Quickly, desktop computers replaced the laptop and I taught myself CorelDraw software, the PC equivalent of Illustrator back then. In the span of a few years, my 8 hour days had changed from standing at a drafting table and making giant enlargements of logos and designs on sheets of paper, to sitting in front of a computer and clicking a mouse all day. Connectivity also changed and instead of getting photocopies of art from customers and walking that large drawing over to the digitizing office, the internet now allowed me to receive and send art by email, all without moving from my chair.
These were the days when Facebook required a school email to sign up. Though I never even considered Facebook, I noticed that MySpace existed and looking at that, I noticed that not only were people posting photos and music on their pages, but some would also post links to their blogs. A blog? What’s a blog? Apparently this was short for a “web log” and that was just a tech word for writing down your thoughts and posting them for people to see. Sometimes there were great stories from regular people and this was intriguing to me. I often didn’t know the people in real life, but I learned so much about them from their blogs. I loved seeing their photos and I loved reading their stories.
Remember that I was chained to this large desktop computer for 8 hours each day. I understood the importance of looking busy at work, so as the computer allowed me to complete my work with more efficiency, I realized that staring at the screen for work looked just like staring at the screen for fun. I was able to get a lot of my work finished and then spend some time reading blogs. I didn’t really watch reality TV but I think this was also the same time when that took off in popularity. The lives and interests of regular people was becoming entertainment.
After being a spectator in the blog world for a while, I wondered if I was the type of person someone would enjoy reading about in a blog. I guess my experience with the world of the internet has always allowed me to see it as a tool and to see myself as an active contributor instead of just a passive consumer. If I started a blog, I doubted anyone would read it, but perhaps it could still be a useful tool for me. I have long been a proponent of keeping a sketchbook and writing about my thoughts and experiences. I wondered if a blog could be a type of digital sketchbook.
In the summer of 2007, I got a Blogger account and with a great deal of trepidation, I posted my first blog entry. I am certain that no one saw it. I didn’t tell anyone I had a blog for years. Eventually, a few close friends and my aunt Laura Jean found it and they became my audience of about 3. Every time my aunt LJ got a new computer or device, she would have me create a shortcut for her to find my blog. If I posted something she didn’t like, we would talk about it during my visits. Occasionally I’d get a comment on a post but these were rare, even years later.
Over the years, my approach to blogging has changed a few times. I’ve probably been a couple of different people over the last 19 years. I mean, I had to learn how to be a parent of humans, I made a significant career change, I turned 40 and then 50. The world has also changed significantly during that time. Everyone started doing everything internet related on their phones, they left their blogs to start posting on Vine, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok and people with zero discernable talent or personality became celebrities (and politicians). With all the digital noise in the world, I don’t get the impression that many people still have regular old blogs.
Lucky for me, I didn’t care if you read it when I started it. Because it was a tool first and foremost for me, I’ve been happy that it has remained an effective place to store thoughts and be able to retrieve them. Just like an old sketchbook or journal, I have the ability to go back through those old posts and remember who I was then. Some of those old McAbees seem like distant memories, if not almost strangers.
If you’re reading this, you may be one of the elite few who have decided to read my ramblings over the last few years. If you scroll back far enough, you’ll probably find that I wrote something I no longer believe. Something that is glaringly obvious to me as I flip through an old sketchbook or scroll through the blog is that change is constant. I’m thankful that I’ve been a malleable human so far. I hope I’ll continue to be open to change and growth. Maybe you’ll read about it if I keep the blog for another 19 years.
