Blogiversary Number Four

Four years ago today I opened my computer and began this blog! Happy Blogiversary to me! Goodness, it's such an exciting thing that I might actually go out and buy myself a soy chai with a shot of sugar free vanilla as a present.

Chances are that you weren't reading this blog back in what I refer to as the Los Angelista Dark Ages. Count yourself lucky that you weren't because I can barely stand to read the first year of this blog! The writing is rusty and unsure of itself. And that's okay because despite the rough beginnings, it got me writing again, both in the fiction and non-fiction sense.

This blogiversary got me thinking about the most common questions I get asked about this blog:

1) Where'd the name "Los Angelista" come from? It's a mash-up of Evangelista and Angeleno. People who live in LA are called Angelenos but via my non-existent Spanish, I decided that a female version would be 'Angelina'. However, Los Angelina didn't really sound right to me. It was too Angelina Jolie for me, not that Angelina's not great and all, but you know what I mean.

However, I've always liked the model Linda Evangelista, especially because that's an ultra-cool last name. And the rest is history.

2) What niche is your blog in? Nowadays if you look up any article about blogging, nine times out of ten it's going to suggest that you become a niche blogger. As in, only talk about parenting or politics but never both. Only talk about racism or Depeche Mode, but the two topics should never co-exist in the same blog. Even the various blog awards are set up for niche blogs. Best beauty blog, best gossip blog... and on and on.

Well, that's a little boring to me. My niche is writing about whatever I want. I'm interested in a lot of stuff and I didn't want to limit myself to talking just about racism, world issues, parenting, hair, exercise, identity or Depeche Mode.

3) Why did you even start a blog? It seems like folks only begin blogs these days because they want to somehow make money off of it. Making money off a blog is great if it happens, but I didn't even know that was possible when I began. First and foremost, I really just needed a creative outlet. I hadn't been writing much at all when I began blogging and I missed it. Blogging was a low-stakes way to feel the magic of putting words together without worrying too much about whether it was "good" or not.

Second, I was at a lonely place in my life. I had a ten month old, a three year old, I was working 60+ hours a week and I pretty much had no friends and no social life. My life was a revolving door of me beginning my days by waking up at 5 in the morning, hooking myself up like a cow to a breast pump, running crazy all day and collapsing late at night, feeling like I'd done stuff for everyone else but nothing for myself.

Plus, I saw so much on a daily basis but didn't really have anyone to talk to about it. I needed somewhere to put all my thoughts, opinions and observations about the world around me. The people around you on a daily basis can't always be the ones to hear all that. Sometimes they don't want to hear it and sometimes they are too busy to be able to listen, even if they wanted to.

4) What's the best thing about blogging? Beyond a doubt it's getting to "meet" and interact with so many wonderful people around the globe. My life is better because of y'all and, quite frankly, with so much negative news out there every day it makes me feel better to know that there are so many folks like you with such good hearts out there around the world.

5) How long will you have a blog? I don't know. I wouldn't have predicted that it would last this long. But when it's time to stop, I'll say goodbye. I won't just drop off the face of the earth, leaving folks wondering if I'm either dead or else locked up in a mental institution.

Above all, thank you to each of you for reading my blog! Thanks for laughing and thinking with me, enduring my agonizing over whether to chop off my hair and enjoying all the displays of Depeche Mode obsessive compulsive disorder. I especially thank you for engaging me by sharing your thoughts in the comment box. By the way, if you are just a lurker here, there's no time like the present for introducing yourself and saying hello. I don't bite, or so I've heard!

Now, on to the start of year five!