What's up with this blog craze? Is it egotism, a desire to share (maybe share TMI), or a way to make journaling, that perpetual assignment of the aspiring writer, a little more interesting? Probably a little of all three.

A few weeks ago, I was at my first appointment with an allergy specialist. He had just been to Spain, so we talked about Spanish artists. Apparently there's a collection of Picasso's erotic art over there, but I digress. After interviewing me and reading the answers to a series of questions, he began talking into a little tape recorder.

He started by greeting his medical transcriptionist and instructing her to give a copy of the report to my primary care physician. Then he listed my name, age (thirty-something), height (5'8"), weight (falls under the TMI category in my book), and marital status (married). He rattled off what I do for a living (graphic designer/technical writer), and what my husband does for a living (computer programmer). He read off my hobbies (sewing and painting) and listed my pets (two cats and a dog...okay, two indoor cats, two outdoor cats, and a dog). Finally he gets to my symptoms, the sneezing, red eyes, etc.

First I was reminded of my late father, who was a psychologist. I remembered how he would do pretty much the same thing in our dining room, though the tape recorder was much bigger in the 70's. But the main thing I was thinking was, "Surely there's more to me than these bare facts! I have to be more interesting than this! And what does my marital status have to do with the fact that I have bad hay fever?"

So, Dr. Garcia, this blog's for you.