XTX

XTX

A couple of friends who are new readers of my blog have commented “who is that XTX guy who comments on your blog once in a while?” This is usually followed by “those are some fucked up teeth.”

Funny thing: I don’t actually know. If you read her blog (and I highly recommend it) you’ll find out that her name is Tracy, she is not black (see the brilliant “Grammaz” post I’ve linked earlier), she claims to be from/living in Kyrgyzstan, and she claims to be a crab fisherman. I have no idea whether or not she needs orthodontia but I doubt it.

The great thing about blogs is that you can sneak a peek into someone’s head. You have no idea who that person really is, only what they say about themselves. Often truth blends into fiction somewhere along the way but if you are a thorough reader (or a crazy stalker) you can figure out a few true details here and there. Some folks put some amazing stuff on their sites which has to be true. I love this.

My blog might some days be an exercise in “look how smart I am that I had this thought.” Not that I'm the smartest guy (although I’ll claim to be if you should ask me), but I'm not shy about thinking out loud.

My blog post on other days might be something intensely personal. I like that too. I love the work of Spaulding Gray, David Sedaris, David Rakoff, and the earlier spoken word of Henry Rollins for the fact that all these guys tell funny and poignant stories that usually follow the theme of “I thought I was so smart and then I screwed up so badly that I have this little story to tell.” When I was younger I was ashamed of my feet of clay. Now I almost revel in them. Flaws are so much more interesting than perfections. I'm not out there hoping for more, but the ones I have make me different from you. If you are reading this then I am indebted to you and probably either like you or would like you if I knew you, but I don’t want to be like you. I want to know about your clay feet.

But I digress.

Who is the mysterious XTX or the other commentators on my blog (thank you individually and collectively)? NFI. [ NFI stands for either “No Further Info” or “No Freaking Idea”]

XTX is a girl with a gift for writing and a sense of humor whose blog I enjoy reading. She could be anywhere in the world and she could actually be a he (I doubt that too, but it’s possible). The cool thing: It doesn’t matter. She reads my blog, seems to enjoy it, and is nice enough to say so. How fun is that?

But if the teeth question keeps coming up I think I'm going to start a “XTX Extreme Orthodontic Make-Over Fund.” Cash preferred but if you insist, make the checks out to Eric Anderson. I’ll make sure that scary black guy gets the help he needs. And if it turns out that they don’t have dentists in Kyrgyzstan, then I’ll buy that new computer I’ve been looking at.