Is This Thing On?

There are a few awkward things about starting a blog.

1) Do you acknowledge that your first post is, indeed, your first post ever? On anything? Do you come out and proclaim yourself a voice in the darkness, or do you begin confidently, with a post about how you were skeptical about Obama's optimism at first, but damn if he didn't win you over in the end?

2) Is "voice in the darkness" a dorky way to describe an entrance to the Internet? (Side semantic dilemma: Can you "enter" the Internet?) This really does feel like being in a dark room, so I guess maybe the cliché fits, even if a savvier soul would say it doesn't more generally. Who ever enters a dark room, anyway? Anyway, double awkwardness points for realizing that your first post is written for an audience of approximately zero, but that you're secretly hoping that won't be the case for long.

3) Do you link to your husband (who has a blog and is all-around cool) when you do not have a blog? No comment on the cool part.

Clearly, if nothing else, on this site you will find adventures in over-thought. That's a joke. Sort of. The truth is that I don't want to put a pessimistic spin on this, as I'm excited to try out this medium. I've been writing professionally, academically, and "for fun"--oh, cruel phrase--for many years, and my current job requires that I think about writing almost constantly. I've also gotten into quite a few conversations about what it means to blog, the benefits of blogging, the dangers of blogging (bad eyes! mean commenters!) and so on, so it seemed time to put up or, you know, not blog.

And so, a voice squeaks.