Sunday, December 30, 2007

Opening Act

Well, well, well, look who has their own blog...I can't decide if this makes me cool or a nerd, and I wonder if there's really any difference between the two at this point in human history. I'm leaning towards me being a nerd, and I'm okay with that.

If you're reading this you probably know why I would choose to start a blog now, but in case you don't, here's why: in early November I left Provo, Utah, to start a 4-plus month work assignment in New York City, and I figured a few people would be interested in reading about all of the "adventures" I'm having out here (including the experience that inspired my blog's title, which I'll post about soon). Plus I have no TV in my apartment, so I have a lot more extra time than I'm used to.

Here are some things you can expect to find on my blog:

Long, rambling posts. Despite the excellent journalistic training I received at BYU, when I write I tend to be quite wordy. I'm constantly using parentheses, ellipses and semi-colons, which results in a lot of run-on sentences; however, I think my style is still very reader-friendly.

Correct spelling and grammar. I'm the kind of guy who uses proper capitalization and spells words out completely in text messages and while IMing, and I will definitely be meticulous with my blog posts. Plus, I'm one of the top spellers in all of Putnam County (a fun story for another upcoming post), so you should definitely ridicule me in the comments if you notice any mistakes.

Virtually no emoticons. I just don't like them. Which means that you may have to guess from time to time if I'm being sarcastic or exaggerating or not. Just keep in mind that I rarely take things seriously. A related point...

Constant attempts at humor. One of the reasons my posts will be so long is because when I write, I'm constantly trying to make jokes (even more than I do in conversations). Which, of course, means that sometimes the jokes don't work. For example, since I'm in New York, my original title for this post was "Ground Zero". If I ever make a joke that not only bombs but offends, call me on it, and I'll apologize and try not to repeat the mistake. To make a baseball analogy (because I know EVERYONE loves baseball analogies): when you swing for the fences as often as I do, you're bound to strike out sometimes, but hopefully my blog will be more Cecil Fielder than Rob Deer.

Random links. Like the one above, or sometimes much more random, like this one.

References that you don't get. This won't be intentional, but with blog visitors theoretically coming from my various social circles (family, current ward, past wards, work, Laugh Out Loud, etc.), plus the people that like to peruse random blogs, I'll probably make comments from time to time about things that some of you won't know anything about. Plus, just like in real conversations, I'll probably drop in frequent "Simpsons" references, and since I'm in New York, lots of references to Seinfeld or other NYC-based TV shows and movies as well. (I think about 90% of TV shows take place in New York or Wisconsin. Seriously--why are there so many sitcoms set in Wisconsin?)

Posts that are theme-based, rather than a daily journal entry. This is mainly because I've already been here for almost 2 months, and I don't see myself going back and writing about each day individually (although that was the original plan, and I have several pages of notes that I took each day while I procrastinated getting this blog up and running). Certain big events will still get the individual post treatment, but you (probably) won't see a lot of entries on what I had for lunch that day. I think it will actually be more entertaining this way. I doubt that I will ever do more than one post on the same day, but hopefully I'll be blogging at least 4 or 5 times each week, so if you enjoy my writing, check back often.

Responses to comments. If you comment on my posts, expect me to respond either with a comment of my own, a full post if warranted, or an e-mail or phone call if the response needs to be more personal. I definitely appreciate anyone who takes the time to read my blog and comment on it (I'm assuming/hoping there will be at least a few).

Few pictures. I rarely take any. If there's anything you'd like to see a picture of, let me know and I'll do my best.

Frequent reminders about my spare bedroom. Although I've made some friends out here and am, overall, having a lot of fun, one of the reasons I'm blogging is to keep in touch with the people back home that I miss being around. I have a 2-bedroom apartment here, so if you want to come hang out with me here, let me know when you're coming and I can almost certainly put you up.

And some of you thought I was kidding about the long-winded thing! I think that's all for now. Happy New Year everybody!

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

oh jeff...I'll be reading this baby for sure!!! --Emily

Tiffany said...

Me too! I'm back in the city next month, and I'm excited to see you!

adventuresinanoffice said...

Jeff! I'm usually not a fan of the blog reading craze that has taken over the world. BUT I will make an exception for ours! Have a blast in NYC and keep us all posted - Bill

Jared said...

Sad that I missed you over the Christmas break....but I will be keeping up with ya reading this blog! Sounds exciting there in New York! Happy New Years...make sure to watch that ball drop to start your new year.

Unknown said...

Jeff! We'll definitely be reading your blog...feel free to read ours, too...now that you have one, I guess it's OK to admit that we do as well! Happy New Year!

Tabitha said...

"Ground Zero" ... jokes that bomb ... snigger snigger ...

Hey it's good to see you here in the blogosphere! I'm excited to read about your adventures. Maybe I'll even drop in to the city for a visit ...

THE RANDINIZER said...

I served my mission in NYC, spent most of my time in Harlem and the Bronx, and the other portion in Putnam county. I'd be interested to know where you are living and what ward you attend. If you have any questions about fun stuff to do, cheap places to eat, people in church you'd enjoy, let me know.

angelalois said...

WOW seven comments already!! I feel slow to jump on the bandwagon. Keep us laughing Jeff! Also -- what about dashes? I just love them!

Gretch said...

Hey Jeff-I caught up to you on Robyn and Joe's blog. Glad to hear what your up to!

Kristina said...

Where are you living? And as for the Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, I had some friends who saw it this summer and said it was really offensive.
Oh, and you should go eat at Grimaldi's for me. At least three times... or four. I love that place.

jeff said...

This is great, 10 comments already. I unfortunately need responses like this to keep me going; I'm notorious for not following through on writing projects I start. Well, I would be notorious for it, if they ever reached the stage where people found out about them.

I've even already got people commenting that I don't know, like Randall (unless Randall is the new LOL pianist, in which case I kinda know him). I attend the Inwood 3rd (Singles) Ward, and as Kristina recognized, have only visited the Broadway-ized Putnam County.

By the way, I'm tired of you judging me, Kristina. If I want to attend and appear in offensive Broadway shows, that's my business. But I'll post about that (and about where I'm living) very soon.

Megan said...

Woo hoo! You got yourself a blog! And it's everything I could have hoped for and more! Ok, that's enough exclamation points. Welcome to the Dark Side, Jeff...It's where all the cool kids hang out.

Anonymous said...

Any blog that references both Cecil Fielder and Rob Deer in the same sentence is a blog for me!

Anonymous said...

Hope to see a Fat Kids reference or two. Another portion of your life (and mine) that makes you wonder if you are cool or a nerd!

Anonymous said...

So Jeff...2 bedroom apt?? I have a favor to ask..if my husband ends up at Columbia law school...can me, my husband, and my newborn baby move into the second room? It could be like communist Russia..but with less vodka.

mattc said...

Nerds just got a whole lot cooler with you on board.

jeff said...

Natalie, that sounds like a wacky sitcom waiting to happen. I work in the same building as Columbia's law school, so Jeremy and I could even have zany subway adventures together. But who says there would be no vodka?

Anonymous said...

hello, jeffy my bro! i'm sure it will be highly entertaining to peruse your posts over the coming weeks.

and don't worry--if something you write requires ridicule, i'm totally there for you. i shall strive earnestly to not leave you ridicule-less <=]

Anonymous said...

Jeff, I would personally vote for both "cooler" and "nerdier." This is the only post I've read so far, but I'll try to catch up. Also, I anxiously await your "views on kissing" post.

Art and Evelyn said...

Wow, Jeff... we have the weirdest connections... Joe and Robyn Gadd are my neighbors. They live two doors down! I just got off the phone with Robyn, asking why she would be posting on MY friend Jeff's blog... she claims that you're her friend too. We'll see I guess. And what the heck, Natalie has a baby... didn't see that coming! Congrats, Natalie! Now that I've used your blog for my own personal and selfish reasons, I really like your blog and hope to find time to read it in between chasing, feeding, bathing, changing, wrestling and virtually strangling my own two little terrorists!

jeff said...

Evelyn, I'll take credit for you and Robyn being friends, the same way I take credit for Bonni and Mark getting married.

Natalie won't actually have her baby until the spring.

Thanks everyone for your nice comments! More posts coming soon--I promise.