Saturday 28 November 2009

Small World

Today I had a conversation over a cup of tea and a latte about - amongst other things - blogging and bloggers. My companion and I discussed the merits of blogging and how it changes things for people in lots of positive ways big and small. As bloggers ourselves, we talked about how blogging had been a positive force in our own lives, having since we started, improved our creativity, made us notice things we may not have noticed before, honed our writing skills, revealed talents we didn't know we had, provided motivation and inspiration and given us access to community, enabling us to connect with many like minded people who have enriched our lives in all sorts of ways and who, if it were not for blogging, or the internet, we may otherwise never have known.

We had such a lovely conversation my companion and I, not just about blogging, but all sorts of other things too, that nearly 2 hours flew by without so much as a second's notice - as it always does when one is having fun.

I admit, I was nervous, for this was a "blind date" of sorts. I wasn't sure if I would be able to say a single interesting thing, and was worried that my companion would wish she hadn't driven the 5 miles out of Oxford centre after the business which bought her to these parts today. But you see, I have "known" Tracy for ooooh ... perhaps over a year now (?) and so I needn't have worried one jot because there was no need for awkward, icebreaking 'small talk' or 'getting to know you' type of questions. Its a bit strange really but I've seen it described so, many times. Infact, meeting this lovely lady face to face was like meeting someone I have real coffee with quite regularly! It didn't feel at all as if we'd 'not met' before ... Infact, by the time I had walked the short distance back home after our meeting, I had already thought of a trillion and one things I should have said or asked or would have liked to find out or follow up ...

Tracy, it was a joy to meet you today, and I hope we can continue our many conversations next time .. and I really hope there is a next time.

13 comments:

dottycookie said...

Ah, lucky you - I'm meeting Tracy again in a couple of weeks and am very excited!

Gina said...

It's amazing how these friendships formed through blogs are so real. Lucky you to meet Tracy.

Sew Create It - Jane said...

Meeting people from blogs is a bit strange..especially if you have exchanged emails etc. It's almost like you skip the initial "getting to know you" part. I must admit when we all met in April it was a pleasant surprise how well we all just got on and acted like we'd all known each other for years. A very special feeling.

Anonymous said...

Ah, Im not the only who feels like that then.

Its strange isnt it, especially when you have people in common (from the real world) and you meet through blogs.

But for me this is a big part of what blogs are for

Jen

ginny said...

blog meet ups are great ... my first meet up was with Diana (pebbledash) and it was just lovely...
when you tell others (friends and family) that you are meeting someone you 'met on the internet' though they look at you as if you are mad. i did feel contradictory when i am teaching our kids to be computer safe and that computer friends may not be who they say they are! i was very nervous on my first blog meet and we joked that she may in fact be a 6 foot builder named Ray! happily not and i am so glad that i did it because my life has been so much richer for meeting her.
glad to hear you had a good time.
x

Jane Le Galloudec said...

mmm it is an interesting thing, this internet community stuff. My younger daughter was always accused of being anti-social because she had almost no friends in the flesh, they were all people on the internet... we did worry a bit... but now she is in Japan and has met lots of people and is as sociable as anyone else. It really was just that no one here was interested in the things she was interested in. The internet is a wonderful way of bringing like minds together. I would be very lost without it.

dragonfly said...

It was lovely to meet you too Julia! I have just posted about my day yesterday - you beat me to it, but my internet was down for some reason when I got home!
I'll definitely be back in Oxford so we can pick up our conversation again!
T x

driftwood said...

what a special treat to actually meet a blog friend, someone who you invite into your home everytime you switch on the computer but never actually meet xoxo

angharad handmade said...

Sounds like you had a lovely time - always nice to meet blog friends!

Stephanie said...

Hello fellow blogger!

Thanks for commenting on my blog. I did read you post about the V&A Couture Dress but I didn't quite understand the darting conclusion. I guess I just haven't figured out the whole darting stuff. Darts still coonfuse me but thats the whole fun of it. Anyways, I figured out something else and solved the problem differently. Will be posting when I'm finished. Will add your blog to my bloglovin so I can follow you...

Joanne said...

Couldn't agree more with that sentiment - finding like minded people is a joy, and I think I would be a much poorer person without the internet and the people it's brought into my life. My husband for one... :)

Mrs Moog said...

I think these blog friendships are wonderful - when we do get to meet, we know so much about each other already that we can just get on and enjoy without all the ice-breaking.

It's one of the main things that keeps me blogging.
xxx

Tracy said...

Such fun to meet a blog friend for real... it adds so much to the relationship. I had the great fortune to meet to blogging friends last year--it was wonderful! Blogging had changed my life in so many beautiful ways--and added so many lovely friends and life enrichment. Here's to blogging--cheers! Happy Days, Julia :o)ga ((HUGS))