Auteur : Martine

This one was written for you, Lightspeechick, you perfect monster, you dear friend of mine.

My blog is 4 years old today. Beware, I’m getting sentimental.

Mon blogue a 4 ans aujourd’hui et faites gaffe, je deviens sentimentale (en anglais en plus).

On February 5th, 2002, I started to experiment with Blogger for an article I was writing about blogs. I wrote a shy, tentative post, unsure if I was going to pursue the activity. I got my first welcoming comment from a friendly French expat in Montreal who turned out to be my next door neighbor. A month later, I went to my first Yulblog meeting and, well, the rest is history (at least to me).

1254 posts later and I can’t seem to shut up. Blogging is addictive. I’ll admit it: it has taken too much of my time (though what « too much » means could be subject to debate). But blogging has also been pretty good to me so I think I’ll keep going.

I don’t have plans for the future of this blog and I don’t know how long it will last. I’m not quite sure where it’s going either. Frankly, I don’t think it’s really « going » anywhere, but that’s okay. It’s nice to do something in life that doesn’t have a point, at least not a clear one. It’s part self-expression, part self-promotion (I am a freelancer, after all) and part obsession. It’s also good for the writer’s muscles, keeping them warm and tight.

But for all it’s brought to my little writer’s obsessions, one of the most rewarding parts of blogging has been the people it has allowed me to meet, either in person or strictly online. I have met super smart, fun, different, well-read, geeky, sexy, curious, spiritual, big hearted, gorgeous people who are now part of my daily life and who have made this all worth it. I didn’t start blogging because I wanted to meet people. It just happened. We could call it a sweet form of collateral damage, one that changes your life in unexpected ways.

You’re not convinced that blogging can be so good to you? Just think: to celebrate my blog anniversary tonight, there’s this blogger I met who is going to cook me the best osso bucco you’ve ever tasted. Nice collateral damage, eh?

It’s rainy and dark and I’ve got lots of work to do today. I needed some peaceful imagery so I stole a picture from Sniffles and turned it into my wallpaper. Now all I want to do is meditate instead of work…

The funky, wiry thing you see behind my monitor is the See-me-See-you screen which I bought recently as a gift to myself. I’m using it to separate my work space from my bedroom. The furniture company I bought it from has a warehouse close to where I live. All their pieces are made out of recycled or eco-friendly materials and they only sell to designers and furniture stores. Twice a year they open their showroom to the public and have a great sale. I almost bought this cool chair last time but changed my mind when I realized that the cat would most likely think it made a great scratching post.