So I mentioned that we moved to my hometown, but I haven't mentioned the name. Why? I don't really know, but it seems prudent. I was careful to not mention the actual name of where I lived before in my blog, until right before we moved. Originally I did it for anyonymity, then later I realized someone might google the name of the town and come up with me. To that end I didn't want to mention the town, although I know a few of you know where it is, because you know the area well enough to figure it out, or I told you at some point in the past. So it's really not a secret, but I am not sure if I should just put it out there. I bring this up mostly because I'd like to blog some about the town and the area, without inviting stalkers or the ire of the small town. (I hate if they ran me out of town with pitchforks, again.)
Blogging can be and is often an intensely personal thing. Much like any sharing we do. I have often wondered if I have shared too much info, especially about my marriage. I have pondered that quite a bit, where do I cross the line of getting things off my chest, but not defaming my husband, my marriage or marriage in general. While my husband and some of my family know about my blog, and I don't go to great lengths to keep it secret, I am not promoting it either. Some of my friends know about and others don't. I feel strange about the compartmentalization of my life. I notice others out there are open to friends and family and some are not. For instance, I have never mentioned my myspace account on here, and yet I have at least two people on my friends list who are from MSN blogs. I guess I wondered about the prudence of possibly leading them back to here. (I wonder if it is prudent to use the word prudent so many times in one entry.)
If I have talked about someone like in the case of Dr. Y, I have tried to protect his identity by not directly naming him or where he works. I don't think I said anything he would disapprove of, yet I'd hate for that to come up on a search hit for him either. While I think those qualities are endearing, someone else may not. (Cowboys chewing chaw, chaff computer users.)
When I think about all this secrecy and compartmentalization of my life I wonder if I don't have some sort of deep seated psychological problem. Even as a teenager when I dreamed of being a writer, part of the fun was having a pseudonym so that no one would know that awesome writer was me. Of course at some point my real identity was discovered and everyone loved me. (There you have it, my deep seated desire to be popular. Please stop laughing about the "awesome wirter" comment now, you might hurt yourself.)
I ramble on because I wonder:
Do you keep your blog from family and friends?
Do you keep your location secret?
Please share your reasons why, I swear not to blackmail anyone in the future.
3 comments:
Hi,
I have not told my family about the blog, although my husband knows and my closest friends know. He mentioned it to my mom but I know she hasn't seen it. I say what state I live in (Maine), and I mention local places, but otherwise my home remains anonymous. It is a small world.
Sometimes I write about my first husband and his death, which is more an excercise of airing my demons than looking for comments and responses. People have mentioned to me that they don't know what to say, but I really don't expect them to say anything. It's just a cheap form of therapy for me. I know it probably makes people uncomfortable, but it's my blog!
I probably give out too much information, but a lot of the stuff I write about has to do with the area that I live in. I sometimes wish some of the people I know didn't know about my blog.
I'm on MySpace too.
I really like reading your blog. I feel like it's like reading Barbara Kingsolver in a way. I suppose too that where you are seems so exotic compared to New England. Boiled dinners and Yankee traditions seem so blah compared to chilis and the sky you describe.
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