How To Blog

I've posted before on WHY I blog, but the new question of the month is HOW do I blog, and what is the backstory for this hobby that is growing in popularity and faddish-ness even as you read this post. So I'm going to try to post a literary glimpse into the preparation and planning that goes into every post here at Rambling Adventures. Let's take a look... behind the scenes.

The actual room where I do the blogging, dubbed The Blogging Room by the staff, is pretty sparse. Other than a small wooden table, a small laptop with wireless connection, a large La-Z-Boy recliner with Matsua Crazy-Finger Massage, a fuzzy fuchsia pole-lamp from the late 70s (ambience is everything), a blue lava lamp (ambience is everything), a microwave and pantry stocked with TGIFriday Potato Skins, a freezer with pints of Ben&Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream, a map of the Eastenr US in Russian on the large side wall, a mobile of lego concoctions from my kids hanging from the tropical palm frond ceiling fan, a bookcase full of the collected works of Eudora Welty and my wife's prize stash of Precious Moments figurines, a double-bed futon, a life-size poster of Gary Coleman under the pewter light switch, a Mr. Coffee grinder/espresso/latte machine (taking up most of the small wooden taletop), a Wilco jukebox loaded with Hank Williams and Devo tunes, a wirebound notebook for doodling pictures of passersby on the street as seen thru the large plate-glass window overlooking the Starbucks outside dining area, and an autographed LP of Stryper hanging on the back of the door - there's not much in there. Pretty bare actually.

Over there's Melanie, our statistician and fact-checker. Yes, she's very pregnant, and she'll be leaving us soon, with twins on the way any day now. She & her husband have decided to homeschool their other eleven children while taking care of the newborns. We wish them all the luck & diaper $$ they need! Wave bye, Melanie - how far apart are they now?

There's my intern, Luigi. He's 57, going back to college to get his degree in journalism. He's never seen a PC before - I keep him the other room, where a bulky IBM Electrowriter and three pallets of white-out keep him pretty busy.

Each morning at 4:45am, I arrive at the palatial digs to read my papers, drink my macchiato from the Starbucks next door (thanks, Luigi - you're the best!), and to surf the net for a little while, always on the lookout for inspiration. Sometime around 12noon, we order lunch from the Fun & Frolic Deli across the busy intersection. Usually it's just chicken salad, and it's really not all that good - but watching each week's new delivery guy dodge lunchtime traffic is, quite often & quite sadly to be honest, the highpoint of our day.

Staff Prayer Time & Chapel is at 6:45am. We normally invite a local pastor into the offices to lead (hard to get some demoninations' leaders to get up that early, if they're not on the golf course already). Joanie Kestenhauffer, local artist and musician, often comes by to try out her new tunes for our worship time - though, we're thinking of changing that, since Joanie's found a new niche for herself playing the accordian, and Luigi starts to do a very jerky and unbalanced polka that really detracts from true worship. By 9:35am, we're through with the service and ready to tackle what's left of the work day.

I almost forgot to introduce Steve, the posse control guy. I don't actually have a posse, or anything even remotely resembling an entourage at the moment. But you never know, and my daddy always told me to make sure I had someone handy for crowd control. Steve eats donuts and drinks Sprite Remix all day, asking for nothing in return except a handshake and a couple of cups of coffee (don't have to pay him, since his daddy owns the state of Delaware), and he's just fun to have around. Never ever ask him to do his impression of Jimmy Stewart going through caffeine withdrawal - the belly laughs will make you sick.

By 2pm, I am usually ready to blog. Or not - in which case I find myself lounging in the Lounging Room adjacent to the Blogging Room. This spacious room has a mattress on the floor and a set of headphones attached to the iPod for listening to the latest Ramones cover band or to the collected works of Tony Robbins. Occasionally, someone will rip Third Day or Jars of Clay - but my snoring usually disrupts the rhythms.

Melanie starts shooing us out onto the street around 4pm, needing to move furniture and lighting systems to make room for her lamaz classes every evening. She leads 14 classes a week, being an old pro at this birthing business. We're going to miss her - but not the classes.

So there you have it. From 4:45am to 4pm, it's all about blogging. And it should be. Our crack staff is up to any challenge, and we're always looking for ways to better serve humanity and our online communities - and to make a quick buck anywhere we can. After work, Luigi and I usually find a happy hour at the local ice cream and wireless internet joint around the corner - where I've been typing this post for the past 15 minutes. Don't tell Luigi this is a computer though - I told him it's my really large cellphone, and keep holding my ear down to the LCD to pull off the charade.