Welcome to the Blog!!

Ok, fellow '89 Warriors, as well as any other former classmates and/or friends.....insert your drumroll of choice here......the Class of '89 blog is finally here. I know, I know...what the hell is a blog....why do we have one...and how on earth does anyone have time to even mess with a blog....I'm sure these are questions you're asking yourself, and you're probably rolling your eyes. BUT...as much as we all hate to admit it, staying in touch via email can be a major pain in the butt. Between changing jobs (I'm a pro at this), changing personal email addresses, moving around, etc. I figured trying to stay in touch via email would eventually be more of a hassle than anything. So I decided to create this blog so that we would all have a central (no, not the high school...) place where we can connect with each other. Post updates about our lives, families, and so forth. As well as tell old stories, share great memories, or even rag on each other (I'm a pro at that, too). So for those of you that are computer illiterate, you need to get with the times and at least figure out how to use this blog (it's not that hard, believe me...).

Some features I'd like to point out:

This page here is the front page. As far as I can tell right now, this is going to stay as a static "home page" just to welcome everyone, as well as give you general pointers in using or viewing the blog. I'm using a standard theme for the blog that gives us a main area (here) as well as a side bar (to the right) with stuff like a story archive, mp3 player that plays 80's tunes, link to a Flikr photo album for us to upload old pictures, new pictures, etc. The theme may change from time to time, as I find more useful or functional themes that add cool features or better, easier views.

I have emailed all of the CHS '89 classmates that I have email addresses for, and I've asked you all to sign up for a Google account. In order to join a Blogger blog, you must have a Google account (your Google email address will be your username). Once you have done that, you will be able to log-in to this blog and post stories, updates, etc. Otherwise, you'll just be able to view the blog but not post updates. And as you all should understand, this will be pointless if I'm the only one posting, adding stories and pictures, etc. This needs to be a collaborative effort on the part of us ALL, so that we can reconnect with each other, have fun, and make the most of it.

If you click on a month in the Archive, it will take you to all of the posts for that month. Posts can be updates, funny stories from the past, ideas or comments on anything under the sun, etc. You can also choose to add a comment to someone's post. Think it's funny? Think it's a bunch of BS? Disagree? Then post a comment and let the fun begin...

The Categories section will take you to all posts sorted by category. When you post something, you can associate the post with a category (i.e. humor, friends, family, 1st Grade, college, etc.). That way you can click on a category and see all posts relative to that single category.

The Warrior Photos section will not only display random photos from the Flikr photo account I created for us, but if you click on it, you will be taken to the Flikr photo gallery where you can upload your own photos, as well. Once you upload your photos, you can then create a "set" so that your photos can be collected or grouped in that set..which is more or less an album. BUT...you can't create the set until after you've uploaded your photos. If you have any questions on this, just email me and I'll walk you through it.

The Links section is basically just links to other blogs or sites that might be relative to us. I have added links to my personal blog as well as another blog I created when my daughter, Sloane, was born. So for any of you that have sites on My Space or just personal sites you've created, feel free to send me the link and I'll add it to the section.

And that's basically it. Like I said, the site's look and feel might change from time to time, but the general functionality should stay the same. I truly hope that all of you participate and make this worthwhile. We are all busy with work and family or personal stuff. And maybe some of you out there just don't care to stay connected...and that's fine, too. All that I ask is that you give it a shot. Corinth was and still is a special place for all of us, and even if some of us weren't "close" or didn't run with the same group of kids way back then, we're all older now and realize (or at least I do) that no matter who were are now, who we were back then, or WHATEVER....it's great to catch up with old friends, tell old stories, and get to know each other all over again. I hope this makes sense, I hope you all give it a shot, and I can't wait to see where all of this goes!!

I look forward to watching the action unfold!!

Sincerely,

Jake