How many of you have ever tried to explain a blog to someone unfamiliar with the internet?
Today I tried to explain to my aunt what I do here. No, she has never seen my blog, or any blog. She doesn't have email. She has never googled anyone in her life.
For the zillioneth time this year, I told her I write a blog. For the zillioneth time this year, she said she didn't know that. However, this time she proceeds with "What's a blog?'
(And a phone conversation with my favorite aunt is a part of my life that today was funny to me, anyway.
Auntie: What's a blog?
HRM: It's kind of like a journal on a website.
Auntie: Like a diary?
HRM: It can be. Mine sometimes shares personal information, sometimes cartoons, sometimes jokes, and sometimes my faith.
Auntie: Oh.
HRM: Yesterday I posted a song about the Holy Spirit for Pentecost. On Friday, I posted the Pillsbury Doughboy's obituary.
Auntie: Wha?
HRM: I never read the Pillsbury Doughboy's obituary to you?
Auntie: No, I can't say that you did....
HRM: Well, mom will have to excuse us (we were on speakerphone) while I rectify that oversight.
(I proceed to the computer where I read Friday's post. No links, just scroll down people. Or hit older post twice. I am not going to link everything, you know.)
Auntie: Oh, that's cute. People like that, huh?
(I go back to mom's room with the phone)
HRM: What I think they really liked were the Pillsbury Doughboy bloopers.
Auntie: Pillsbury Doughboy bloopers?
HRM: Yeah. You know what bloopers are, right?
Auntie: Yeah, I've watched the show, but how does the Pillsbury Doughboy have bloopers?
HRM: Well it was more like a joke than blooper. It showed the Pillsbury Doughboy farting and flipping people off.
(Mom shakes her head. Now she knows what I was giggling about all day Friday.)
Auntie: Where do you find such things?
HRM: I googled Pillsbury Doughboy and Youtube. I didn't google Pillsbury Doughboy only farting, though. I just got lucky.
Auntie: If you could call it that....
(Mom laughs)
Yeah, this letting people getting to know the real me can become a wild ride for us all. My family knows me as a religious conservative. Now I shall be known as a religious conservative who posts videos of the Pillsbury Doughboy farting. And that is why I am posting this for the Life is Funny carnival. Because I think this conversation was hysterical.
11 comments:
Before you started a blog, did you ever think that the Pillsbury Dough Boy farting would come up in conversation?
Wendy, no, I guess I just got lucky...
I agree- that is funny.
It was hysterical, you wild woman you! PLEASE don't try to explain the Richard Gere/gerbil incident. I don't want my pure name dragged through smut!
I love it! I just don't explain to people what I do. I think it's more fun to leave them guessing :)
I'm glad you share your blogging with your family.
Mine extended family doesn't know I have a blog. (Shhhhhhh!)
Jason, thanks.
Sherri, I don't think my aunt could take such heady knowledge. It's one of those things I wish I didn't know myself, so I try not to share that knowledge. I no longer leave people messages NOT to google Richard Gere only gerbil, either.
Kelli, well, I don't want to seem to be avoiding my aunts questions...though she may have prefered it that way in this instance.
katdish, my family knows I blog. The don't know my URL. (Shhhhhhh!) I tell them to google random musings, knowing there are 1,420,000 sites that come up in that search. Random musings only Helen narrows it down to 62,300. I don't think they are that interested in the Pillsbury Doughboy to go looking through all those websites. If they do, they deserve to find this.
My mom knows I blog and she thinks it (and email and Twitter) are the stupidest things a person could do. What a waste of time when you could be knitting 300 dishcloths to give to people who don't want them anyway? She asked me the other day "does your computer do virtual tours because the radio station has a virtual tour but I guess you need a computer to see it." Ugh.
If she only knew I said mostly nice things about her. She got lucky too.
I'm the exact opposite. I tell people I blog, and all of a sudden I'm deluged with all these technical questions that I have no idea how to answer.
Don't judge me.
I think that was way funny, too, Helen, but most of my family knows computers better than I do!
My 76 year old grandfather is on Facebook. (He rocks.) Along with most of my aunts and uncles, cousins, siblings, parents, in-laws, etc. And today I caught my three year old trying to email Sherri! So my blog is seen by lots of family...which is really nice in some ways because I think I know a couple of my cousins a lot better now than I used to. But I also have to run what I write through the "my Grandpa could read this" filter. Which isn't too bad. But I know he reads all my stuff to Grandma.... ;)
Helen, I'm glad your aunt has never Googled anyone in her life.
I think.
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