October 12, 2006

Blogaholics Anonymous

I'd like to welcome you all to Blogaholics Anonymous. Wow! We have a great sized group here today! Please, can everyone move their chairs back just a bit to make room for more chairs? We have some people in the back who haven't sat down yet. Come on in! Take a seat! Thank you.

Aaah, welcome! For those of you who don't know how this works, this is a support group for poeple who have admitted to themselves and possibly loved ones that they have an addiction to blogging. Nobody is asked to give their real identity here. Most of us go by our first names. We try to make this a safe zone where anything you need to say can be said without harm or judgement from others.

Our meeting consists of Sharing Time, with those people who wish to speak each taking a turn to tell others how they are doing with their addiction, although remember you don't have to share if you don't feel like it. Please start by telling your name, and how long you've been addicted to blogging. Then anything you say is up to you. There is a simple rule that we should each respect each other's right to say what's on their mind, and not to criticize or belittle anyone in the group. At the end, there are cookies, coffee, and juice on the table over there, and you can stay and chat as long as you like.

That being said, I'd like to start.

Hi, my name is Sister Mary Lisa. I've been blogging for 63 days now. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to quit. It's been so hard! I feel like my day is not complete unless I read every single blog on my blogroll, as well as those listed on the blogrolls of the blogs on my blogroll. I find it great when I discover new blogs and can't wait to find the next great blog. It's like I can't function anymore without it. And I love writing! Who knew? I thought I was only meant for creating art, but no. I love writing too. Now I have to divide my free time between the two, and right now it looks like blogging could easily take over.

I'm losing sleep because of blogging. I wish I couldn't eat because of blogging (I really need to lose a few pounds), but unfortunately it's just my sleep being affected. Oh, and my work. I'm having difficulty getting my filing done. I keep telling myself, "I'll think about that tomorrow." Hey! That makes me think of a new post I'd like to write...Scarlett O'Hara on procrastination....

Oh, sorry, my thoughts got away from me for a moment. What I'm trying to say is that blogging totally consumes me, but I don't want to get so bad in my addiction to where I have to go for the radical treatment known as HIATUS. I spit on the very idea. I'm hoping by coming to these meetings I'll find a cure for my addiction.

Thank you.

27 comments:

Bishop Rick said...

Okay, since nobody else wants to stand up, I'll go next.

My name is Bishop Rick. I have been blogging for about 6 months, and I'm a blogaholic. I read a ton of blogs and comment on many. If I am not blogging for a few days, it is because I am being held hostage by some uncontollable force, like no internet access. Sleep is not a deterrent.

Thank you.

Where's the coffee?
I like mine with creme and monkey placenta.

Cele said...

Oh, he was so bold to go second. errr welll ummm

Hi, I'm Cele. Well most people know me as Cele. I've been blogging for, well, geez I've lost track of time. Years. But I'm the worst. I just Blog hop. Here a blog, there a blog, everywhere an addictive blog. I tend to stick with blogs by writers - which ML you are good.

I visit at least six to eight blogs daily. Several times a day. They totally capture my attention. I blog before work, I blog during work, I blog after work, and before bed. If it wasn't for the sleeping pills...well you get the drift. The worst part is I only post on my blog once every few months. Everyone else is more interesting than me. So I read and support.

Oh look coffee!

Freckle Face Girl said...

Hello, my name is Steph (Freckle Face Girl) and I freely admit that I am a Blogaholic. I started my first blog in January of 2005. I was hooked within 5 months. It is always on my mind. I wish most of my friends would start blogs so I wont have to call them as much. :)

Threads of the Divine said...

Hi, My name is Simeon . . . and I'm a blogaholic. I don't really know why I'm here. I don't really have a problem like the rest of you. So I spend hours a day reading, commenting and posting . . . what's the big deal! You're the one with the problem not me! sigh My name is Simeon and I'm a blogaholic. Please help me.

Sister Mary Lisa said...

Nodding a serious nod at each person as they stand up and share. Occasionally I'm mumbling "Amen!" Rubbing shoulders of those near me.

from the ashes said...

Hi, my name is from the ashes, and I've recently become addicted to blogs, though I was doing well at keeping it far from an addition for over a year. In the past week, I've become a blogaholic.

I'm supposed to be working right now. I skip work, I skip sleep, I post, I comment, I surf.

I don't know how long I can keep up this pace. Would someone please pass the coffee so I can stay awake to blog another few hours?

Jazzy said...

I am Jazzy, I go by JazzyArtist, and I am a Blogoholic. There, I said it! I have only been blogging for a short time, but I am already completely addicted.

I can't sleep, and I can't work unless I blog.

I just...need...to post....one more....time.

May I have some more coffee, please?

Janet Kincaid said...

Hi, my name is Janet (also known as DC Rush Hour). I guess like everyone else here I'm, well, you know... addicted to blogging. It all started so innocently, though. First, my friends, Swizzies, started blogging about living as expat Americans in Switzerland and then my friend, Adriana, started blogging about the stuff she cooks for dinner. I thought, "If Swizzies and Adriana can do this, surely I can, too."

I discovered, to my horror, that Blogger made it so simple. "Just three easy steps" and I was hooked. I was high. I was euphoric. I could write about anything and nothing and people liked me. They really liked me.

Then I was picked up by DC Blogs and more people started reading and commenting. And then I started reading more and commenting more. And then I found some bloggers I really liked reading every day, like Church of the Big Sky and Big Sky Girl/Beauty and the Beltway and, and, and.... Well, you get the picture.

And now, I'm hopelessly, helplessly, horrendously addicted. Blogging has also brought out a secondary sickness for me: an afflication and affinity for alliteration. It's sick, I know.

Sigh.... Wow... I think I need help... Hm.... But first, let me check my email to see if anyone has posted a comment to my blog....

Nooooooo.... Let go of me Bishop Rick! Give me back my computer. Damn it all... Give me that...

Hey! Are those Krispy Kreme donuts over there?! I'll have one of those...

Sigh.

Sister Mary Lisa said...

Amen Janet. (Nod, nod, serious face.)

**whispering to you in your ear: Can I borrow your computer for a second please?? I'll go get you another Krispy Kreme if you say yes!**

La said...

*sigh* I don't want to stand, but I guess I really should. My name is La, I've been a blogaholic for 10 months now.

But wait a sec. What really classifies one as a blogaholic? I mean, do dreams of ways to increase traffic fit the bill? How about having conversations with commentors (in the comment section) because you check comments so often it's like real-time chat?

I'm NOT addicted. I just decided. I can quit ANY time.

Janet Kincaid said...

P.S. I love Bishop Rick's confessional. "Since nobody else wants to stand up, I'll go...."

That is so Mormon and brought back so many memories of these awkward opening minutes in Blast and Bestimony Meetings where everyone squirms and someone finally stands up and starts talking about how grateful they are for the gospel in their lives because it helped them cope with the death of their kids' gerbil and they're glad they could tell their kids that Gerby the Gerbil is with Heavenly Father and Grandma and Grandpa in the spirit world where they're waiting for Jesus to come again so we can all be reunited....

And the word reunited is a trigger for me, which starts that awful Peaches & Cream song in my head, "Reunited, 'cause it feels so good. Do-doo-da-do. Reunited, 'cause we understood..."

And it's all downhill from there.

Hey--are there any more Krispy Kremes left?

Liseysmom said...

Hello. My name is liseysmom and I started blogging about a year and a half ago. It was sporadic at first. I could go for weeks, sometimes months at a time without it. But then, I don't know... I met other people who were really into it, and before I knew it I was really hooked.

Now I have a whole folder of favorite blogs that I check at least twice a week. I'm always adding new ones - links off other blogs, links through comments.

And my own blog - well, if I don't get to update twice a week I start to feel all shaky and incomplete inside. Tonight my husband is playing poker and I am secretly grateful to be alone so I can read all my blogs in peace.

See, my husband just doesn't understand. I made him a blog but he posted once and that was it. He looks at my favorite blog folder on IE and says who are all these people?

Well, Mr. Missy-Miss, they are my BLOGFRIENDS and they GET IT.

Bishop Rick said...

Janet,

That was Peaches and Herb. Just for that, I'm not gonna let you look at the new box of KK's I just brought in.

OK, who drank all the coffee?

As LA would say...fess up!

Bishop Rick said...

Oh, and we always called it First and Sanctimony meeting.

Bishop Rick said...

Sorry Cele, I waited as long as could for you to get up, but you just sat there...winking...that incessant winking.

I can't tell if you're flirting with me or something flew into your eye.

Bishop Rick said...

SML,

I know, 4 in a row, sorry. Just wanted to say that I am not Peter Priesthood...really.

focrn - I'm not touching that one.

Sister Mary Lisa said...

Janet, don't listen to Bishop Rick. He's just emotional due to his multiple personalities warring with one another for dominance. (*COUGHMolly*COUGH*theMormon*COUGH*
andPeterPriesthoodCOUGH*COUGH*). I'll get you your own box of Krispy Kremes next meeting.

Bishop, Did you not notice that Cele got up right after you? You were busy filling your coffee mug with monkey placenta and creme and didn't hear her get up. Maybe we'd better have coffee at the end next time, so you don't miss anyone! And besides, she's winking at ME.

Now, everyone sing along with me, in honor of Peaches and Herb...

REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOOOD! REUNITED....

Cele said...

Oh God, not that song. I banned it from my Radio Station. Yes I have that one little power in this three woofer town.

And the eye is that song causing me to twitch. Asprin anyone?

Janet Kincaid said...

Bishop Rick writes Molly the Mormon!?!?






(That white space is my stunned, awestruck silence.)







That is THE MOST brilliantly AWFUL blog EVER! I don't know how you do it B.R. I actually believed all that tripe was written by some exclusionist, simpering, holier-than-thou, sanctimonious, self-righteous (is that redundant?), sweet spirited, big haired, Utah county dolt.

You're brilliant.

I bow down in humility at the altar of your greatness.

Wow.

Bishop Rick said...

Janet,

That is an unsubstantiated rumor with no merit. I still don't know why SML thinks that.

Sister Mary Lisa said...

Bishop, you can't help it that I can see into your soul. It's one of my gifts. I am with Janet, I bow down to your creative genius.

Arumpumpum.

Sister Mary Lisa

Sideon said...

I'm sorry I was late to the community confessional. I was reading the comments and had the overwhelming urge to rollerskate while listening to disco. Did anyone else have the Peaches and Herb 8-track, or was it just me?

("...Reunited, and it feels so good...")

It was Chanson and Runtu aka JLO that got me interested in blogging. Like Janet mentioned, Blogger's 1-2-3 easy steps made the fall down this rabbit hole look downright attractive and graceful. Who knew it would create such lack of sleep, such focused attention to the internet, such a deep connection with people whom you've never met?

Bishop Rick is brilliant, from what I've gathered so far. The list of brilliance also includes: SML, Janet, Eric, Cele, and Christy. (I'm getting lazy - the html coding is a pain in the ass for linky links.) There are fabulous people here in Outer Blogness. I have no idea WHO Molly the Mormon is, but she's fucking hysterical. :)

Oh - I have no intention of confessing since it's self-evident. I'm a hedonist - "pleasure for pleasure's sake" and all. Granted, there is personal responsibility in there, but that's another discussion for another time.

Be well, all.

Sister Mary Lisa said...

Sideon, better late than never! Thanks for commenting here. You took me back and I re-read all these comments and had to laugh all over again.

:)

Anonymous said...

Hi, my name is Christy, and I'm a blogaholic too. I started blogging because I found it easier to stalk other bloggers if I had my own blog. And well, one thing lead to another, and here I am.

from the ashes, will you pass that coffee my way?

Anonymous said...

Hello everybody...I guess you are the ones with the problem because I am participant #25!!
I know I have a problem because I have become emotionally attatched to total strangers!! (I need addresses for Christmas cards!!)
I have only been blogging for a couple of months...but I can't stop. I love the witty comments...especially the dirty ones!
Oh look fresh coffee...anyone have some Kalua???

Anonymous said...

I am Krom. I come from distant systems and I have within me gifts from the Great Gods of Before Time to understand the contextual horizons of this current system and the nodes that inhabit it.

And on the side, I blog at http://www.tellmeaboutit.wordpress.com where I've formed the League of Super Pals (I admit that I am quite addicted to the blogging scene). Anyone is free to come and comment, as long as you are not an insane monkey.

Sister Mary Lisa is a unique and beautiful person. Within her lies great strength and insight, and I feel fortunate to count her as my comrade in the Nerd Alliance.

- till all Nerds are one

Krom

JulieOShields said...

I come to the meeting 8 months since their was any vocal sounds in the room. I am not sure anyone in conscious enough to hear my confession...What was in that coffee anyway? I wish there was some left!

I came into the room and you are all engrossed in your laptops, furiously typing. I have been searching for a group like this, and I fear I am too late, but I will confess anyway.

It was all SML's fault. She encouraged me to start my blog, and visited it regularly. I started at first just posting on my blog and visiting hers. The problem was, She got busy with work and failed to keep up daily posting. I had to click on the links in her blogroll and now am a regular reader of blogs from many of you in this room. Part of me wants to thank you for enlightening me with your world. Part of me wants to curse you all for taking up so much of my time....

OK, I confess, the Part that wants to thank you won the battle, so please keep posting interesting thoughts that I can read. Please don't judge my non-writing replies as I try to be a part of your group. I will get better with more practice.

I have been bogging for 6 weeks.
Are you all sleeping? I think I should make more coffee to wake you all up.