How to begin?

Having never blogged before -- and being a horrible writer of journals -- I worry about how I can possibly make this work. But I'm somewhat repentant. I have a reasonable desire to keep some sort of record of my thoughts and feelings.

Not having a crystal ball, I don't know what the future holds for this blog. Don't count it out, but don't count on it, either. When it comes to writing technical documentation, I can type and compose with the best of 'em. But when faced with jotting details of a more personal nature I'm quite cautious. (It took my about 15 seconds to come up with the word "cautious" back there, because I wanted to make sure I used the right word.)

From my 20th through my 21st year I served as a full-time missionary in Portugal. During that time I kept a journal of my service. I've occasionally read pages from that journal, and have been horrified and embarrassed at the content of that journal. Some things would cause me significant embarrassment if anyone were to read that tripe. Other things are simply not at all worth remembering. But most of all, that journal shows how truly immature I was at 19. On the one hand I think it's good for people in general to keep track of that kind of stuff, but on the other hand, I don't think anyone needs to know that kind of stuff about me.

Selfish? You bet yer life!

But I'm willing to attempt to overcome that, trusting that I'm a little more mature (at 37 years), and trusting that practice may improve my ability to capture thoughts and feelings that really might be interesting (and not-so embarrassing) for others to read. And trusting that at least a little early effort here may eventually translate into greater desire and better content.

So, here's my latest attempt to record a little something that represents me. My thoughts. My self. A few events in my life (professional and personal) that someone might find enlightening or at least a little amusing.