great prizes like money to spend on Marware, whose awesome leather iBook laptop satchel I have owned and loved for years, and a host of other web-, design-, and life-related services. But the real appeal is the chance to participate in the weekly assignments over which I will have no control. That’s just the way I like it!
So watch this space, as they say! If I pass the audition, I’ll post updates on how you can help pull me through from week to week.
Thanks for reading!
Kelly’s Unnecessary Blog 