this is not a test

2008-07-14T21:29:00.011-04:00

i set up the template for this blog over a year-and-a-half ago. i wanted something anonymous-ish but, more importantly, with a decidedly personal slant on a blog i already had that everyone i know knows i had.

then i set this aside until the life i'd known for nearly a decade fell apart in one day six months ago. since that day, the following has happened, in no particular order:

i started smoking again
i gained an unnecessary appreciation for multiple tequila shots
i lost weight
i was accepted into grad school for community planning
i graduated from the dc neighborhood college at gwu
i deferred grad school until fall 2009
i was mugged, in broad daylight, across the street from my house
i quit smoking, with a few bumps
i put the tequila bottle away, save for homemade margaritas
i gained some of the weight back
i moved out of my house and beloved 'hood; the ex moved back in
i fell out of love with dc and seriously considered moving
i fell in love with a wonderful man and am thankful he fell, too
i fell back in love with dc
i stopped blogging on the blog everyone i know knows i had.

contrary to what i said in the first paragraph, i've never comfortably had the intention of writing a personal or confessional or journal-like blog...but i'm having a harder and harder time separating my self from the topics i'm most interested in writing about: dc, community building/investment, planning, civic engagement, etc.

and thank god for that, because i've realized - albeit in a way i wouldn't recommend - that i'd long been detached from who i really am. essentially, i'm an amalgam of so many things, there's no reason this blog shouldn't be as well. if i waited until i figured out exactly what i could/should/would write about, well, i'd be dead, and that just seems like a waste of time. and if there's one thing i've really taken to heart recently, it's that i don't have that kind of time to waste.

two fantastic posts i read today that spurred me to log back into this account:
- 14th & you: "show dc some love"
- city desk: "enjoy here while you're here, folks"

i love this city, i want to work to make it a better place (with no disrespect to the place it is now), and i want to share the ride.

bog rosemary

this is not a test