About me.

This blog is an experiment in many ways.

1. I have never written a journal before, much less a blog. To me the act of verbalizing of my thoughts requires the visualization of a listener. That, in turn, makes me self-conscious of what I am saying. For example, even without meaning to, I rewrote the start of this paragraph three times until it sounded right (I then came back and edited it twice while proofing it). But once all that editing happens, it is not clear whether I captured the thought in its original form, or whether I modulated it to fit the perceived listener.

So my first experiment is to see if I can edit myself less.

2. I am verbose. It's just the way I am. (e.g. the last sentence.) I presently subscribe to only one blog - that of Paul Graham. I like what he says, and how he says it. But he calls his pieces essays, not a blog. When ever I have tried to write something I itend to post, it tends to come out like an essay - and takes me at least 8 hours to boot. Which means I wait months before I muster up the energy or time to write again.

My second experiment, therefore, is to just write what I mean to say. Quickly. And then get out before the mission expands to something broader. (The very act of writing involves pondering, which necessarily means one has something more to say before one finishes.)

3. I tend to want to get everything right the first time. This usually lends to analysis paralysis. For example, once I decided I was going to start journaling this journey, I researched free blog services for almost an hour, before I reminded myself Just do it. (Of course, I also wondered whether a blog itself was the right thing. So I also investigated twitter, Facebook, and MySpace. Sigh!)

Experiment three: Get it done, even if it is not how you wanted it. That's better than never getting around to it.

So, if you perceive a confused voice, it's because I am trying to become something that I am naturally not.

Note to self: To succeed as a teacher you definitely have to get #2 & #3. With regard to #1, you have to learn what is worth keeping (i.e. seeing it from the eye of the student) and then get rid of the rest.