A Funny Thing Happened The Other Day.

I met someone this past week. Well, kinda... sorta... in a way. I didn't really meet this person but it feels like I did... somewhat...kinda...sorta. See, it happened on that crazy, topsy turvy thing we call the Internet. The Internet is a crazy place, if you can actually call it a place. It's like a long, never ending hallway with millions of doors along each side. There is no beginning to the hallway and no end. When you enter the hallway, it is from one of these doors and you have a choice to go left or right (I mean that in a non-political way). You can head in one direction and then turn around and head in the other. You can open one door or try to open all the doors. When you open a door and look in, you see a room with more doors on each wall. Each of these doors lead to another room and each room leads circuitously back to the hallway. Some rooms are light, some are dark but they all are filled with things.

Ok people, it's a metaphor for how I met this person. I opened a door and then another door and then another. I came across a room where I stopped a while because I was curious about the things in the room. Those "things" were the words this person wrote and the words other people wrote in response. So I hung around a while and then I decided to visit this "room" more often because I like it. You don't have to like it, you don't have to visit it. That's not the point of this post. It's just background information.

You see, when I was visiting this person's site, it was like I was having a conversation with that person. Except I wasn't talking, just listening. After a while of listening, I had a feeling that I figured this person out; that I had come to know this person...kinda... sorta. So I took a chance and wrote a post about this person. Lo and behold, she read it and talked about it on her site, even shared it with her readers. I got a nice, kind of weird, feeling from the whole exchange. It's hard to explain. You see, it was like I had this brief, momentary connection with another person somewhere in the world despite barriers; a kind of understanding. All well and good.

But then I noticed something the other day. I had five followers. Whoa, I thought, when did this happen? I knew there were more than just the two shown but they are friends and family that stop in from time to time. So I checked out who these new people were. Well, one of them is a certain rebellious arab girl I kind of, sort of know. The other two I can only guess came from her site and I don't know. It's good because a lot of people don't really listen to me anyway so the more the merrier. Still, I had to pause for a minute and think about this because these new people change the dynamics of my blog. So I'll take a little time to explain what this site is about.

First off, welcome to my world. Glad you stopped by and hope you stay. Don't be scared, it may seem a little crazy and confusing but it's not that bad. Kinda...sorta...he,he, he. Just kidding. Now to the nitty gritty.

I like to think and I like conversation. Some of my most enjoyable times were spent in a diner with my best friend drinking multiple cups of coffee and talking for hours about anything and everything. I've had some pretty deep conversations and some pretty deep thoughts. For a long time now, my life has become this quest for understanding myself, the world around me and even at times the universe I live in. Oh yeah, I end up talking about it. Over the years, people I talk to have suggested I write about these things, even start a blog. I usually dismissed the idea for a variety of reasons; "Who would read it? Who would want to read it? I don't have the time. Some of this stuff is complex and I'm not sure how to communicate it. Some of it's personal and I can't really talk about it". Back in July, I finally gave in because I had an idea. My idea was to start a site that had multiple aspects to it. I'll go into the details of this idea in a seperate post but suffice it to say this blog is a possible seed for this idea. As you can tell, I sometimes...OK most of the time...get long winded. Sorry, I can't help it.

Anyway, what I'm trying to do with my little site here is have an exercise in thought. I've just recently started so there is not much here. The posts cover different topics, sometimes in a general way and sometimes not. There will be times when it is just my opinion, other times just an idea or concept I have that I'm throwing out to the public. The point of this is that I want a discussion. I want feedback of all sorts. Agree, disagree, even build on an idea and expand it. You see, I've had a lot of experiences and learned from them. That's caused me to live with certain values, philosophies, morals and such. But I don't just simply reach a point and stop. I periodically, if not constantly, question myself and reevaluate what I think. Just to make sure they still hold true. Different viewpoints help to accomplish that.

The reason I paused with things when I saw new visitors is that I'm aware people have different backgrounds and perceptions and that means when they first come to the site they will make a judgement. There are reasons I have things the way they are but since you don't really know me you won't know those reasons. The quote at the top of the page has some meaning to me that is not necessarily political. It can be interpreted in different ways. The sites listed on the side are there for my convenience as are the news feeds. It's sometimes easier to click over there than to open new tabs. You may find some of them offensive. No one is forcing you to visit them. I don't agree with everything on those sites but I still read stuff I don't agree with. It's called thinking. I do have some ground rules. I would like any comments to be civil, not just name calling. Like I said, the purpose is a discussion, maybe even a debate or argument. Not a shouting match but a reasoned argument. If people write a lot or wish to contribute an article or post, send it to me. I would like to one day add permissions so this site becomes more than mine. I will be adding contact information soon.

I have changed some of what I write lately. It has been more personal, more about me. There are reasons for this. I wrote a post about someone else because she told me about herself. Since that has led her here, along with others, it seems only fair that I tell them about me. My experiences and the experiences of those who have in some way touched my life are what has shaped who I am. In order to understand what I'm talking about you need to understand me. Our perceptions change as we find out more information. You may judge me one way now but the more you learn about me your perception will change. Secondly, there is an underlying theme to what I write and it's a theme developed from living my life. If you know the background, you will understand where I am coming from.

I mentioned an underlying theme. It does and will run throughout this blog. It's your job to figure out what that theme is. Hell, I'm not exactly sure where it's going. When I write a post, I don't just blurt something out. There is a lot of thought that goes into it. The subject is sometimes hard to figure out, maybe even subtle or hidden. That could be because it's a concept I'm thinking about or it could be on purpose. Like I said, it's an exercise in thought. So I only ask that when you read a post, think about it, maybe even reread it and then comment. That's the fun of this.

So, welcome aboard, hold on and enjoy the ride.