Dear Blog,

As soon as I started writing in you, life got busy again and as always, you were the first thing to fall by the wayside.

And I. Am. Sorry.

You see, Blog, if it’s one thing I’ve learned about myself, it’s that while I’m pretty good at multitasking, I can’t really focus on more than one thing at once. I know that sounds like a contradiction, but it’s true. You give me five things to do and a deadline to do ‘em, and they’ll get done right on schedule. But throw me a bunch of changes that require my attention all at once? Well, I put the little things to the side. And as much as I hate to admit it, little Blog, you’re a little thing when I stop and put them all into perspective.

But then I think about it, and I realize that you know what, Blog? You’re what I would classify as a “me” thing, an Ali thing. And what I mean by that is, you’re something that I do solely for me. And by brushing you off when life moves a bit faster than usual, I’m brushing off the fact that I need to come first for myself. Because guess what, Blog? You make me happy. Yes, you! Writing my thoughts in you (sorry Blog, that sounded sorta wrong) gives me clarity and helps me to relax. So damn it if I’m going to take you for granted again.

I hope you understand what I’m saying, Blog. You’ve understood in the past, even when I didn’t verbalize it, so I doubt this time will be any different. Except that it will. Because while there will no doubt be times when I give you less attention than others and you certainly won’t see me all the time, you will be promoted to a priority, like you should’ve been all along.

I think you get the point, so I’ll end this letter here. You probably want to watch the Oscars anyway (can you believe what Sacha Baron Cohen did to Ryan Seacrest?).

Thanks for always being there for me, Blog. You’re a true pal.

Love,

Ali

Well hey.

Remember me?

Normally (read: back when I was over at The Way I See It), I’d be all apologetic and red as a tomato with shame and embarrassment. I mean, to call yourself a blogger, you should probably…blog.

But the way I see it (whoops, bringin’ it back), you’ve gotta blog when you want to blog. I know this is something that’s been said time and time again, but that’s probably because it’s true. I was never one to really give two craps about how many followers I had. I started blogging a few years ago as a writing outlet. I mean, back then I was convinced I was the next Carrie Bradshaw. No, really…everyone was saying that back then but I was different. I am from New York! I have blond hair! My dating life is absolutely laughable sometimes! I love sugary cocktails! I was gonna be the successful exception. So I started to blog to keep my mojo going, my muscles strong. Then I realized that there was more to blogging than…well, than blogging. There were bloggers, people whose writing I looked forward to reading so much that I began to feel like I knew them. But in reality (boom, subconscious new blog name incorporation!), I didn’t. So then I found myself wanting to actually meet them…in person. And the best part was (and still is), most bloggers feel the same way. So I did. I met all of these people; some of whose blogs I read, some whom I would’ve never known existed otherwise.

In short, blogging opened up an entirely new world for me. (Yeah yeah, join the club, right? Just speaking the truth.)

The reason I’ve been MIA is twofold:

1) I didn’t have time (psh, I know, you make time; fine, I got lazy)

2) I wanted a fresh start.

Piggybacking off of #2, like many bloggers, I had grown tired of my blog. The name, the scattered content, the look…I wanted a fresh start, damnit.

(Side note: I’m sort of obsessed with fresh starts.)

So, with the help of Doni (Blogger to WordPress transition extraordinaire) and Ashley (the master behind this shiny new look), here I am.

Ali in Reality.

I’ve gotta admit, whether I should be or not, I’m pretty damn proud of this blog name. I guess I owe it to the universe that it was accommodating enough to actually put my name (Ali) into the name of the industry I work in (reality). So, thank you universe. You’ve given my blog an identity.

Anyway, here’s what to expect around here.

Lots of me. Yep, that’s just as narcissistic as its implication. I don’t consider myself that interesting of a person, really I don’t. But I do consider myself an interesting writer, and who knows? You may disagree with the first statement and find me interesting enough to actually enjoy reading my blog. (Which would be a huge bonus.) I am making a concerted effort this time around not to censor myself as much as I used to. Now, that’s not to say that I’ll throw around the F-bomb like it’s [insert clever analogy here since I can't think of one] and/or discuss my latest one night stand (if you know me, you’ll know how ludicrous that one is). This is just to say that I’m gonna be much more…me.

A little bit of what I do. I was lucky enough this year to realize what I want to do with my life. My passion for television production couldn’t have developed in a more organic way, and for this I feel so, so blessed. And to honor the name of my blog, I figured it might be fun to incorporate a little bit of that side of my life into it. I’m still figuring out exactly how I’d like to do this.

I’m still figuring out a lot around here, actually. You’ve probably noticed that those links you can click above this post? There’s nothing there! Ashley and I are still working on that, but I just didn’t want to wait any longer to blog again. Which brings me to my final point (thank God)…

I’ve really, really missed this. Even during my blogging hiatus, keeping up-to-date on my Google Reader remained a routine part of my day, one of my favorite parts. And now that I can be a part of it again, I feel just a little happier with my life.

So here we are.

It’s good to be back.