Why the blog?

A few words about why I started this blog, and the name.

First, I wanted a place to put thoughts and impressions about my upcoming trip. I'll have a notebook and camera, but it's a month-long trip. That's a lot to try to condense and share at the end. I'll be calling Husband everyday, but there are some people I have gotten into the habit of e-mail often and would like to continue communicating with them. And if I'm logging on to e-mail, I might as well log on to blog.

This trip is for work and I have started a work blog at nameofworkplace.blogspot.com. And if I'm going to blog for work, I need a place to put my thoughts that are not work related, like the yarn shops I visited, or the meals I had, or whatever. One of the cities I'm going to, I went to for my honeymoon, and the hotel will be close to some of the places Husband and I went to, and a big scene in Bridget Jones's Diary: the Edge of Reason is set there. Not quite things to include in the workplace blog. Very, very important to separate business and pleasure.

Second, I chose the name because I have so many hobbies and interests, and this seems like a good way to keep track of everything and to write about my passion du jour. There's only so much Husband can take and this is a place where I can put my thoughts about them.

There's a book called "Who Are You People? A Personal Journey Into the Heart of Fanatical Passion in America" by Shari Caudron. I like the website because the banner at the top shows a guy in a cheesehat. Some of you understand why that makes me smile. She interviews people who are really passionate about something, like Barbie or fly fishing or whatever. They collect these things, go to conventions about them, go to clubs or chat about them. They are relatively normal people who are just really, really into something, and the author explores it. I haven't read the book, just blurbs, and don't think any of my interests are covered, but I understand those people. That kind of inspired the name of this blog.

Third, I think about my mom who is a published essayist. She is such a great role model is so many ways. She has written essays about her opinions, her interests and you all know I've got opinions and they must be shared.

My mom's compiled her essays into booklets, organized by subject or theme. Apparently she has written about each of her kids and put them in booklets, but has lost the one about Brother 2. One of these days I would like to have copies of them. And then have them translated from Chinese into English so I can read them. Sounds like a job for Brother 1 or Brother 2, who actually do read Chinese.