Roll call: Who the hell is blogging?

There's networked blogs, blogger, wordpress.com, the atheist blogroll etc etc etc. Some of you are on those various networks, some of you aren't. Some of you update your blogs regularly, some of you don't.

I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel, but I read a lot of blogs. Friends - please tell me and my quiet readers (who I know are out there, based on my damn stats) if you're blogging, where your blog is, and roughly what you're blogging about.

Many of my friends also like art, philosophy, comics, blogging, religion, the Twin Cities, traveling, etc... so list yourself in the comments please, so I can add you to my list of blogs I actively check in to (and other people might check you out as well.)

Mmkay, thanks, bai!

I am *so* gonna play in all this tomorrow.

Our stairs are hiding under that snow, somewhere. (even though we shoveled a bunch of times...

our neighbors are not going to be moving their car anytime in the immediate future...

the view from the stairs you can't see...

We live across the street from a giant empty lot and a giant park, both of which are FULL of snow. Mountains and mountains of snow. Methinks the wind keeps throwing more and more in our direction. Windchill be damned, I'm SO gonna play in all that tomorrow.

What's your obsession?

The next post in my dream-making series is going to be about "things to do before you launch." I know that the path from point A to point B varies from idea to idea - what's the right path for a restaurant might not be the right path for  a rock band. I have a variety of obsessions beyond lists and planning, and blogging is among them. Right now I maintain four blogs of my own (Strong Boards, The Humanist Experience, our Wedding Blog, and this one right here), have one in the works (TBA), and I write for two other blogs as well. (The Cud and Altered Esthetics.) Blogging might seem less traditionally creative than say, painting or sculpting - but I love the art of putting together arguably interesting, helpful or entertaining content and sharing it with the world. Since I've been done with school my energy for writing is coming back quite a bit, and it's manifested itself in this way.

All work and no play makes homer something something... so I'm curious... what's your obsession, hobby, or passion?

Why and when I was baptized.

I can't remember when I started going to church; I only remember always having a lingering fear of hell and doing whatever I could to avoid that fate. I went to a Christian elementary school. In addition to quite a bit of bible reading at home and at church, I also read in school - of course. At some point I read about J.C. baptizing people in the water and from what I understood, not being baptized would prevent me from entrance into heaven.

I was terrified.

I had no idea that something else could cause me a hellish fate or block me from heaven, so I immediately asked my father if I could be baptized. He was very proud and signed me up for the classes that led up to a baptism event at my school/church.

I was the youngest person in the class by far - 8 years old I believe at the time. We were given little books and had to meet weekly for a few months in order to understand what baptism was all about. I remember little about the studies, but I remember the baptism itself and being terrified during the weeks leading up to it. What if I died before I was baptized? As far as I was concerned, you couldn't baptize me quickly enough!

The weeks of the workshop finally passed, and my baptismal time had come. I wish I had pictures of the church to share - the narrow hallways and hidden areas of my church/school are ingrained in my mind and I still dream about the areas I knew, as well as discovering new areas.

We lined up in a narrow hallway during a regular church service. At some point throughout the sermon we would be escorted out in front of the audience and baptized one by one (after answering properly if we accepted J.C. into our hearts.) I remember wearing a white robe that was much too large for me and stepping down the narrow stairs into the warm baptismal water. As my turn approached, the pastor (seeming to speak both to me and not to me) asked me my question and I answered as I believed. He gently leaned me backwards, submerging my body as I squeezed my nose tightly with my fingers to keep out the water.

As the warm, thick water lapped up to my forehead I felt a still sense of relief - but the internal fireworks I expected never came.

bible

I later learned I was christened when I was a baby. The bible I used for much of my childhood was given to me by my godparents on the day of my christening. My second childhood baptism would still have been a great experience and all, but at least I didn't have to be terrified of going to hell in the event of a prematurely young death.

Hindsight being 20/20, it's a bit sad that my young self lived a good chunk of her life in constant fear of so many things. I'd say I'm doing much better now - and mostly I am - but I still occasionally get the heebie-jeebies and run quickly up the stairs when i turn out the lights for bed. I never *really* now what's in the darkness behind me...