Why I am sooooooo important

It's true that back when I was a grad student griping about the MLA convention and whether to wear flip-flops to class, no one gave two figs about my blog. I hesitate to say now that anyone gives a fig and a half about it, but as part of my transformation from grad student to professor, I now have more students, former students, colleagues, deans and trustees interested in my whereabouts, my professional activities, my spare time, my interest (or lack thereof) in faculty meetings, and my general state of contentedness, lackadaisicalness or disgruntlement. I was quite aware of this, and had made sure my blog was not "searchable" -- that is, you couldn't stumble upon it through a Google search -- and also that it wasn't slanderous to friend nor foe (the SJBlog merely strives for humor and transparency, you see).

Then, yesterday, I caught wind of a rumor that a former student had found it. I'm not sure how, I'm not sure where, but if one of 'em finds it, they'll all eventually find it. And I just can't maintain my professorial poise 24-7, 365 days a year, online and in real life. It's hard enough not wearing jeans to campus 5 days a week, people.

So, the blog's on lockdown. That is to say, it is a blog open by permission of its author, who is quite liberal about who reads it, as long as the reader is not a) a student, b) a stranger, or c) someone who will be voting on my tenure case.

I know some of you applaud these extreme measures and some mourn for a simpler time on the interweb when we could let it all hang out, but these are the times we live in, and this is the lot we have been given. Other than that, not much has changed.

The view from 11,090 feet

Dearest blog readers,
I do not fault you for abandoning me. I would have done the same. Frankly, between faculty meetings, teaching, and the students' demands that I hold office hours from midnight to four a.m., the SJBlog got lost in a second year haze. But classes are finally over, summer is here, and this past weekend I not only climbed a mountain but read a book unrelated to work. The shards of glass and Malbec have been swept from my office, my garden is growing nicely, and the dog has a new collar that doesn't pinch her neck. We're all quite content.

Meanwhile, the summer is for research, travels, grilling, weeding, Wilco and a wedding. There will be walks to the farmer's market. And bike rides. Books cracked and articles authored. Jam will be made. "Mad Men" watched and shuddered at. All attempts to avoid the passive voice will be ignored. I have some thoughts about resurrecting the SJBlog as a place to keep track of (fun) (and fun in the way that only books about your narrow field of study can be fun) books, trips, movies and minutia. Oh wait, that's what I was doing. Well, we'll see.

I think I've been down this road of blog-doubt before (and even before that), but it's probably true that the unexamined blog is not worth blogging. I still read blogs, a few of which are not authored by my talented boyfriend, so maybe they still have a place in this saturated world of online transparency? At the very least as a self-indulgent procrastination tool, which is, you know, what they always were to me. See you again soon.

Yours very truly and sincerely and fondly,
The SJBlog

10% of Us

This article in this morning's New York Times, based on research by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, claims that one in ten Internet-using Americans have a blog.

That seems like waaaaaaaaaay too many blogs, people. No wonder no one's commenting on mine. You're all reading 100 other blogs, aren't you? Then again, the fact that there are so many blogs doesn't necessarily mean that an equivalent number of people are reading them.

Some days I think blogging is the biggest self-important waste of time I've ever encountered; some days I find it entertaining enough to ignore the other days.

Still, I have mixed emotions about identifying myself with 10% of the country. Does that 10% also watch reality television and eat Hot Pockets? Because I'm not like them. Do they edge their lawns and order frapuccinos? Because I'm not like them either. Do they listen to NPR and walk their dogs every morning? Because I might be like them.

How Many Bloggers Does it Take to Dial a Phone?

The setting: A Chinese noodle joint in D.C.
The appointed hour: 8:20 pm on Friday, February 29th, 2008
The players: A veritable king's court of bloggers from up and down the Eastern seaboard -- The Grand Marnier, dl004d, the Rock Critic, Mr. Gray Pages, Enchanted Pants and the SJB.
The scene: Simultaneous phone calls to absent player SKBK, celebrating her 8th birthday in Florida.













The results: Phone lines tangled from Miami to D.C.; bloggers known to communicate mainly through Twitter entries and well-penned cutting criticism of the minutia of everyday life left to fend for themselves through verbal modes of dialogue; inside jokes, shocking revelations, one-liners, debates and counterattacks, phone messages embedded inside phone messages, accusations of incestuous relationships across high school, college and post-college boundaries; Blackberries pitted against iPhones; competing claims to the role of Crusty Old Dean in the hit one act play "Update #4: A Door!"; Rooster sauce attacking green sauce; chicken noodle eaters besting beef noodle eaters; widespread suspicion as to how many of us will blog about this... and who will win...

The SJB Returns, and blueberries

AMHERST, MASS. -- I realize that my blog readership has probably dwindled down to a select few after my long absence, but here it is, the middle of August, and since I last set foot in the blogosphere, I've been to Ireland, moved to Massachusetts, driven to Brooklyn and back in a day (not recommended), and bought a hybrid car. I have arrived!

More updates to follow now that I'm wired for action. For now, however, I will placate you with this photo of wild blueberries from the forests of Northern Wisconsin. Visitors to my new faculty housing estate in Amherst may be offered handpicked wild Wisconsin blueberries from the stash in my freezer. Tempted?

Keeping up with dl004d

I've been somewhat uninspired by my blog lately, and at least one of my faithful readers has noticed, and put me on probation. Probation! I've never been on probation for anything in my life! dl004d, do I need to wear some sort of electronic monitoring device? Will you be checking in on me to make sure I don't buy beer for the kids outside the liquor store? What do I have to do to get back on your good side -- pick up trash along the highway for 400 hours?

For awhile there I was trying to make it onto the dl004d "editor's salon" list -- I guess those dreams are out the window now... and so is making it into a good college...

I do have a few thing to post about in the coming days, so don't write me off all together!

This Week on the SJBlog

Friends, the SJBlog has been very busy lately, but has not forgotten about you. The SJBlog team of lawyers and agents (at SJB Enterprises, inc.) has been hard at work, and under a strict gag rule as pertains to internet gossip for the better part of two weeks. That said, SJB of the SJBlog will be making a major announcement later this week, hopefully with visual aids. At that point, all will be revealed. Stay tuned...

¡Feliz cumpleaños SJBlog!

How very exciting, I've managed to come up with a year's worth of blog posts as of today. No, I may not be the most prolific blogger, nor perhaps the most ground-breaking, but there's something cathartic in the process, so I guess I'll stick with it until I get bored of it.

And to you, my gentle readers, I thank you for a year's worth of comments, silent acknowledgement, tacit agreement, and reminders when I speak to you in person and begin to weave one of my shaggy-dog tales that you've already read about it on the blog, thank you very much.

The blogger hard at work drafting another exciting installment of the SJBlog for your continued enjoyment.

Which one of these masked Nacho Libres is an SJBlog reader?

Midterm Evaluation

I'm new to this blogging thing, so I was hoping I might get a little user feedback. First of all, is anyone actually reading this? And who lives in Farmingdale, NY?

Secondly:

Is this blog too nerdy?
	No, we love hearing about your dissertation! More, more!
	It's just nerdy enough.
	It's a little too nerdy. More pop culture and references to buttons, please.
	It's waaaaaay too nerdy. I'm only looking at the pictures.
	Como no entiendo la palabra "nerdy," no entiendo la pregunta.

Let the Blogging Begin!

Well, it seems only appropriate that as soon as my new, decisive and paid-for wireless connection kicked in, I should jump on the blog bandwagon. Going from a dial-up to wireless seems like trading in bloomers for cargo pants, although I can't say I'm a big fan of cargo pants. More to the point, 2006 is a year of milestones for me (sure, you know about one of them, smarty pants, but there could be a few more that just might surprise you. Film at 11.), so why not record a few of them?


Anyway, look for The SJB's thoughts on everything from knitting to recipes for molten chocolate cakes to the trials and travails of Addison to what electronic gadgets the Cal undergrads have hanging from their well-coiffed heads when I see them in the gym to updates on the thrilling life of a grad student in California and much, much more on my blog. My only aim is to amuse and enlighten, and of course there's the whole self-indulgence thing, too.

Please comment at will.*


*Comments regarding spelling and grammatical errors will be duly noted and disregarded.