Asterisks Anonymous

Hi, I'm Tara, and I'm an Asteriskaholic....

A whojawhataholic??

An Asteriskaholic! *rolls eyes*

I love speaking in asterisks. I'm addicted to it. I don't know what it is about them, but I just love them. There's something incredibly funny about seeing all those comments inserted between two asterisks. What makes it seem even funnier is that half the time the asterisked comments are 'actions' - and actions are something that we normally just can't do when we're online. We type, and that's it. That's the level of our interaction. OK, some of us are using the techy stuff to help us interact better - web cams, microphones e.t.c. (that I call web cams et al 'techy stuff' should tell you just how computer inept I am, by the by), but most of us are relying on typing for our interaction needs. (I just read what I typed and the words 'interaction' and 'inserted' are popping out at me. Erk. Popping, too. Note to self: must do a blog about innuendo in the near future).

Anywho.... asterisks. Yup, I love them. Over the years I have started talking in asterisks more and more often. In fact, I would hazard a guess that 90% of all of my various posts and comments have an asterisked word in there somewhere. Today, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite asteriskisms (Yes, I also love making up new words. Note to self: Make sure I blog about that too).

*glomps* - Possibly my very favorite asteriskism. I'm not entirely sure where the 'glomp' originated, but I started using it about four years ago. It's basically a very large and squishy hug, and it's a quick way to send an internet buddy some love and support. There are variations on the 'glomp', and my personal list includes 'glomping', 'glompable' and 'glompies'.

*dies* - Obviously not literally, but usually this would indicate extreme shock, horror and/or amusement. It's the internet version of the dropped jaw expression.

*dies laughing* - A variation of the above, but specifically for amusement. By the way, I don't think it is possible to literally die from laughing (unless you are that old banker from Mary Poppins. Whoops, there's that old innuendo thingy again).

*smiles* - This one's self-explanatory, but it's handy if you can't use the old ' :) ' due to posting restrictions. There are variations on this one too, such as *grins*, *beams*.... well, you get the idea.

Of course, you can get creative and put just about anything between those funky asterisks. Whole phrases have been known to enter the hall of asteriskism. It's just fun to do it (especially if you're me *snort*). Oops, that's another favorite one right there -how could I have forgotten *snorts*? Possibly the most frequently used asteriskism there is!

Anywho, there we have it. I AM an asteriskaholic. Try it yourself if you haven't already.... I dare you NOT to love it.

*points finger and laughs evilly*

*looks shifty*

*whistles innocently*