ONLINE PARTY

Blogging for me lately has been like a party where I keep falling into different conversations with different sets and combinations of people and never settle on any one group with which to permanently bond.

I pick up readers, I lose readers. People who used to comment all the time no longer leave comments, yet have the time to leave them on other blogs-- this is akin to looking across the room and seeing someone at the party that you were having a conversation with as they are talking to someone else with whom they are having more apparent fun.

Likewise, as the party progresses, I find new people to talk to, to listen to, to fellowship with... this is like finding new comments on my blog or in my e-mail, and appreciating the gesture.

And then, of course, at every party there are the friends that you brought with you, who always seem to come back to you at some point to compare notes. They are absent for a spell, but they always make their way back to you, just for an update.

Like most parties I attend, there I am, stirring up shit and offending people with my steadfast insistence that I am right and they are wrong. However, online arguing is vastly different from doing it in real life. For one thing, most people say things online that they would NEVER dare say in the flesh. Fortunately, I do not possess this trait-- in fact, I think I'm more offensive in person than online, if it is possible. I may not have any tact, but I've got balls, and I'll say whatever I want to say and stare you down if you threaten to kick my ass. To me, it's too easy to tell someone they're full of shit on the Internet. Next party you go to, try telling the big burly jock that he's an asswipe to their face-- the fact that I've never been pounded for the outrageous shit I throw out is a testament to my savvy. Arguing online removes all the context, all the nuances... in person, coming out of my mouth, the things I say aren't as mean-spirited as they appear in the written form. They have intricate layers of meaning, something that is almost impossible to duplicate online.

Let me say right now that I am not a party person. Sure, I like to party, and I go to parties when I'm invited. But I play the wall, or float through the intertwining circles looking for someone with something interesting to say, even if it is far removed from my personal experience... ESPECIALLY if it is far removed from my personal experience!

I'm bolder online when it comes to introductions. In person, I won't talk to you unless I've been properly intoduced. Online, I don't give a fuck. I'll say "hi" to you whether you like it or not. I'm also easier to ditch online-- at the party, I might end up boring you unknowingly, and following you around until you tell me you have to leave... only to spend the next hour talking to another group of people while I glower at you from the other side of the room.

So this is what it's all about, eh? Well, if so, maybe I should sneak out of the party with a few friends, make a run to the liquor store, and come back when all the squares have left because they have to get up the next day and work. Then, the REAL party can commence, without having to deal with all the wet blankets.

Who's with me?

(Whoa... I thought there'd be more, but I'll make do with what I've got. Come on-- let's go to the 7-11 and stock up on goods before the clock strikes two...)