Partying like it's 2004

Today, I finally met Pea! (Okay, I know her blog isn't active right now, but I have a compulsive need to link, so I'll also give this link to her old blog. And she says the blog will be back up. Someday.) We've been friends since back when I started blogging ... actually, neither of us could pinpoint when it was exactly that we noticed/started reading each other's blogs, but I know it was in the early days. I'm thinking somewhere in 2003, 2004. Bygones. The point is this. We've known each other for more than 10 years and had never met before today. It's cool, people. And it was crazy how we just started talking like we'd met for lunch last week. I may not blog much these days, but I'm so happy I started way back when. It's brought some cool friends that I've met in person (hi, Duff!) and some I haven't met yet, plus I met this fella, too, and he's not so bad.

In other news of 2004, I'm finally reading Faithful, which is good considering the way the Sox season went this year. A lot has changed in the last 11 years, but a lot is still the same. The Sox are still breaking my heart, and I'm still bitchin' about it online. Good times.

Of blogs and widgets

I don't blog as much as I used to, or even as much as I'd like to -- I'd like to blame Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and the million other media tools we have now, but truthfully, it's all my own doing (or lack of doing). My love of this blog, however, is unchanged, and I stubbornly refuse to give it up, despite the world and my own life moving forward. This is all spurred, of course, by a simple thing: I had to change my Blogger template. All Consuming, my favorite site for keeping track of what I'm reading, watching, and listening to is going away, so I've had to make do with a Goodreads widget. Don't get me wrong; I like Goodreads a lot, too. It's just I'm not a fan of the widget. Bygones. You'll still be kept current on what I'm reading, which is something I'm sure you're all excited to know, and I'll still keep trying to blog more.

Ten years, man. Ten years!

I can't believe it, but this blog is 10 years old today. I started this thing when blogging was still relatively young, when I still hosted it on an angelfire.com site, and when Biz Stone was just this crazy guy who worked with me and talked me into becoming a blogger. Looking back, I'd say that blogging is probably one of the best things I've ever done. Not because my blog has made me rich and famous (it hasn't), not because my blog made me a sweet book deal (nope), but because it has made me a better writer, made me think, and most of all, has led me to make some fantastic friends -- in fact, I even met my husband-to-be through my blog. I haven't met all of you in person (yet!), but I still consider you part of my life. Even though I've slowed the blogging down considerably in recent years, I can't wait to see what the next 10 years bring.

8

I was thinking of titling this post "Jennifer: 8," but I figured not many would get the obscure movie reference. Today marks eight years of being jennifer garrett: 2,304 posts -- only 2,302 of which concerned the Red Sox, Patriots, WNBA, and/or extensive cursing on my part, so I have to call that a victory. The last year has been kind of a big one for bjg, what with getting my own domain and all. But I like to think I'm still the same, down-to-earth, code-hacked website of yesteryear. I can't imagine my life without it, and I can't wait to see what the next eight years bring.

Traditional gifts for the eight-year anniversary are bronze and pottery, so get on that, people.

Labeling

I like lists. I like organization. And thusly, since the new design and URL switch, I've been slowly going through my posts (all 2,258 of them) and organizing them into labels -- you know, WNBA, Sox, Pats, books, TV, etc. It's kind of addictive, actually, and if Blogger had a slightly better interface for doing it, I'd probably be at it all day. (You know, when I'm not working.) But it also feels a little disingenuous. I didn't have these labels all along. New readers are reaping the benefits while my faithful followers have had to suffer for years!

Oh, who am I kidding? I'm probably the only one who will ever use these labels, and that will just be to help me find that one post where I blogged about Papelbon's steely eyes.

It's either a newfound respect for the internets, or I'm in love with blogging

All the blog changes (while, at times, irritating as hell) have given me a new love of blogging. I got all excited about the blog yesterday, and I was the dork making notes about her website on her lunch break. I've also been poking around, trying to find new blogs to read -- because, let's face it, it's reading other people's really good shit that gets us inspired to at least try to match their awesome. I found a few blogs that I'm going to be checking in on, but I'd really like to find more -- it's hard, though, because it seems that everyone is specialized into tech blogs/mommy blogs. I'm not super-techy and I'm no mommy, so I'm looking for all the good stuff that's somewhere in between. Suggestions, as always, are welcomed. Also, feel free to tell me if you hate the new design. I thought it looked most like the old while still a bit fresher. Or something.

New digs

So, this is it. My new digs. I'm not 100% happy with the template, etc., but I imagine I'll be fussing with that for a long time to come. And I didn't bring the old commenting system with me -- they'll stay at the old site, and we'll just have to create new, wonderful commenting memories together, people.

All right, here's your chance: Tell me what you think!

The time has come

I've got to move my blog over sometime, and it's almost the deadline, so this weekend is it. If all goes well, you'll notice very little change. If all doesn't go well, there will be lots of swearing. Some of which may end up on my Twitter feed if I can't actually publish my blog anymore.

Wish me luck! (And if all goes according to plan, I'll have a new URL for y'all to update soon.)

Ch-ch-changes

Okay, so not only did my commenting system change on me, now Blogger is giving up the FTP option. So, I can either: quit Blogger and figure out some other blogging tool to use at my current URL; or allow Google to completely rule my life and do some shenanigans with custom domains. I really don't know what to do. J.R. just decided to call it quits for now, and sure, I've been blogging a lot less lately. But I've had this blog for seven years. Seven years! I can't give up on it now. Can I?

So, in sum, there may be a hinky URL situation coming at you soon, people. Don't say you weren't warned. Also, y'all best follow me if I move, or I'll be wicked pissed.

A long, long time ago

Five years ago, I was 27. I lived in Boston with Jen. My little sister was just graduating from college (and the Ted Williams tunnel was new!). I worked at Wellesley and had just gotten promoted to associate editor. I loved women's basketball. I watched too much TV. And I was a brand-new blogger.

Happy anniversary, bjg. We've come a long way, baby.

I don't feel any older

Yet another day has gone by, my friends, and that means it's day four of 100 days, 100 blogs, which means that I'm going to meander my ass over to another fine new site: The Swashbookler.

You may be thinking I picked this site because I'm a total book nerd who reads George Eliot for fun. Or maybe I picked it because we all know how much I love the Facts of Life, and I respect anyone who knows the details of Lisa Whelchel's sordid life. But, fuck man, I just liked the title. Though I almost ditched this site for writing, "Never trust someone from Boston." We're totally trustworthy! As long as you're not from New York. Then you better run, and you better hide, because we are going to do whatever is necessary to bring you and all your kind down. (Unless you're a Mets fan, and then maybe you're okay. Maybe.)

Oh, the places you'll go

I interviewed Michelle yesterday for my continuing look at the state of the Wellesley blogosphere. I get to interview Stone tomorrow. Both of us are going to make a concerted effort not to giggle. At any time. Ever. This is Very Serious Work I'm doing here, people. Even if I am having a great time whilst I'm doing it.

Living in the then

Inspired by TQ's look back at his very first post, I dug up what is officially my first attempt at a weblog. At the time, however, I didn't think much of my endeavors: "I was going to do one of those cheesy/sexy/cool web journal things, but I don't have the energy and who the hell would care enough to read it? I don't care enough to write it. I'll just keep you posted on my random meanderings, ramblings, thoughts, rants, and otherwise here. Mainly, I'll just use this as another tool to tell everyone what to do."

Wow. I'm still telling everyone what to do, but apparently, I do care enough to write this.

And now for something completely different

I'm having a hard time readjusting to a non-blogger-based world, i.e., I'm at work. For those of you who've seen Being John Malkovich (yes, that's where I stole my blog title), this weekend was two days of malkovich-malkovich-malkovich -- just replace "malkovich" with "blog." Luckily, I can have lunch with Stone for a small fix of blogging to ease back into the real world. I'm trying to make this the last of my BloggerCon posts because, really, it's all been done (and done better) by others. And I really need to do some things that are not hypertextualized.

That said, here's quick rundown inside the mind of JenGarrett at BloggerCon:

• Why didn't I bring my laptop? It's just as cute as everyone else's. Oh, yeah, that's right, I can't listen, think, and type at the same time. How do these people think without a pen to twirl?


• On Weblogs and Journalism: Blogs are reality TV (oh, shit, I hate reality TV). Ed Cone says that nothing is closed to the "press" anymore because everyone is a potential journalist. What does this do to the idea of being "on the record"? How does this limit the idea of the public vs. private?


• The idea of maintaing a blog "as long as it’s fun": Sometimes my blog is difficult, and frustrating, and infuriating, and … fun. Sometimes I get the most value out of a post that was the least fun to write.


• On Blogging and Education: Someone from the audience asked if blogging was a life skill, or if, like singing, some should only do it at home? Kaye Trammell said that a blog offers a voice to those who want to speak. (And I, apparently, never want to shut up.)


• Why are we using blogging in education? We're attendees of short-attention-span theater already; why should we teach students to write in short bursts, without the kind of editing we claim is valuable? Do you need to learn how to write five pages well before you learn to write five lines well?


• From the Cluetrain Manifesto: Elizabeth Spiers doesn't look how I thought she would, and somehow, her voice doesn't match her face. Adam Curry says "we're all routers." Nuh-uh, not me.

We still haven't figured out what the power of weblogs are. Gotta work on that.

A mixed bag

In honor of my scattered thought processes tonight, I give you a blog with no cohesive theme. (Yeah, like that's unusual for me).

First, I love my readers. Steve sent me a logo to iron on the back of my Blogger sweatshirt. (You all remember Steve from the great quinoa controversy of 2003.) If I can actually get the color to print right, it will look like my banner. And I think everyone should have at least one article of clothing that says my name and "Every day an adventure in mediocrity."

Second, I almost did the Friday Five today, as it relates to cars and I love cars. But I think all the answers have been posted to this blog already -- you all know I drive a beat Saturn for which I have an odd fondness, and I think we all know that if I could have any car I wanted it would either be an Eclipse (red, baby, yeah) or a Maserati (silver? red? Tough call). These are cars I would put out for. And you can't make me feel bad about that.

Third, I blame my scatteredness on two things: I spent the evening cleaning my apartment as I'm going to be gone for most of the weekend (and the visitors are coming! the visitors are coming!). And in the middle of the great sweeping extravaganza, he-who-shall-not-be-named called and threw me completely off my game. Ever notice how normally you present yourself as a reasonably sane and intelligent human being and other times you're a complete ninny? Yeah. Ninny. Big time.

BloggerCon tomorrow, bright and early. I must to bed.

Homework

As soon as I have the time, I'm visiting every freaking blog on this list. I like to be prepared.

I already visit some regularly, so I'm ahead of the game. Nice.

Oh, shit

I tweaked my code so my sideblog didn't look so ugly, and then, la-la-la-la, I just need to republish my blog so the changes will show up. Sure, no problem.

Click.

Fuck.

I just republished my entire blog. I liked that you could see my old ugly design when you visited my archives. I liked that it wasn't so busy and full of technology then. Now I've got comment spots on every blog that say (0), and my sideblog and, and ... everything.

Lesson: Don't blog after spending two weeks in Ohio, driving 16 hours, having your car break down, and then drinking two Mountain Dews. It never ends well.

Pure blogging enthusiasm

As you can probably tell by the increasing frequency of my posting, I've become addicted to blogging. Today, I shared my enthusiasm at a meeting about the medium. I could have talked about the topic for hours, but there was much work to be done to be ready for the 3,000 reunion attendees that will descend upon us tomorrow. (What's sick about this post in particular is I'm blogging standing up at an express computer terminal whilst I have a few minutes. Yes. I'm still at work. And instead of napping, eating, or just lying on the floor in a stupor, I wanted to blog.)

And this is what I wanted to blog: In the meeting today, I was the only woman. I think this is the first time that has occurred to me since I started at Wellesley in 1994. Even when I didn't work at the college, I worked in a small office with two other women. It didn't strike me until I was walking out of the meeting that I was the only estrogen representative there. I don't work in tech so this was the first time it really struck me that women are not wholly represented in this field. It particularly resonated because I've noticed that a lot of the "top" blogs are published by men. Are women less likely to blog? Or are they more likely to publish a journal-type blog, a genre which isn't as well-respected in the blogosphere?

Just to be clear

Despite some readers' fears to the contrary, all the items on my wishlist are indeed items that I wish someone would buy me.

I assure you, when I buy myself something, I rush to Amazon and remove it post-haste from my list.

Now go buy me something. (Jen, this means you.)

Blogged down

If Sideblog actually works, I'll have another blog to post to. Is the world really ready for more Jen Garrett?