The Visa Diaries

Well hello again, wonderful wide web!
So, I know a few things in life, and one of them is that when somebody says they’ll do something, and then they don’t, its not a good thing. Like, for example, when I say I’m going to be back online with Visa Diaries (as I said almost a year ago) and then I don’t… well, you all go, “yeah, we’ll see.” And then my credibility is shot, and I have to really prove my intention in order to win you back. So yes, I know all that, and I also know that probably nobody is coming by here much anymore. But nevertheless, I am going to open the windows, dust off the cobwebs, put on a new lick of paint, and start having people over again. If not parties, because Visa Diaries never was a raging party type of place, well then salons, brunches, dinner parties, afternoon tea… Time and place to connect and think about the joy, sorrow, and perversity of a modern life in our modern world. All through shopping of course, because that’s how we do it.

Before we get down to business, I want to say a word about why I stopped VD, and why I am back, and to that end, the purchase of this post is: godaddy domain registry and economy web hosting! Between GoDaddy and WordPress, anybody can have a soapbox with almost universal reach virtually overnight. And each website owner gets to set up their little home on the network in whatever way feels like home. It is truly amazing.

GoDaddy and Wordpress

When I first bought this domain and set up my Wordpress blog on my very own Visadiaries.com URL, it was July of 2006, almost 4 years ago. I was living in London between the first and second years of doing my MFA at Yale. Visa Diaries was the online extension of my undergraduate thesis, in which I had logged and decoded 5 years worth of my credit card purchases, to understand the ‘fantasies’ that I was buying into whenever I plopped down the plastic for a new purchase. At that time, blogging was still kind of new, but gaining steam, and definitely a cool thing to be doing – maybe like Tweeting was a year ago. I was psyched to “have a blog,” and I think also psyched to have a platform in a way. Even though it was before Julie&Julia or this (even closer to home, though conceived completely independently) happened, I think I had an idea about being discovered through my blog… ok that’s an embarrassing thing to admit! However, I believe the lesson in that regard is that “being discovered” actually takes a lot of hard work, discipline, and putting yourself out there again and again, and I didn’t have the drive and focus for that. Poor Julie, as we saw in the movie, sacrificed her health and her marriage for her blog. Anyway, I had a lot going on personally and emotionally as I tried to keep it together in grad school, was confused about ending my relationship and life in London, and then moved to New York and trying to start a new life there. The Visa Diaries fell by the wayside.

Now the dust has settled a bit and the air in my head feels much clearer. I’ve been calling Brooklyn, which I love, home for almost 3 years; I have a good job doing graphic design for the City of New York; and, most excitingly, am engaged to be married this coming September to a truly wonderful man. And I’ve found myself missing the Visa Diaries quite a lot. As unlikely as it seemed, examining my purchases was a very profound road to self-discovery. Every time I wrote a post, a new insight would reveal itself to me, and it was incredibly satisfying. Plus, some people read it and seemd to like it, and that was really cool too. Even my dad read it, and that was super-cool . So those are the reasons I’m back – I believe both in living an examined life, and also in starting where you are, and somehow the things I buy turned out to be a very real entry point into making some meaning out of this crazy life. So, if anybody is out there, hello and thank you for reading, and I promise I will be back regularly.

here’s to peace, love, and a new day-
Kate