#88: time flies

It's 07.07.07 today. Time and again I have found myself remembering a post-card my dad sent me this very day exactly 30 years ago. It was dated 7.7.77. And in it he pointed out to the sequence in the date. I was in junior school then, when playing with numbers was fun. I have thought of him so many times today.

#64: ode to 2006

01.01.2007 is just a few hours away; time enough to reflect again on the year that has been.

I've had ups and downs – nothing unusual there. Most days were mundane, but there were occasional novelties. A mobile phone, my first champagne, a blog (actually two), 10 miles in 78 minutes, a digital camera, a ride in a convertible, a road-trip to Boston and Plymouth Rock, out taking photos in a blizzard at 2:00am, reconnecting with some good old friends, and above all – a short vacation with parents, the first in more than a decade.

The opposing bookend was the moments when I threw up my hands and wondered, "Why? Why? Why? Why?" It felt like being under the cosh; finding myself on the wrong side of the double-edged sword named "hope". It was the helplessness of having given it all that I could, and still falling short. Hope, which I had in abundance this time last year, made the trip back to reality that much more painful. I tried putting on a brave face, and treasured the good moments – if and when they came, even more.

So as the clock strikes 12, do I dare wish for a better 2007? Or not tempt fate and leave it at that? I haven't decided yet.

#30: the blogosphere

The ranks of bloggers are swelling exponentially. Two months ago I would have viewed this whole thing with a heavy dose of cynicism. Why? Are most bloggers really saying anything meaningful, or are they just adding to the cacophony of opinionated voices? Is this yet another manifestation of self-indulgent wind-bags? Do they add any value to a discussion or debate? I seriously doubt if my own blog passes that litmus test.
For now I have partly overcome (or effectively ignored) that hill of self-doubt. I say, well, if someone wants to share my thoughts, that's fine. If not, that's fine too. We are social beings and this is one way, albeit highly imperfect, of sharing and communicating ideas. At least I am not filling up inboxes with spam or unsolicited mail.

But part of that cynicism persists. Is anyone other than me reading this? Is this a delusion, or are my pseudo-thoughtful musings of any interest to anyone? And could I have used this time doing something else .... such as a dissertation (ahem)?

I am not soul-searching alone. The BBC admitted:

"Depending on your take, blogs are either a fantastic liberation, a self-indulgent waste of time, or a complete mystery .... If you believe the hype, blogs are as significant as the invention of the printing press for their ability to change the way the world will be seen. If on the other hand you believe the counter-hype, blogs are a self-indulgence which pander to dull people's misguided beliefs that they have something interesting to say".

The Washington Post added a twist to the blog phenomenon in this article.

#2: where to, now?

I got started yesterday. So, "where to, now"?

What do I want my blog to be .... just random thoughts as they float through, or something more meaningful, hopefully coherent, and "profound"? Who should it be for .... me, myself (as it has been in the last one day), or family and close friends, or just about anyone out there? Should it be about me, or about the world around me, or about how the two interact and co-exist? Too many control variables without a clear optimisation function in sight!! (That sounds eerily familiar).

I browsed through existing blogs. They were all over the place .... some were travelogues, some were personal reflections, and some were photo-journals/scrap-book. The end result: I remain just as undecided. I love the page layout (some tinkering with the codes). This I will stick with – at least for a while. And once I begin using my digital camera (actually my uncle's) this summer, I shall post some photos too.

#1: taking baby-steps

This is my first blog .... ever. I had never seriously considered sharing my thoughts freely on www postings. I wasn't comfortable with the idea of circulating my "musings", or making it that much easier for big brother(s) to pry into my head.

But earlier today I read my friend Maria's blog. Sitting in Quito, Ecuador she vividly described her experience of life on the streets during a World Cup game. And I thought, wow, I should try it out myself. If I could download ringtones on a mobile, and text-message, maybe I could conquer this too!! The worst-case scenario isn't that nightmarish. Whoever reads this will find out that I am a football (aka soccer) aficionado .... and that I support Manchester United, England, Brazil, and then any underdog team – in that order. Or that I loathe "Hummers". Now that's really not earth shattering. I say more power and prominence to likeminded enlightened souls who share my cultured tastes!!

So here I begin my adventure with blogs.