17 September, 2006 | Leave a Comment
A year ago today I posted something on Anglofille for the first time. It’s my one-year blog-iversary! I got two hours of sleep last night (if that), but still, let’s celebrate. I’ll try to keep a lid on the self-reflection as much as possible, given that I’ve been over-dosing on that lately.
On the one-year anniversary of my first post, I would have never imagined I’d be living in Paris now, but then nothing about this past year has turned out the way I thought it would. When I started Anglofille, I had been in London for two days and at that point it seemed like I would spend all my time sending e-mails to people back home, telling them about my new life. So I decided to start a blog because I was lazy. In one of my first posts, I actually published my address — well, I wrote that I lived on Lansdowne Terrace, but there is only one building on Lansdowne Terrace, my former residence. [BTW, one of the great things about tiny Lansdowne Terrace is that taxi drivers never know where it is and this pisses them off. And to have a passenger -- an American! -- tell them how to get there made them bristle. Why do I get such perverse pleasure from such things?] Rather stupidly, I left this post up for months. The first rule of fight club blogging: Do not publish your home address.
I really didn’t like blogging at first and after a few months I was going to call it quits because it was just one more thing I had to do each day. But for some reason I stuck with it and found my voice soon after and now I guess you could say I love it.
I love it, but I feel conflicted about it. Blogging is a very egotistical pursuit, let’s face it. It’s all about me and what I think about things. I used to write a lot more about “issues” but for the past few months I’ve been completely wrapped up in the drama of my own life. It’s been a tumultuous time and I haven’t been able to look past that. But I want to start writing again about other things besides myself. I think the best blogs are converations between people — friends and strangers and other bloggers — about life and the world we live in.
I also feel conflicted because blogging takes time away from my fiction writing. I believe that a person only has so much creative energy available to her in one day and this energy is precious. I spend quite a bit of it on my blog and that’s the only downside. But I justify it by telling myself that I do this instead of keeping a journal. I’m not a person who has ever kept a journal. That’s rather strange for a writer, but I have never been able to do it with any regularity. And so in many ways, this blog is my journal, a record of what I’m doing and thinking and feeling during this time in my life. And it’s certainly helped me put my London (and now Paris) experiences into perspective, because I have to think about how I’ll write about it. And so it forces me to slow down and observe more closely what’s going on around me. And that’s a good thing and it’s something that will benefit my fiction writing.
The most surprising thing about blogging has been the fact that I’ve made friends this way. I never thought this would happen and it has been a delightful benefit. I also think of those of you who comment regularly as friends, even if I don’t know you personally. I think Hallmark should invent a line of cards for blog-commenters, don’t you?
Now that I’ve relocated to France, my readership has increased (not sure why) but my UK readers have dwindled quite a bit. I’ll try not to take this personally! To those of you in the UK still reading, I just want to thank you for being good-natured about the stuff I published on Anglofille over the last year. I know I can be quite opinionated and I hope I didn’t unintentionally offend anyone with my observations or assumptions about life in the UK. People rarely expressed any such sentiments to me, but I just want you all to know that I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for your culture — otherwise, I wouldn’t have spent so much time trying to figure it out.
I must also thank The Vol Abroad for being the first blogger to link to me. Her blog introduced me to the other American expat bloggers in London and made me feel like my blog was part of a larger community. I think that played a large part in my decision to stick with it in the early days.
[This is starting to sound like an Oscar acceptance speech -- sorry!]
So just to recap the past year, a few lists:
Most Popular Posts (meaning, posts with the most hits, mostly because of links from other websites and Google searches):
[Calling All Perverts is the only post on this list that I like. Two of them -- and I think you know which ones -- are quite embarrassing and not very good.]
Most Popular Google Searches (aside from “Anglofille”) that have led people to my blog (in order):
Girlkind (I think I only used this term once. Apparently it’s not used too often. Pity.)
Bloodline of Jesus Christ (Huh? One of my Da Vinci Code rants, I guess)
Gwyneth Paltrow Planned Parenthood (Could be any number of posts!)
Tesco Express Russell Square (Apparently, my smear campaign against this wretched place really took off! When my friends visited London this summer, they were soooo excited to see this place in person.)
The Skinniest Woman Alive (Yes, that’s me! This actually refers to an old post that, when I switched over to WordPress, got accidentally deleted along with several others. Oops.)
Most Insane Moments: These would have to be the posts surrounding my move from London, which exposed the way in which I handle stress (not well) and my extreme emotional vulnerability after a very difficult few months. I wish I could erase these posts…I want to, but that’s cheating.
Favorite Headline: The Blair Ditch Project
Favorite Photo: Tulips.
One of My Favorite Posts: My write-up on Postman’s Park and the accompanying video. Several people have told me they visited Postman’s Park as a result of this post, which makes me very happy. It’s a gem of a place and one of my favorite spots in London.
I could go on, but I won’t. Time to wrap up this birthday and start year two. [Heaven help me.] I have no idea whether I’ll be doing this next year at this time. Maybe. Maybe not. Time will tell.
Big hug to all of you who bother to read this thing, who make comments and link here! xoxo
Anglofille said @ 11:21 am | blogging + technology |
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Cathy Ann Vandegrift Says:
September 17th, 2006 at 2:53 pmCongratulations! I read your Blog everyday and enjoy most of the postings.
Hope you are feeling better.
CAV
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Anita Says:
September 17th, 2006 at 8:46 pmSometimes I think you’re absolutely wacky but that’s all part of the fun. Happy birthday.
