Does anybody read these?

The Power of the 'Net

I've been thinking about the vast expanse of the Internet and its effect on our lives.

As I write this, I am sitting on a laptop computer, attached to no cables whatsoever, in the dining room of my house in my PJs. (Yes, I know it's 4 p.m. here. Don't judge.) I'm on a hill somewhere in the backwoods of Ohio. (Yes, it is a miracle that we have DSL here.)

Most of you (some of my friends included) have never met me. Many of you never will. Some of you have been to my home or welcomed me into yours. Some of you have known me since I didn't have all my own teeth. Some of you will probably be going to Bingo with me when I start to lose my own teeth again (which could be sooner than later if I don't get a job, and dental insurance). Yet, you are my audience. You are from Australia, the Philipines, Texas, California, Indiana, and Colorado, just to name a few. Many of you also hide behind the anonymity of your computer and share your thoughts with the world, as well.

That's what we're doing here. Sharing our thoughts with the world. Some people have a purpose with their weblogs. Others, myself included, pretty much think of this as an online diary. I just write my thoughts out and instead of keeping them to myself, I hit "publish" and the whole world gets a glimpse into my mind and my soul. Somedays I make no sense. I went back to the archives yesterday, and this blog really is a reflection of my life over the past six months. That's very cool. And for one reason or another, I don't care that strangers are seeing what I have to say here. I guess it's because most of you I'll never meet, so if you see something you don't like here then I may not ever know it. This is just me, take it or leave it.

Yesterday, I blogged about the fine priest who stopped by Rosalie's little home on the Web. Rosalie, good Baptist that she is, had no idea what SJ meant. Of course, after I posted that, I figured the good Father would stop by my blog. So I was talking to Toma last night.

L: So this priest stopped by Rosalie's blog today.
T: Yeah?
L: Yep, I blogged about it.
T: Going to read. BRB.
T: I'm back. Loved your post about the reunion.
L: So, while you were gone I was thinking about a priest reading my blog. I'm kind of crazy, you know.
T: Well, I'm not Catholic, but every priest I know has a great sense of humor.
L: You know, me too. And besides, "the adventures of a slightly reformed stereotypical Catholic school girl" is kind of my schtick.
T: And you do it so well.

So, no worries. I am still me. I'm still a little crazy, but there's a bit of a nun hiding inside of me. I let my hair down, but I still teach Sunday School every Sunday. Toma said today that I'm a Catholic who gets it. I don't go to Church out of fear and obligation. And I do get it. I don't agree with everything 100% all the time, but I consider myself to be a good Catholic and a good Christian.

Anyhow, I can see who ends up on my blog from Google. And Toma's right. The odds of a priest ending up here (although how would I know if they leave no notes for me!) are probably better than Rosalie's. Being Catholic flavors a lot of my posts because it's a huge part of my life. I talk about nuns and habits and Ash Wednesday (although surprisingly, not so much). I subject you to tails from high school and Sunday school and links to liturgical music. You're all troopers for sticking with me, by the way.

So, priest or no priest in the audience, at some point I am going to have to blog about the two-week freak-out and how my tanning got delayed with being ill and I'm way too white for anyone to see me naked even if I did decide to go that route (which at this point I am firmly entrenched in my first-date/second-base rule).

Oh, and the song of the day? I know I've neglected it beyond belief. I suck at it. It should be called "song of the every two weeks." Anyhow, today it is the new duet by Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood. It's so appropriate for them. And right now, where I'm in my life. Perfect.

This is the chorus:

No way over it
No way around it
If we want it
We have to go through it
Fight for love
And the world tries to break us down
But the world will bend
And the fight will end
Love will always win

Rosalie, I hope you like it, because I may have to listen repeatedly as part of my pep talk.

But more about the two-week freak-out later. I really should feign productivity before the others get suspicious.

posted by Laura at 2:50 PM