Obligatory First Post

Well, I promised many of you (and most importantly, myself) that I would start a blog about my (mis-)adventures, trials, tribulations, successes, failures, and general experiences here in Berlin, so here it is.

I know I have already been here for almost 2 weeks, but hey -- I've been busy getting situated.  Look for some updates later today with some of my correspondence to friends and family so you can get a feel for what I've been up to these last few weeks.

I've always found this concept of the blog (or for those of you from a previous era, diary) a bit contrived.  I never quite understood the point when I was younger, and even now it's taken quite a bit of personal convincing to actually sit down and do the damn thing.  I've always felt that it would take up too much of my time and/or I wouldn't know what to say.  While both things may be true, I have found that when spending a considerable amount of time by yourself each day (or consequently just not speaking to anyone because no one speaks your language), you have quite a bit of time for introspection and wouldn't you know it, blogging!

So here it goes, my first concrete attempt at retelling my life through words.  For those of you who know me well enough, you will also know that despite the fact that I now must write considerable lengths of text each day for my (unpaid) job, writing is by and far my most loathed task.  For me, writing is forever associated with deadlines, essays, and just general pain.  Let's face it, I'm a slow writer, so this sort of thing is a big deal for me.

I'm going to go fold my laundry now and hope that someone in the courtyard admires half-naked American men doing domestic chores and decides to strike up a conversation.  Who knows, it's Europe.  It could happen.