popping the blog cherry

so this is the obligatory first blog post... the explanation of why the blog, what to expect from the blog (or what not to), some kind of introduction of myself to readers who probably already know me. i've recently started writing again. after two years of academic immersion, i had forgotten how good it feels to write just for myself. which is typically what i do... i write something, a piece of memoir, maybe a prose poem, or an anecdote, words that feel good to write... and then read it to kb or a friend, or to myself, for the satisfaction of having an audience.

i suppose a blog is an extension of that. a chance to share the writing that feels good for me to get out, and interact with people in a very techy, post-modern sort of way. i have resisted blogging in the past because i didn't think anyone would care to read it, and frankly, i didn't think i would particularly care to write it. plus, i work in front of a computer 8 hours a day (well, for the whole workday, however long that is), so the last thing i want to do in my off-time is look at a computer screen.

but the inadvertant peer pressure from a few key people-turned-bloggers, my girlfriend, a friend in d.c., one in ohio, and a guy partially named olas in albuquerque, has me feeling somewhat left out. so here goes. blog time.

a couple of things:

i've turned into a gardener fairly recently, and i'm good at it (it's true!). see the hand-made garden below:



and some delicious things have come out of this garden so far this summer...



the title of my blog owes to my love of the process of creating things by hand, whether forgoing pre-made ingredients, growing my own produce, taking photos with a manual camera or writing on a typewriter.



at the root of this blogging endeavor for me is the very urgent need for creative expression. i'm paying the bills, and holding out for the next year in an office job that is threatening to steal my spirit. but don't worry, this blog won't be a therapy session... it will be a space for me to remember what and who i love, and if you (whoever you are) get something out of reading it, all the better.

xo