The Adventures of Cowboy Hazel

It’s 2008 and I’m writing my first blog entry ever. Clearly, I’m half a decade behind the bandwagon. Before I begin this thing, I think it makes sense for me to explain both why I never had a blog before and also why I’m starting one now.

Although I haven’t been writing in a blog, I have been keeping various journals for a number of years. Up until now, I’ve found that journals were a better choice for me because:

• Writing without inhibition provides catharsis. Knowing that people might read your writing could limit the therapeutic value by imposing self-censorship, both consciously and unconsciously.
• I don’t have grandiose delusions and therefore don’t anticipate that anyone really wants to take the time out of their day to read about mine.
• Blogs are for nerds.

So why the switch? Those seem like good enough reasons for not writing a blog, don’t they? Well, they were, but even better reasons have come up for me to switch from the journal to the blog:

• Eventually someone will find your journal and it will become public. So, having stuff written that you don’t want anyone else to see becomes a liability. Just write for the public and then there’s not an issue.
• Putting a blog up on the internet doesn’t necessarily mean that you think that anyone’s reading it. They might and then again, they might not. It really doesn’t matter to me. I was going to write it anyway, so why not put it up there in case someone is really bored or wants to stalk me and read all about my life?
• I’ve recently made peace with the fact that I’m a nerd. So, I guess it makes sense that I should have a blog. Plus, as I’ve been doing more research on S.E.O., I’m finding that blog entries are a great way to promote sites and products that I like. It would be good to have a place to throw a “shout-out” to my friends here and there.

Okay, so now I’ve explained why I’m writing this. Let me now give a brief explanation of what I’m going to be writing. As mentioned before, this is going to be, in large part, a replacement of my journal. I’m not the type that writes about every little thing that happened in my day, even when I’m writing for myself. Nobody, including me, wants to hear that crap. Instead, I’ll describe funny scenes and quotes that are experienced and overheard. Being that I live in NYC, there is no shortage of these humorous situations. And then, if something particularly dramatic happens in my life, there’s a good chance I’ll mention it and elaborate on it a bit. More often, however, I’ll just be writing my thoughts on different subjects. I’ll read an article in The Economist or The New York Times and it will piss me off and I’ll need to vent. Guess where I’m going to do that? Good guess.

Well, that’s about all I have time for tonight. If you enjoyed this introduction, you’ll probably enjoy what I’ll have to say in the future. If you didn’t, you’re probably not still reading so I’m not even going to bother talking to you.