Happy 1/52nd Anniversary!

Dear fellow Waxduckies,

Greetings.

It's 0210 here in Hong Kong. Listening to, this time, country hits on MSN Radio.

It's Waxduck's 1/52nd anniversary. This week-old baby's drivin me nuts. Kinda. I mean I've been staying up late typing, browsing, leaving comments, laughing, and pondering in front of my screen. It's been quite an experience, and I'm starting to wonder if I've become addicted to blogging. You know, I'm starting to look forward to others' feedback on my blog.

[Cross Canadian Ragweed's Fightin' For has just finished, and Terri Clark's I Just Wanna Be Mad has just started.]

I think it's pretty fair to say that I've visited tens and hundreds of blogs here at Waxduck, and the trip has been phenomenal. There are boys and girls. Singles and married couples. Secondary school students, college students, and fresh graduates. Various members from the local labour force like teacher, fireman, financial planner, and designers. Conservatives and liberals. Boyfriends and girlfriends. Hubbies and wives. Dads and moms. Locals and foreigners.

[Patty Loveless's How Can I Help You Say Goodbye just ended, and Shania Twain's Man! I Feel Like A Woman! followed]

There are rookies and old-timers. Facts and opinions. Texts and graphics, and even videos. Humans and an "alien". And those background pics! Each of them speaks a thousand words! Pics of pets, sceneries, photos, sketches, and CGIs. I mean even those that don't have any background pics, still, do have this expanse of medium grey fog as their backgrounds. Even if someone doesn't have a profile pic, one still wonders who this person with such curvy shoulders, standing in front of a background of a dimly lit Waxduck logo, wearing a snow white bubble helmet and a light grey poncho is.

And the subjects of the blogs shed so much light on what it's like to be among the Generations X and Y here in Hong Kong nowadays. What interests us? Karaoke, English Premier League, ball games, video games, shopping, food, cool toys, cool pics, cool sites, cool links, cool clips, and et cetera. What troubles us? Relationships. Loneliness. Fear.

It's funny that I've been forcing myself to check on as many people as I could, as if each of them is my "client". Clients who help me advance in my "career", i.e. to climb to the top of the "most visited" chart, but, at the same time, I'm also helping them to advance theirs.

A big part of the experience as a blogger is not only about reading others' blogs and leaving comments behind, but, most importantly, it is also about creating your own blog, writing your own entries, realizing your own ideas and feelings in concrete passages, and even reading and reflecting on your own entries.

The whole blogging experience can be so creative, expressive, and interactive. It's tedious and dull, but it's heartwarming. It's hardcore personal, but it's out there in the public. It's addictive, because it's rewarding. It's a lonely journey, but lots of folks got your back. It's painfully joyful and joyfully painful.

It's a surprise.

It's a gift.

It's a blast.

Happy 1/52nd anniversary, Waxduck!

Wax on, duckies!

Regards,
Tangbro