hi everyone,

i keep hearing about blogs but never understood what a blog really is! - is it just what's on your mind? is it a lesson in life? is it a tutorial? or D, all of the above? - then i get to WA and they want me to WRITE a blog! NOW what do i do? WELL, fortuneately, in my wandering through WA, i start to get a little more comfortable with what a blog is but i'm still facing the issue of what do i write about? - i think and i think and then i come up with the idea that seeing i'm a newbie... that would be a good place to start.

i really enjoy the community and the camadarie - there truly are plenty of good doobies out there ready to help (some for more altruistic reasons than others) and it's awesome to be able to get actual replies from real people that are knowledgeable on the topics - that plus the trainings and WAbinars etc. make this site far more valuable than the monthly subscription fee - hey let's face it - i really feel like i'm getting a substantial benefit for my anti - thank you guys for making my education affordable!!!!!
BUT WAIT - there's got to be a downside in all of this - and there is - but it's not that bad and it's a 'time heals all' type of deal - bottom line is... navigation for us newbies isn't as easy from jump as one would like it to be - that being said "anything worth having is worth working for AND worth waiting for" - so if i'm patient and persistent then to the victor goes the spoils - and that's where i plan to be!!! end of story!!

i know everyone's chomping at the bit for the baseball part so here's the gig - the people dispensing the advice can have a tendency (not malicious if i might add) to overestimate newbies' technical knowledge and navigation skills - what's a piece of cake for a seasoned vet just ain't the same thing for someone less computer savvy - NOW, supposing we're on a baseball field (finally!!) - we're on the pitchers mound and i'm telling you to throw a curve ball to the catcher - you reply that you don't know how to throw a curve and i say it's simple, just hold your fingers over the seams like this, and throw it - so you do - not only does it not curve, but it goes NOWHERE NEAR the catcher!! - what do you do now? - the good news is that with time and practice - you can get better with IM on WA or you can get better at throwing a curveball - but guys, please be patient because some of us just don't have the skills yet and it takes a little longer to figure out.

the MORAL of the story is that i'm glad to have finally found a site where i can 'get out of it what i put into it' AND... help BY THE BOATLOAD is readily avaible - i hope i can be an asset to WA, learn gobs of IM technique and then help others like myself in the future

all the best and thanks again

bigsteve