When Bloggers Inspire (an Open Letter to a Blogger) & a Challenge...

*NOTE:  The images contained here in this post belong to the subject of the piece.  They have been borrowed with permission from the owner.

Last week I lost a RL friend to cancer.  And the community I know her from is still reeling.  She was a light like no other.  A friend from that same community once told a group of us to always give flowers before the funeral, because once they're gone...they're gone.

So this...is an unusual post for me.  Not because I don't want to do it. But more like I'll kick myself six ways to Sunday if I don't.  Consider this a strange...open letter of adoration to a fellow blogger. I'm sure that when I asked her if I could borrow some of her photos with promises of linkbacks that she had no idea as to why I needed to do this, but well...it was that or not do this post any justice.

Meet Bubbles.  She is the owner of the Super Gangster blog. She is the reason this post is going up today. I don't know her personally. I have no details of her personal life, SL or otherwise. I have only read her blogs, commented on her posts and once ran into her during a Hump Day Happiness run.  But hangout friends, we are not.  On each other's friends list? Nope.  She's just an awesome blogger that I felt deserved a moment of notice and thanks :)

I've been reading the feeds (Fashion Feed, I Heart SL and the like) off and on since my little sister first told me about fashionfeedofsl.com back over the summer. And while there are some blog posts that help me add (and/or subtract) from my wardrobe and those that just give me epic lawlz, some have truly inspired and have helped round out and revolutionize my style.

So this blog is a huge big up and thank you to her for the awesome laughing til my face aches blog posts that have been sprawled across feeds like iheartsl.com and fashionfeedsofsl.com.


It started with this picture and blog post here:

 http://supergangster.wordpress.com/2009/10/10/oh-my-damn/

I didn't discover this wonderful blogger until October 10, 2009.  I had been blogging for almost two months and while I had read & noted different blogs to read or links to note, nothing had really stood out until THIS post. The afro is what caught my attention first...LOL (and the title of the post sums up my reaction when I saw it...YUP YUP)!  I had been in SL for almost two years by then and tried on several afros, none to my liking. This one just made my jaw DROP.  After gasming over the fro, I went on to continue reading the style notes and looking at the outfit as a whole to see what I would or wouldn't wear, what I didn't have but could make do with and what simply was mandatory in order to duplicate the look or get as close to it as humanly possible.  I laughed out loud LITERALLY at the commentary, watched the music video (which I immediately added to my playlist after I was done shaking my booty) and started shopping. When I went to the store for the afro I got lost and lag was not a forgiving mistress, so I im'd Bubbles.  And to my delight she answered, pointing me in the right direction and voila! the rest is history.

After an unceremonious reformatting of my pc wiped my bookmarks at the end/beginning of the year, I lost the lovely blogger's website and sighed sadly thinking I'd never see her site again.  Now...before you point out the obvious that she is on the feeds, understand ... the above post had been deleted and I couldn't remember for the life of me what her name was or the name of the blog until I ran into her again recently...actually during a Hump Day Happiness run ("not a nerd" glasses anyone? *winks*)!  I had commented on her "I Should be Snowboarding" post and remembered the style, but my sometimey memory forgot to bookmark her site and then poof...it all came back to me and once again I found myself giggling, shaking my booty and taking note of more things to buy.

In reading through her blog, I found posts that made me go hmmm (like her haiti post), posts that made me laugh til my face leaked (like "beggin" and "ugh aka boys") and posts that simply made me go buy the look and/or drool with envy when the items were no longer available (Last Call anyone?). Fan girl much, Kilo?  HELL YES...AND PROUD OF IT.

This blog...and blogger are faaaaaaaaabulous!! No seriously!!  She really is!!  She mixes personal commentary, wickedly HOT picks and music videos to make not only a kick ass look, but a blog that simply put, fun to read. Add to that she is uber helpful and you've got one hell of a person at your fingertips, speaking to your heart and mind when you least expect it.

So thank you, Bubbles.  You've got moxie and a style all your own and you are one hell of an inspiration.  Keep blogging woman!! Oh...and LL is MINE!! muahahahahahahahahaha

As for the challenge that this blog title indicates, here it is:  Never presume that someone knows they're special, knows their worth or has done something wonderful to influence you or a group of your peers.  TELL THEM.  And you don't have to tell them in a blog. You can do so randomly.  But pick someone you ordinarily don't speak to on a day to day basis. Pick the person you think would least expect it. Or...pick someone you do speak to on a day to day basis ... I don't care LOL But tell them what makes them the rock star(s) they are and let them know they've influenced you or that you appreciate something they've done. You never know who might need to hear that...or when.

Ciao kiddies.