Welcome to My New Blog

This blog happened because of two Facebook posts that both contained public commitments toward very specific goals.

The first goal? I committed to writing a book. I told my friends and family that it was finally going to happen. I posted a timeline of my writing goals, and I asked them to hold me accountable along the way.

I made a calendar with due dates. I scheduled consistent time to write--every Tuesday evening after the kids were in bed. At McDonald's. With a large coffee and three chocolate chip cookies.

And I stuck to my schedule.

I began to write. A lot.

However, I came to realize that while I was excited about what I was writing, very few of my ideas related in any cohesive way.

Some of them did, sure. But several ideas were great standalone concepts. A book they were not.

But a blog? Maybe.

My second goal, however, is what gave me the final shove to creating what you're reading now.

I committed to a "Reading 4k." 4000 pages. Roughly sixteen books. I wanted to get it done in two and half months.

I created a reading schedule. I moved my Kindle app to a more prominent location on my phone. I dusted off my actual Kindle and put it in my backpack in a way that caused me to see it every time I got my laptop out at work.

Every day I'd see it. Multiple times. Staring at me. Asking me why I wasn't reading more.

I stacked ten physical books on the corner of my desk at home---much to the annoyance of my wife---to serve as yet another daily reminder of my reading challenge.

I began to read. A lot.

I began to tell people about what I was reading. A lot.

And that's when it hit me: why not tell more people about what I'm reading via a blog?

And, the rest, as they (whoever they are) say, is historical.

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I'm a nerd. I enjoy reading science fiction. I read research about linear regression. I sign up for free online classes about completely unrelated concepts---like creating pivot charts in Excel and game design using Unity.

I have a glass jar on my desk containing a fern that I haven't watered in over five years, which is the last time I opened the jar.

My bookshelf in my home office contains MTG cards, the Harry Potter series, a stack of contract law flash cards, a book on New Testament theology, and Thomas Sowell's Applied Economics.

I collect tea pots, and I've played the piano since I was three.

I have a $6 dollar plastic chess set from Dollar General that I spent over 30 hours hand-painting to make it look and feel more expensive. The pieces are weighted with Play Doh.

I am happily random.

I love my wife more today than the day I married her, and I'm pretty certain my kids are both geniuses, even though the girl is only eight months old.

This blog will tell my story. It will be a focused story predominately framed around my professional life, but even then, it will reflect an array of interests that are odd and unique.

I'm glad you've found my blog. I hope I honor your time well.