A few months ago, I sat down with Andrew Webb, a reporter for the Albuquerque Journal, to talk about my book and the writing thereof. We met at Flying Star on Menaul and I had a great time. Who wouldn’t enjoy being the center of attention? At that time, I hoped I’d get a third of Webb’s weekly column. Instead, it became a cover story with BIG, colorful photos.

A couple of months later, I met in the same spot — at the same table — with Johanna King, of the Journal, to talk about my major passtime (which, to me, should be the correct spelling): blogging. This was also a lively and entertaining discussion. (I imagine the Journal takes the talents of people like Webb and King for granted, as countless Journalism majors wait in the wings. Writing is hard work — engaging writing is better than gold.)

Now, I’m not complaining. I know, that’s how complainers begin, but I’m NOT. What I’m getting to is the perverse power of expectations. No doubt, the first article raised my expectations about the second (The daily blog). Not about the writing, which was great in both cases, but about the impact of the writing. And the impact of the photos. (Believe me, I understand if you’re thinking, “this guy was in two articles in the paper and has any gripes.” But, I’m not griping.)

Just yesterday, I met someone for the first time with whom I had corresponded by email a bit. He said, “you’re much better-looking than your picture.” To which, today, I say, “please, god, I hope so.”

In the same article, another blogger comes out to the world. Coco’s is one of the few blogs I ready with regularity and I do like her style and view. But here, she pulls off her mask to reveal the real person behind it. Ta-da! Ironically, I end up being the guy with too much time on his hands. (Well, that’s true, though time is all we have and until it runs out we all have the same amount.) Any press is good press, right?

While much of the blogosphere is ready to bury the MSM (mainstream media), I do appreciate that any new readers today come to me thanks to that very same MSM. Far more people read Webb and King than Hinton — I’m cool with that (sniff — stifled sob). On the other hand, it is likely that still more people saw Benson Hendrix’s piece on the UNM homepage. Yes, three articles in three months. (Is this the Universe’s nice way of saying goodbye?) If it looks like I’m great with PR, I’m not. Just lucky (some might say, blessed). I’m a terrible marketer. But, I’m worse at billing, so it’s good I never found more work. mjh

PS: If you want to blog, do it. Go to www.wordpress.com or www.blogger.com (or www.flickr.com for photos) and create a free account. You’ll be blogging in minutes. Don’t forget to link to me.

PPS: In thinking about time, I had an epiphany: each of us has just one possession, albeit temporary: our presence. It is at once our gift to and from the world. Connect with others, including everything around you. Blogging is just a part of that.

photo by mrudd

See also mjh’s blog — Other Blogs and New readers.