It Was a Good, Productive Thursday

After work Thursday I had about 2 hours to kill before hitting Beer & Blog at the Frog (hey, that rhymes!), so I decided to forgo the gym and stop by the Fashion Show Mall for a quick shopping trip. For those of you who don't yet know, I am a self-proclaimed shop-a-holic, and so the idea of a "quick shopping trip" being about an hour gave me some (false) sense of control. On a sidenote, I have easily spent hundreds of dollars in 30 minutes at this mall of malls in the past. Not surprisingly, this trip was no exception. I entered with an explicit list of things to buy, none of which I exited with. Instead, I bought more new clothes - a new dressy top and a sexy, little pencil skirt, to be exact. To my credit, I would have tried on/bought more had it not been for the time constraint. Time simply flies when you're in a dressing room with a dozen or so outfits.

Anyway, on to Beer & Blog: Thursday was another fun-filled night at the Freakin' Frog. I've taken a liking to Warsteiner Premium Oktoberfest, a seasonal brew, despite the fact that Shiner Bock has been on tap for the past few weeks. I figured that I might as well drink up on the Warsteiner while its around. With my pint in hand, I made the customary rounds to chat it up (and take photos) with some of the other attendees.

About a month ago at BnB, I had met Hurricane Mikey, and he instantly became one of my favorite people. Mikey made an appearance at this week's social, too, so I made sure that I had some sit-down time with him since I don't see him often. Being the talented blogger he is, Mikey has taught me a bit from his own experiences. When we first met, he shared how he started blogging on a forum where people wrote about their Vegas travels. He lived in Arizona at the time, and took frequent trips to Las Vegas, and subsequently posted detailed entries about his adventures here. When he decided to branch out to his own blog, readers of that forum followed him to his site, and he ultimately built a loyal readership over a period of years. If you've read Hurricane Mikey's blog, you'll agree that he's witty and highly entertaining. He's pretty hip, too, if you ask me - and just as fun in person.

By my third pint, I was finally ready to sit, and Mikey was ready to have a talk with me, blogger to blogger. He prefaced the conversation by saying he had some constructive criticism to offer. Linda Lou, who was at the table with us, groaned a bit and gestured nervously at the introduction of this "constructive criticism." I laughed at Linda's reaction, primarily because I found it ironic that an accomplished writer such as herself would appear to have anxiety about criticism, and I was completely naive about what could potentially be said about my work. Nevertheless, I welcomed whatever input Mikey had to offer and braced myself for some serious examination. Besides, we were at Beer & Blog, and it was only appropriate that we discuss our blogs. Furthermore, I wanted to hear what someone else had to say about my work, a relative stranger, someone who didn't know much about me except through this channel of communication and a couple of in-person interactions.

As it turns out, Mikey enjoys my blog, but got the distinct feeling that I tend to hold back. He pointed out that I typically have a strong, engaging start, but often finish abruptly, and my posts are all just about the same length. I openly admitted that I am a wordy person, I love to write and especially be descriptive, but also feel it is important to be concise. Mikey encouraged me to just let go, and embrace my wordiness. It was then he dubbed me "Adjective Girl, a superhero with a gravity problem!" Hey, it was funny and completely suitable for the moment - how could I not take on such a title?!

So I took Mikey's advice, and went back to some of my previous posts to assess whether or not I could have developed my tales a little more. For the most part, each post was an abridged version of what I could have potentially wrote, had I not felt pressed for time or been just plain lazy. After some thought, what I ultimately concluded is that there are also some things that I prefer not to write, particularly if they reveal my innermost feelings or are details that seem insignificant in my mind, which seems like acceptable compromise for a blog. As a result, however, I'm feeling somewhat challenged, and of course that means I am totally game for giving the wordier me a try. This may just be opening up a whole new can of worms...