Why do I blog

Dervala's blog is a major influence on why I took up blogging. She tells the story very well over at her place. It involved a Google search for Wanderly Wagon, an Irish children's TV show back in the seventies - this took me to her site, where I spent the bones of an entire day, browsing through her wonderfully written entries. I quickly figured out that we grew up a few miles apart, and attended the same school, and therefore, must know each other. We did albeit in a vague friend of a friend's way. The coincidences rapidly piled up, and we became fast friends. Then, to neatly wrap up our little ball of sychronicity, it turned out she was considering a job offer in San Francisco. She accepted. It's enough to make you believe in reincarnation. We must have know each other in a past life to deserve such a delicious sequence of events. Read her version, and introduce yourself to one of the best blogs around. You won't regret it.

I kept a travel diary on an early Psion while myself and my wife, (then girlfriend), were traveling back in 97. My wife scoffed at the idea of trusting such valuable information to a flaky handheld. To this day she uses a pen and paper. I had a very practical reason for using a computer. My handwriting is illegible. If you got a spider tanked up on Scotch, dipped his legs in ink, and set him a wandering on a piece of paper, you'd get something resembling my script. My teachers in school despaired over my handwriting, and the ability of future examiners to read and grade my Leaving Certificate exams. A college lecturer told me she thought my results could be reduced by up to 15% due to her inability to read my erudite economics paper. I am still bitter. Anyhow, the Psion kept all my thoughts and opinions as we traveled from the UAE, through India, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and into Australia. Almost. In a hostel in Adelaide I was horrified to discover that somehow the back up lithium battery had run out, when as the standard A4's had also died all my data was erased. ...... AND, I hadn't backed up to the flash memory cards I hadn't bought, but should have. Sufficiently chastened, I switched to pen and paper. The Fates however, decided my lesson had not been learned. On a flight from Beunos Aires to London, we stopped to refuel in Madrid. All the passengers had to disembark. As we were getting back on the same plane, and would have the same seats I left my travel journal onboard. Big mistake. The cleaners must have mistaken the well traveled but very tatty journal for trash and dumped it.

I was heartbroken, and furious, but what could I do ? The plane was leaving regardless of the whereabouts of my journal. The crew took my details and promised to contact me if it turned up. In short, there it was...... gone. I did, however make a promise to myself to keep a journal. I had found that I liked writing, it was a great way to document and clarify my own experiences and thoughts, not mention a good way to keep track lyrics and general musical ideas. Of course, life got in the way and I never did get around to keeping a journal. Then I came across Dervala's blog and realised that there was more to the blogosphere than naked partisan political ranting. Of course blogging had many advantages over a journal. My own little soap box on the corner of the Internet, no handwriting, easy access to online dictionaries, ( I can't spell for shit), and Google to search for quotes and the like, (so I could appear smarter and more educated than I am.) AND I could post photographs. I am an inveterate snapper, photos have been been the the real document of my life. So here I am...............