Picture this. A crowded room, people with name tags on milling around, some full of confidence because they’ve been here before, some nervously shuffling in their toe-pinching shoes, all hoping to make a good impression and maybe a lasting connection. Drinks are nursed, or thrown back hastily – acting as tiny glass shields against stomachs full of butterflies and the urge to bolt. Out of the corner of your eye, you spot a suave guy in a designer blazer and Italian loafers – and you think, what the hell is he doing here – shouldn’t he be throwing back cocktails with George Clooney and a harem of lovely ladies, while the sun sinks over Lake Como?

This sends you into a tailspin of re-thinking your outfit and cursing yourself for not wearing the third option you tried on, even though now that you’re in the room, it’s far too late for that. This is who you are, and how you look, and you’re praying to the gods of vodka, lime and soda, that you’re not the only one who feels like this. 

This is kind of how I feel about blogging – like I’ve stepped into a crowded bar full of clever, fascinating, technically proficient folks who have no trouble with Google Analytics or creating an Instagram hashtagging frenzy overnight… and I can’t help but feel like a crazed fangirl with no right to be in the room, let alone to be wearing a sticky name tag saying, Hi, I’m Annette from I Give You The Verbs.  How did I get into this bloggy pseudo speed-dating scenario? Where are the exits again? What is this fantasy I have about becoming ‘one of them’? And what does that even mean anyway? Gulp.

For me, it’s about finding a place where I can write, and I’m not sure I know much more than that at this stage. I’ve been doing a fantastic online bloggy course with Pip Lincolne – blogger, smile maker, author and lovely lady extraordinaire. She’s really helping me work out why I’m typing this sentence, and the next one.

There’s a heap of us tinkering away out there in cyberspace and asking so many questions that I’m astounded Pip’s head hasn’t blown off – we are crafters and makers and writers and we are spread all over the globe and it’s amazing to be in the company of so many creative souls. It is also really great to know that I’m not the only one who struggles with buttons and pingbacks and plugins, oh my!

So this is my way to segue from wow, look at this cute cake I made into, hi I’m Annette and I’d like to chat about stuff. There are topics I’ll probably orbit around – my obsession with IKEA, my love of graphic bed linen, adoption, coffee, architecture, Melbourne, family, what it’s like to be a single girl in a couples world…. who knows where we’ll end up.

I hope you’ll indulge me if I babble a bit initially – being in this space is kind of nerve wracking for a newbie. I think it’s time for another drink. Oh no, Italian loafer guy is looking my way…. gotta run!

 

 

Annette