Saturday, January 17, 2004

Xanga 101, sec. 001: Xanga and Me...

After being reminded that I've been a Xangan for over 200 days now, I've been thinking about getting Xanga Premium... again. The editing tools are beginning to sound attractive. I usually do my own HTML to create tables and position pix on this page. It's easy enough to do, but it take more time than perhaps I should be spending on Xanga. The x-Tools could cut down on my time... But that's the rub. If I get Premeum, I could do so many other things that I'm afraid I'd end up spending even MORE time on Xanga. This is truly turning into an addiction.

Like any addiction, there is a beginning. It started with Mr_Mephisto back in June 2003. She was going to Japan and told me to read her Xanga where she would keep everyone updated on her activities. I should have politely said, "That's nice," and ignored her, but noooooooooooooo. First, I can't ignore my students, and second, as the curious sort, I had to look and see what this blog thing was all about. I soon learned that I couldn't leave a comment unless I too became a Xangan, registered just to make comments. But this blog thing, hmmm... A place where you can write about anything you want in a sorta random way, a place where you can get comments/input from others... My interest piqued, I decided to try writing a log myself. At first, I thought that: "I would provide personal thoughts on my life and the world around me. I might even use it as a sounding board to talk about my research; y'know, a way to talk to myself, to see how my current thoughts look like in text form."

Well, the research part has kinda gotten lost somewhere, but I continue to write about my personal thoughts on things around me. But what got me hooked were the comments. As I mentioned a few days ago, e-props aren't that important, but I do place a load of stock in comments. It tells me--or anyone, I think--that people are interested in you or what you have to say enough to respond to you. That is, of course, narcissistic, but it is also true. Don't we all wanna be loved? After I posted my first entry, I was so excited to get a comment. When I clicked to read it said; "Congratulations on your first post! The Xanga Community welcomes you. Good luck and happy weblogging!" from TheXangaTeam... Hahahahahah! Oh well, no big deal. But from the next day I received a comment from students Mr_Mephisto and GDub1983 (who has since started a new blog). But what really grabbed me was the comment from Tiggerj. It was the first comment I received from someone I did not know. After joining the JapanII blogring, I received comments from Sleetse and Taku79 as well. I was hooked. I never knew how inspiring and moving it was to get comments from total strangers... So you guys--Mr_Mephisto, Gdub1983, tiggerj, sleetse, taku79--are the reason why I'm so stuck on Xanga. I don't know whether to kiss you or slug you!

So why did you become a Xangan?

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