Our answers to Some Deep and Meaningful Questions from Ms Jarolim and Ms Burkert.

"Oi!!!"

"What YOU lookin' at?"

First, let me start with a lovely picture quite a few pictures of the Very Opinionated Dog without whom there wouldn't be a blog.

"I am NOT so opinionated!"

Right. Enough of that. Let's get started. I'm following The Jarolim-Burkert Guideline because it's just easier that way.

Q1. When did you begin your blog?
A. In 3 days, it'll be exactly 1 year.

Q2.  What was your original purpose for starting a blog?
A.  To rant about yappy littledogs on long leashes tripping us up on busy narrow sidewalks and ferociously attacking Georgia's kneecaps. Also, their couldn't-care-less owners who think it's funny, cute and rather heroic of their littledogs to do so.

Q3.  Is your current purpose the same?
A. Good God, NO! Life's too short to maintain a rant [in public]. Also, from my hours of bloghopping [and real life conversations on the street], I've found that this is a common complaint concern of bigdog owners everywhere, and I mean Everywhere. A shared misery concern is less of one.

Besides, Georgia has many spunky littledog friends [with lovely owners who care a lot] and it would be wrong, stupid and rude of me to generalise.

So I would say the CURRENT purpose of the blog is to badger friends and family with pictures and stories about how cute the dogs are, how many interesting friends they have, the yummy stuff they eat, how Rufus is coping, how Georgia is becoming A Lady, how cute the dogs are and finally, how cute they are. In short, nothing important.

"Oi! again. Is there some good reason why you're putting a picture of Mr Thumper next to the word *cute*?"

 I Did Have A Tiny Dream  In the early gungho months, I was hoping that the blog might function as a bulletin board of what was happening in our local dog community, with input from other dog owners via their comments. I even tried creating an events section for doggie meetups.

Unfortunately, the locals who read this blog probably don't do so as regularly as a blogger might. Most, sadly, have never even posted a comment. So I'm giving up on that aspect, except for serious stuff like The Poisonings.

Q4.  Do you blog on a schedule or as the spirit moves you?
A. The spirit thingy. Blogging is strictly for fun. Schedules are NOT. Anything more than 6 posts a month is good for me.

Q4a. Do I worry about losing traffic?
A.  WHAT traffic?

If The Other Half, Sisters 1 and 2, uncle STeve, Ms Chapeuzinho and Mr Prab stop reading this blog, they won't hear the end of it. !I LOVE YOU GUYS!

Q4b.  Do I worry about losing momentum?
A. No, I worry more about putting out a pointless post. Except, ahem, I have quite a few of those too.

Q5.  Are you generating income from your blog?
A.  No.

Q5a.  If not currently, do you hope to in the future?
A.  Not really. That sounds like w.o.r.k.

[BTW, The Other Half vehemently disagrees, and thinks I should try harder to make Georgia A Star So He Can Retire On A Ranch Like 7MSN.]

Q6.  What do you like most about blogging in general...
A.  Blogging [even reading blogs] is new to me [read all about it here, here and here] so the whole process has been fascinating. Like one of Georgia's Let's Get Lost Walks, exploring unfamiliar territory is exciting, heady stuff.

Q6a.  ...and your blog in particular [bragging is good!]?
A.  I must say, I DO like a few of my stories. Apart from that, nothing really. There are too many go*rgeous  (gôr′jəs)  Interesting  Blogs^^ out there for me to brag more.

Q7.  What do you like least...
A.  ...about blogging? - it can be a bit like high school - rather tribal. This could just be paranoia on my part. Anyone else think so?

...about your blog? - my free template that I don't know how to improve or change. Crappy pictures. And the fact that I'll probably have to start paying a bank-breaking 5 dollars a year to Picasa for the rest of my life, right after this lot of uploads.

Q8.  How do you see your blog changing or growing in 2011?
A.  I'm in a quandry because I have the proverbial attention of a gnat. Who would have thought I'd still be doing this after a whole year? Not me.

Plus, Georgia has grown into A Somewhat Serious Young Lady with no issues to speak of really [YAY! for that!] which means I have no more stories to tell [unless I move into pure fiction].

So I've been tossing around 3 possibilities:

1. Finish up the blog and reclaim my life [i.e. start cleaning and cooking again - very tempting I know.]

OR

2. Transit into a holding pattern, maybe post once a month. If that happens, I'll probably make the blog private, open only to family, friends and interested [haha] readers.

OR

3. Somehow, as is.

"Hey! Why don't you tell everyone about our shopping trip? The one where you bought that puffy gingham pinafore that makes you look like a balloon?"

"Ooo...I DO like that shoe!"

I started thinking about this in December last year and was hoping to have figured it out by now. Hah!

Random Other Thoughts.
There are questions and issues scattered in various posts throughout the blog that I would have loved some comments on. But I didn't get the [friendly] dialogue I hoped for, maybe because...please refer A. to Q4a.

Here's one. Never too late to put in your 2 cents:)

This blog was never meant to be serious. In fact, it's nothing more than a diary of Georgia's days, and [hopefully] a mirror of her personality. Like her, it's a work-in-progress.

I suspect that, at the end of her time with us, I'll be very glad that this pictorial diary is what we have. I have no doubt that it'll be exactly what we need.

*****

Thanks to Edie Jarolim and Amy Burkert for organising this fun and helpful questionnaire!

"Are you done? I'm bored."

"You spend way too much time on this blog. Let's go do something exciting! How about one of those walks you're always telling people about? It'd be fun to do it for real, wouldn't it?"

"Oh, and don't forget to bring the treats please."