Replacement bartender. Don't be afraid.

Hi everyone.

Pua has asked me to do the honor of guest blogging while she deals with the barrage of difficult circumstances she's been facing lately. And I say "honor" because I consider it a true honor to be posting in the place of such a remarkable woman as Pua.

For those of you who don't know me, I'm Rick and I tend bar over at RcktRamblings. That will be the one and only time I shamelessly plug my own blog while here, because I don't believe that guest blogging should be used to shamelessly plug your own blog. So there you go. I hope you'll drop by sometime.

It's a funny thing, guest blogging. It's like you're doing your own thing in your own space, yet you know that you are posting it somewhere else, for someone else, to be read by totally different people (in some cases.) I haven't been doing this for very long (only since June of last year), so I'm still learning new things about the whole process and finding new perspectives on it that make me glad that I started in the first place.

The first of which, of course, is the wonderful people you meet along the way. I can honestly say that I have made some dear friends in the time that I have been blogging -- Pua being one of them. Between blogging itself and the "alternate universe" (as I call it) at Tribe.net, there has developed a family of people across the miles unlike any I have experienced in my relatively short lifetime.

The second thing I've learned while blogging is how disparate the styles of blogging are; yet how universal the voice is. Some people keep photo-based blogs, yet intersperse them with humanity and reality (like Aaron), some keep politically-based blogs (like Andymatic) and some keep family-based blogs (like Pua, Feisty Girl and Karen). Some talk about their lives openly (like Patrick and Mark), some tell amazing stories (like Joe), some make us laugh at ourselves by laughing with them, while falling in love with their warmth (like Toddy and AuburnPisces). And some just post whatever comes to mind (like Wayne and Scott).

It's a crazy world, and I'm so glad to be a part of it. And while we all want comments, more hits, and new readers; it's the fact that we share ourselves with each other that makes the experience so special.

So to all the members of the blogging community-- those I mentioned and the zillions of others I didn't-- Thank you for sharing your love with me, and with Pua. It's times like these that we realize just how special this type of relationship is, and how good it is to have this. I'm glad I joined you all, and have had a chance to get to know you.

Finally, please do me a favor and send Pua and her family a note of encouragement. She needs it now more than ever.