I'm Kind Of, Like, A Really Big Deal

So this is my first post on my first blog, and it's hard not to feel a little ... ridiculous. "Who the hell do you think you are?" says a voice in my head. "Why should anyone listen to your little musings? Do you really want to perpetuate the rampant narcissism you've complained our culture seems to be fostering? What are you doing, you big fat jerk?"

I have friends who blog, and I don't think they're idiots for doing so. I find their blogs - and others - amusing, thought-provoking, and often laugh-out-loud funny. But when it comes to my own, well, that voice...

Then I remembered this story:

On a recent trip to my home town, I was out at the Irish Pub (a fine establishment) with my best friend Shirley and saw a girl I recognized. I knew she'd gone to high school with us, but I couldn't think of her name. "Hey," I whispered to Shirley.

"WHAT?" she bellowed. (After a certain number of beers, Shirley can only bellow or speak in a stage whisper, not unlike Jack Bauer.)

"Shh!" I hissed. "The girl in the black tee-shirt, she went to high school with us. What's her name?" I was trying to be inconspicuous, since it was a small place and the girl was only a table away.

"YOU MEAN MEGAN SCULLION?"

"Dude, shut up!" I admonished. "She can hear you!"

"SO WHAT?" Shirley said, shrugging. "WHAT'S SHE GONNA DO, BLOG ABOUT IT?"

Shirley tells it like it is better, louder, and more hilariously than anyone else I've ever known. What could I say? She had a point.

And my point is, maybe I'm taking myself too seriously. Let the blogging begin!