Most of my friends are neurotics. So am I; it's probably why we get along so well. ;)
I mention this because-- well, first of all, it's a great "excuse" to stop writing. You know, the old "I had this idea for a blog entry based on something that happened between a friend and I the other day," but there's no way I can write about it without infringing upon their privacy, or offending them, or whatever.
It's all crap, of course. Do you think Mark Twain had this problem?
I'm trying to picture Mark Twain (before blogs, email, the WWW, the proliferation of computers) going through his mail. He notices the postmark on one of the envelopes is from a friend in other state. He eagerly opens the letter because he hasn't heard from this person in a while-- and the letter says only:
"Dear, Mark:
I just finished 'The Diary of Adam and Eve. That part about trying to knock the moon out of the sky by throwing rocks at it-- you were writing about me, weren't you?
Sincerely,
Mabel"
(sigh) It's an age old problem. We "writer types" (as in real writers who get paid to write, as well as us neurotic types who deal with the gaps between the real world and our internalized mental models by putting our hyperactive streams of thoughts down in written form) observe human behaviour in every person we meet. We wonder why people choose to do things, or not do things, or why they do it in a particular way. We wonder why we do things, or fail to do things that we thought we really wanted to do. We wonder why we can't seem to stop thinking about it.
Relax, Mabel. Mark Twain isn't writing about you to single you out for ridicule or rebuke. He's writing about you as a way of talking about all of us-- trying to show that we are all hopelessly without a clue and faking it like mad, filling those empty moments of doubt, despair and disappointment with caffeine, college classes, careers, family traditions, cardio workouts, technological gadgets and the latest fads from self-help gurus who are more than happy to sell us a subscription to their monthly newsletter.
It's called "the human condition."
>> So, was that blog entry written about me?
> I try to write snapshots about human nature. If you see a piece of yourself in the entry, chances are that lots of other people see themselves, too. At least, I hope so-- or else I did a piss poor job.