IT'S MY BLOG, I WRITE IF I WANT TO

The title of this entry are words borrowing from Lesley Gore, an American singer and songwriter who was best-known for her 1963 Pop hit, "It's My Party," which she recorded at the age of 16. (Disclaimer - unlike Ms. Gore who declared that she was a lesbian, I am a happily married heterosexual woman. I am not gay, not that's anything wrong with it :) - wise words from Mr. Seinfeld). I am not gay, I repeat, I was never gay!

While my brother, Qaptain Qwerty, who does not have the luxury to search the internet for the exact spelling of the "guy who said whatever", I write as if I was still in college. Old habits from writing all the weekly essays while completing graduate program in communication at Saint Louis University are still with me. (My undergraduate degree was also in communication from Hunter College in New York City.) It would be a disservice to my readers if I did not provide the source of information or footnotes. My blog entries are written as if they were term papers submitting to professors ABC who would not hesitate to give me a B- for not citing or including a few publications, proof that I have done extensive research.

I spent a lot of time thinking about what I was going to write. After I completed each entry, I again spent a lot of time editing, revising and reading over many times before hitting the button "Publish Post". Like my brother, and many other bloggers, I am passionate about what I write in my blog. I write for myself, things I care about, trying to put into words about events that took place in my life before my memories become too blurry, but I also know there are people out there reading what I write. (I only know for sure that my brother VL reads my blog regularly.) I don't respond to any comments as I am not comfortable having further contact. I appreciate those who read my blog and sending their comments. At this time, I could only say "Thank You".

I publish on the weekends when I have more time to go over what I want to write or review what I have written. I usually come up with clever titles but fail to write something interesting or worthy to be published. I try to check my facts, spelling and include reliable sources. I freelanced for the Grand Rapids Press (Lakeshore Edition) in Holland, Michigan for about a year. How did I get that job? I sat next to the newspaper editor at a chamber luncheon and when I asked her whether the newspaper planned to cover the upcoming Lunar New Year or the growing population of Asian Americans in the area, the editor responded that they did not have reporters who could make contacts. Then she commented, "Would you be special correspondent for us and cover the Asian American community?" For almost a year, I kept my full time job while covering, interviewing and reporting events such as Tet (Vietnamese New Year), festivals, grand opening of a donut shop by a Cambodian family or a Korean/Chinese restaurant that closed on Sunday because the owner is a devote Christian.

While Qaptain Qwerty writes about computer stuff/Mac computing (I don't think the subject is boring, just that it is way beyond my head), I write passionately about sports - hockey, NFL and college football (boring and insignificant to QQ). We both write about childhood memories in Viet Nam, our early days as refugees in New York, our current employment (office politics and idiots we have to put with), and about random events in the world. While QQ posts his cartoons, since I have no talents (drawing or anything has to do with art), I try to post meaningful photos and details descriptions.

I will try to write without spending too much time thinking, editing, and revising. Blogging should be fun and in some ways, therapeutic. I feel connected with my brother thru reading his blog and writing (sharing my thoughts) in my blog. The entries about my Dad's passing allowed me to mourn and grieve the loss and the pains that was still fresh after almost 7 years. According to a research conducted by the Psychology department at the University of Texas, writing is an exercise of the heart and simply writing about issues that bothering you could help you sleep better. Expressive writing is associated with maintaining emotional and physical well-being. There you have it, blogging is good for your health. Just make sure you don't mention real people with real names, especially if you are writing negatively about your employer!

As the saying goes, "Different folks, Different Strokes", let's keep writing, whatever style, topics and passion that moves each of us. For TOTA, it's my blog, however/whenever/whichever I write if I want to.