Calligraphy...

I was thinking about this whole Blip thing on the way to work this morning. As I came along Princes Street I saw someone out with his camera taking photos of the Castle and my first thought wasn't 'ahhh, there's a tourist out early', my first thought was 'I wonder if he's a Blipper?' That's generally what I think whenever I see someone with a camera now. I wonder if he/she is one of us. 

I don't believe in keeping quiet when something gets on my tits no really, I know it's hard to believe. I don't just follow the hoards just because it's the easy option. I open my gob and speak my mind because it's my own and I can. It won't be the first time I've been referred to as a gobshite but I'd far rather speak up than sit quietly in the corner. Even if I'm wrong. If I am then I'm happy to admit it but my instincts aren't usually far off the mark. I've sort of decided to stop thinking about the stuff that's going on behind the scenes here till the next time something feels rant worthy that is! cause there's really nothing I can say/do that will have any impact other than to be some sort of outlet for my PMT.

It got me to thinking about the journey I've taken getting to here. In the beginning I fell in love with the site and all that it holds within those little grey white walls and for me it is completely about the people. Apparently I'm painfully honest and in those first few months I left myself wide open and shared a lot. These days not so much. You learn the stuff not to put on show and now I generally talk about my car or my cat or the mundane stuff that's going on in my life. I'd quite like to go back to those open and honest days when I shared how I felt and what I thought but it makes me uncomfortable to do that now. 

In the beginning I made an effort to take a good shot, well the best shot I was capable of and it had to be perfect to me before I'd post it. Three years later and I'm posting any old shite. Last night I thought about how I used to be quite creative in my photos. I thought nothing of spending two hours making something to Blip or setting up a shot. Now there are times when I'm lucky if I spend five minutes considering what I'll take a photo of at five to midnight. It used to tickle me to get to the spotlight page and receiving a heart was something special (that part still is of course) but I wouldn't thank you for the spotlight page or as it is now the popular stage but in days gone by it pleased me no end. I decided that I'm going to try and put a little more thought into my photographs not tonight obviously rather than resorting to sneaking up on Pepsi. My photography mojo has disappeared with my mojo for life over the past six months, sometimes the stuff that's going on in the background sucks the actual life out of me and it makes it easier to withdraw from everything. That needs to change. 

I thought about the whole back up process and started doing some myself before I got a clever sort to do it in double quick time to save me the trouble but on reading through some of my old blips, I actually think I used to be quite funny/entertaining back then - is that properly conceited? Probably best not answering that! So I read some stuff back (I think the Christmas tree saga was probably one of my favourites) and I think I was much more interesting when I overshared. I've ranted a lot over the last three years and that part hasn't changed much, I still like a good rant. Maybe it happens to all of us and we reach a shelf life and think fuck that, I'm not sharing all those intimate things any more. 

Back then I fell in love in a fond way rather than dribbling with lust kinda way with three people in particular when I found Blip and three and a half years later, those three people remain my favourites. (I do have more favourites now but don't tell them or they won't feel all special!) The top three are still the top three.

That daft Irish French bloke did a list the other day (massively flattered to make it onto said list btw) and it really did make me think about the people here who make it worth sticking around. I want to keep up with their lives. I love reading about the stuff they do on a day to day basis. I love the ridiculousness of some of their blips and I like that I can call them my friends. I was going to do a list but I'm not sure I will... (a) they'll know I'm a big stalker (b) they might blush (c) they probably already know who they are. 

Suffice to say that those three journals are the only three journals that I've been right back to the very first day they started and I read the whole lot. All of it. I can't actually tell you how much I laughed in the process so if you have a dull day and nothing better to do then I cannot recommend highly enough, going back to the beginning of a journal you love now and reading from the start. You get to know their humour, their families, their life and the ups and downs that go with it. You get to see their photography change as time goes by and you find out things that you generally didn't know. Maybe it is a bit stalkerish, I don't know and totally don't care but full circle I still love those three people and their journals and that just goes to show the power of this little land called Blip. 

It doesn't matter who's at the helm now. Things have changed so much since I started, I'm guessing the founder members will be feeling it the most but actually most of them remain dignified in their silence and I think that's probably quite a good example to follow. We're here because we love it all the same. Yesterday's outpouring of togetherness pretty much said it all. 

Today I printed off the email about the Calligraphy course on Sunday... thought I'd best check what I was supposed to take with me. There was a list... obviously I've already broken the rules by purchasing a proper pen with lovely purple ink! I did also get the black felt tip one that was suggested even my rebellious streak has opted for a safety net but I didn't have to buy the book that was suggested because my Mum already bought me that for Christmas about five years ago. Win! This time next week I'll be all literate in fountain penery and all sorts! I might even write some letters. Of course, I know that my CDO will have me write several hundred drafts first.