How to begin?

How does one begin a new blog? This question has laid in the back of my mind for weeks now, popping up every now and again to cause much uncertain thought. I started this blog over a month ago -- and by started, I mean that I chose a template and a blog name. But I couldn't ever quite figure out what to write my first post about.

It's not as if this is my first blogging experience. After all, I've had a xanga since December 2004. It stands as a semi-chronicle of the experiences and musings of my college years. Some of the biggest changes in my worldview and personal beliefs are evident in its pages, both in what I wrote about over the years and in what I eventually stopped writing about. My entries have dwindled in recent months, however (actually, the most recent post is from 20 March). Even before graduation (which amazingly, is already over a month ago), I'd started to become aware of how much the past few years has changed me. And somehow, the xanga I started as a first year college student no longer seems like the best venue for expressing myself. So, halfway between my college graduation and the plane ride which will take me to Uganda for the next year, I find myself staring at the blankness that is a new blog.

It occured to me that it might be amusing (and perhaps inspiring) to look back at the first entry in my xanga those few years ago. I did. Amusing, it was (also slightly depressing to realize that three and a half years ago, I was annoyed by the thought that gas was approaching $2 per gallon). But not really helpful.

I thought briefly about simply giving details for my upcoming teaching adventure in Uganda. However, there are two problems with that. One, I don't really have details yet (except, I do have an itinerary). And two, while I do plan to use this blog to keep people updated on my East African life, I'm not sure that I want to devote it entirely to that purpose. So, we'll save those thoughts for a later entry.

Nope, for now, I think I will begin by tackling the meme project which Cynthia tagged me for a couple weeks ago. Except, not really. I've never really liked writing requirements and rules, so I'm going to choose to just do the part I like (rule 2 of the original meme): listing 7 facts about myself, preferably weird and random ones. Here goes...

1) I realized tonight that I am emotionally attached to my fleece sweatpants. They, along with all that they stand for -- cold winter evenings best spent with a book and a cup of tea in front of a fireplace after a long day of playing or working in the snow -- are a comfortable part of my life. But, for at least the next year, I will have no need for fleece sweats. Actually, I won't really be wearing pants... and certainly not winter-weather ones. Packing them away tonight, I realized that I will miss winter.

2) Random moods strike me fairly often. Tonight, I kept hoping that it would start raining so I could go outside and dance in the rain. Yeah, random. (Unfortunately, however, this mood struck while a friend wanted me to make detail-oriented decisions about hanging out in a couple days... poor kid!)

3) By mid-evening on 17 August (early afternoon at home), my plane should have landed in Entebbe, Uganda. After that, I'll be exercising my flexibility, patience, and lack of "need to be in control" (and, I'll probably be slightly frazzled... and majorly jet lagged).

4) A few years ago, I was a basketball player, and a pretty good one. I played year-round, and self-discipline kept me training even when I wasn't playing. I recently rediscovered my inner "jock" when I took up running. Unlike other times over the past few years that I started running but never really kept up with it, I've run a few miles more days than not this summer. Why? Partly because my job stresses me out to no end. But mostly, because it just feels good to run. Yeah, I never thought I'd hear myself say that either.

5) I was a feminist long before I could tolerate the term. (Seriously, I'm talking all the way back to early elementary school).

6) My friends love to tease me about the way I say "elementary." Having read significant portions of the dictionary for fun, however, I can assure you that there are two proper ways to say the word (and mine is one of them). Perhaps my non-traditional pronunciation techniques will serve me well when I have to pick up (and possibly teach) Ugandan British English in a couple months.

7) I am a seeker of truth, love, goodness, and peace. This quest currently leads toward silence, compassion, friends, aloneness, nature, meditation, and simplicity. I am learning much from a Grandfather I do not know and from friends whose company I must soon part.

You are welcome to join me on this journey, but please know, the path only leads to the next bend...