Sign My Yearbook?

I'm doing a little tech check on my comments section for my blog, so would you please help me out and leave a comment below? Just think of it as a high school yearbook, but of the virtual variety. Hey - maybe somebody famous will sign! Maybe a lot of my twitter followers and facebook friends will sign. Maybe, if I'm really lucky, Richard Engel (someone I truly admire and would love to someday meet) will sign - though he is in Baghdad at the moment. Hmm. Wishful thinking, I suppose. :-)

Anyway, sign away, friends. If you want - and just for fun - let me know where you are!

Languages other than English are all welcome!

Thank you! Merci beaucoup! Благодария! Gracias! Grazie! !شكران Danke schön!

A Blog? Why?

I’ve been thinking for a while now about starting up a blog because I feel like writing. Not because I’m a writer by trade - I’m not. And not because I have any experience writing anything other than Emails, Tweets, Facebook posts or college papers – because I don’t. Oddly though, I kind of liked writing papers. Though last done for class projects while getting my masters, I’ve actually missed the creative process behind writing one. I enjoyed looking into a subject that interested me and then putting my findings together in written form – such as starting up a new university in Abu Dhabi, UAE or about the necessity of language and cultural training prior to starting expatriate assignments to reduce their subsequent failure rate. Having lived overseas a couple of times, I especially loved writing about all things international.

So why a blog? I want to do something important. I'd like to do something for me. I'd like to do something I like.

My current job is not at all what I want to be doing in life. Far from it, actually. I’m there because it was offered at a time I wasn’t otherwise employed. Simple as that. Sadly, I'm there for the same reason I started working for my previous employer: because I didn't already have a job. While my job has its place in commerce, it’s not overly meaningful to me nor is it fulfilling in any way. I’m undervalued and am basically overqualified (I have two degrees, the job doesn't even require one), yet cheap, labor. Am I happy there? No. Not really. Grateful I have something, yes, but happy? No.

I’d very much like to do more, i.e. something important that can be deemed a positive contribution to society. I’d also very much like to do it another country because I love traveling and because I tend to thrive while immersed in another culture. My personality just works well in that kind of environment. In another culture, I feel like I'm in my element. Though they’re growing a bit rusty at the moment from lack of use, I’ve studied languages nearly all my life. I feel that through language, a person can gain a fair amount of insight into other cultures and by extension, a much better understanding of said cultures. Of course, I’m working to learn yet another language, Arabic, simply because it’s fun. Well more important because I just don't understand it and want to travel to many amazing places in the Middle East and North Africa. In addition, I just love learning about other cultures and interacting with all sorts of different peoples from wonderful places. I'm very fortunate in that I've been able to visit a fair number of countries, meet the people, try the foods and in the process, learn about their cultures.

So that said, while I have a rather uninspiring primary job, my second job is far more fun: teaching kids. I am grateful to have the opportunity to teach and influence children, albeit teenage children who are all actually taller than I am! Ahem. This is one part of my life that I feel IS meaningful and while I wasn't originally thrilled with losing my Sunday afternoons (Can't help it. I love football), I do love my kids! Fortunately, I have a private class as well, right afterwards with 10 more kids, so I teach 35 in total.

With a blog, I can write about anything and everything and as little or as much as I’d like. This is fun to put together and hopefully the same to read. However, I eventually hope to touch on more than just the silly stuff. As I’m inexperienced in this arena, I’m starting with what I know I can do but will work towards what I don’t yet know I can do.

So there you have it. Au Lait in a Sidecar, while by no means a literary masterpiece (or a publication on which others rely for their jobs or as a source for news) IS a part of my life over which I have full control. Like knitting, it's a healthy and creative outlet for me where I don't have to follow anyone else's rules, nor do I have to be 100% objective, though there will be times I make that attempt. Since I'm not actually a reporter however, these will indeed be my own thoughts.

In other words, this will be me.

Oh the anticipation!

Oh the anticipation of it all! What to post in my first blog entry of Au Lait in a Sidecar?

Still working out the details and setting up the blog itself, so this posting most definitely does not count.

But, to give you a preview, I do plan to write about random observations - which really can be anything at all, hence the word "random." (See? I'm smart!) Possibilities include:

* Politics - I lean left (Obviously! I use a coffeehouse in an historic building as my 3rd space!) I listen to NPR, served in the Peace Corps, believe in a single payer system of healthcare - you know, like Medicare, only for everybody! Yeah. My leftiness will definitely make itself known!

* Current events- since I like knowing what's going on in the world.

* Knitting ups and downs (may even keep you in stitches)

* Far away places - oh yeah, will definitely write about far away places as I LOVE to travel, (Of course, I could also talk about budgetary woes that prevent me from traveling as much as I'd like...sigh.)

* My progress with Arabic. السلام عليكم

* My cat, Moghi (fair warning: she's a tad evil)

* Fun days in class - my students are awesome!

* People I admire (e.g. W.A. Mozart, Richard Engel or my friend, Cath)

* Who the heck knows what else? Maybe some days I'll even choose to write in something other than English, though it won't be in Arabic for quite a while!

I do know that I plan to write at least something every day, some entries will be short and others probably longer than you'll care to read, but hopefully you will anyway.

Maybe I'll even get around to telling you of the story behind my blog's name! Never know! Could be fun!

Regardless of what's in my mind at any given moment, I do hope you'll stop by from time to time to say hello or even follow me. Heck, maybe I'll even see you at Stauf's!

Всичко хубаво, friends!

(All the best)