I was just writing a long-overdue email thank you note to a reader and realized I really needed to do the same to everyone out there.
Please don't think I have begun taking myself too seriously. As a matter of fact, by putting some of these things in writing, I am asking for a swift, ego-chiseling kick from karma.
Some of these things are touchy-feely.
First of all, I want to thank everyone for your kind words of support, your ideas, suggestions, and yes, criticism last month during the whole negative comment debacle. In retrospect, I don't get a lot of negative and judgmental comments, so maybe they sting more. I'm not saying I don't get them because I'm great, I think I just don't have a controversial topic. I was just reading Pasta Queen (Half of me) this morning and she was talking about how offended her readers are when they read about some of her food choices, and it really must take a strong armor to have your readers constantly judging your choices because you are writing about weight loss.
Secondly, I want to thank everyone who came to see me at Pecha Kucha and said nice things. When I went to my first PK, I knew I wanted to present, and then I proceeded to be terrified about it for the next few months. The truth is, I selected the slides and then kind of mulled things over. It wasn't until about 4 hours prior to the event, while writing out my note cards, that I came upon my theme. Getting out of my comfort zone from time to time and spending time with other creative people really helps me rediscover my own creativity and get back my inspiration.
Thanks for letting me know that you don't mind advertising. It is something I have really struggled with, but I feel strongly about the kind of advertising I will have, how it will look, and more than anything, how it will allow me to work harder and be better. Having even a small amount of extra income will allow me to visit more restaurants and interesting things around the city so that you can do the same!
Although I don't want to take myself too seriously, I do have to take blogging seriously from time to time, as silly as that might sound, but every day I realize how much more I could do for you out there, and for people who are coming to work, visit, or live in Columbus who never even knew there were food blogs in Columbus.
I have been struggling with inspiration lately, mainly because I have been letting other areas of my life take over (nothing serious!); but I need to remember that this is what I love doing, and give it and you the respect deserved, and start writing earlier in the day so I can get it done before I have to go to work. At my age, I still have to work really hard to organize my priorities and stop procrastinating! The arts community in Columbus, such as the Wexner Center, have nudged me to notice that I have let things like my "real" job drag me down and being around art and feeling that energy has reminded me that only I can allow my creativity to be stifled.
I want to thank everyone for coming to my dinners and expressing a desire to have more! I have a few ideas for future events, which I will be talking about soon. I definitely want to do some field trips where we can visit some of our favorite places; I'd also love to do a tour of places which inspire me and I hope will inspire you, too. I would love to do some cooking classes - we can do all sorts of things!
Thank you to everyone who donated money to send me to Orlando for the US leg of the Bocuse d'Or, and to great folks like Walker from Columbus Underground for writing his foodie business owners and helping ask for money! I will have updates soon.
I am really, really bad at answering emails, and I am working to get better.
At any rate, I just wanted to say THANK YOU for reading, commenting, critiquing, sharing your pictures, your own market reports, book reviews, things I should do/read/eat/visit, providing your recipes, sharing your ideas, and everything you do to make the Columbus food community better and better. I know that many of you would make better food bloggers than I am, you just don't have the time to do it. Having your input is priceless.
