Hello? Hello? Who's Out There in Cyberspace Reading This?

When I first started this blog thing a couple months ago, I thought it was the coolest thing ever, but I am slowly learning that it can throw a kink in my personal life. At first, I was pretty selective in who I told about it, but I guess eventually it is irrelevant because, really, anyone can find it if they do the right research.

I sort of assume that the only people reading my blog are those that are actually making comments to my posts, which are mostly my blogging family members and friends. (Let me make it known that non-bloggers can make comments too as "other" or "anonymous"). But occasionally I'll be talking to a friend who will make reference to my cottage cheese salad or will ask if the scab on my leg is a result of my rollerblading accident or if my car brakes have stopped squeaking yet....and I am pleasantly surprised to learn that they have been reading my blog! Great! I'm happy to hear that I have an audience, as stealth as they might seem because of their absent comments.

The one's that kind of catch me off guard are those that know I have a blog, but I never told my blog address. Thanks to Google, they were able to find it pretty easily, which I knew was a possibility so I shouldn't be shocked. Hey, everyone does it! Googling other people is totally a guilty pleasure of mine. Let's just say that I ran into [someone] recently who I met a few months ago, but haven't really talked to for a week or two, for some reason or another. And let's just say, totally hypothetically, that [this person] mentioned that he read my blog. What should my first reaction have been to hearing this? Should I have felt pleased and flattered that he took the time to find my blog...or should I have turned bright red in embarrassment? Or should I have gone home and read my entire blog to see what sort of insight he may have gained to me by reading my blog? Well, let's just say I did the latter, (hypothetically speaking of course). I fully assessed the situation before I determined any emotion on this subject. What would someone who had been getting to know me, who already knows that I am quirky, interpret about me just by reading this blog?

1. I sometimes eat weird combinations of food. Big deal.
2. I'm edgy enough to take a belly dancing class, but not voluptuous enough to actually look great doing it.
3. Every Tuesday I eat catered lunch at mansions. That's just how I roll.
4. I'm an athlete, but I throw a baseball like a moron.
5. I use the word "piggy" and I actually chose this as a topic to write about not only in a college paper, but yes, also on this blog. Who isn't entertained by a little potty humor?
6. I will use just about any man for their handyman skills (or lack thereof). But, keep in mind that I will not compromise my morals just to get some work done.
7. I may or may not have an extremely obese family.
8. Our local weatherman may or may not think I am a stripper.
9. I know a lot of frickin' random people. What can I say...I'm a social butterfly.
10. I've got an ex-boyfriend or two that might be generally referenced...but I've got a pretty healthy attitude about relationships. If it's meant to be...it's meant to be, but don't dwell on it.
11. I want to have Scott Erickson's babies.

Okay. That's not so bad. No skeletons in the closet revealed here. I'm an open book kind of girl. I may exaggerate some of my stories a little bit just for effect, but for the most part, this is me.

HOWEVER, the thing to also remember is that my blog is linked to other blogs, including family. Who's to say where my readers might be linking and what they are learning about my family, which may be freakishly represented depending on what posts one is reading.

For instance, if someone were to link over now and read some of my family members' blogs, they may think that:
-My oldest sister, pregnant with babies 5 and 6, is such a progressive mom that she dyed her 2 pre-teen sons' hair bleach blonde and put cornrows in her own hair.
-My brother asked a 20-year old pimp to instill wisdom into his 15-year old son, whom he calls "stupid" and encouraged to watch porn.
-My sister-in-law is apparently nostalgic for her carefree hippy days of 13 years ago...but now has a 15, 14, 4 year old...and a baby girl. Huh?
-My other sister really loves her kids and husband, is a total goodie-goodie and has a content life watching Family Feud and going to bed at 9pm.
-My dad is so in-love with my mom that he still remembers poems he wrote her, but spends his free-time counting in his head the number of terrorist that are running around in Iraq.
-My mom, the non-blogger, wants to feel involved and so she leaves comments on every single blog, on every single post.

That is why, as long is this blog is accessible on the internet and I continue to publish self-deprecating and unflattering posts about myself and link them to my family member's blogs, that I may, just may, run the risk of freaking some people out who are still getting to know about Ashley. But, it's a risk I'm willing to take. This is Ashley. This is my family. We blog.