Blogging from Paris ...

Even though I'm quite late to the game, after some needed encouragement, I've decided to start this blog to share some of my experiences living in Paris. I don't have a clear idea yet of the style of this blog but I hope it serves as another way to stay connected to my family and friends. The plan is to update this blog once a week, each Sunday, with a few images, recounting of experiences and random thoughts about living in Paris. As you'll likely see in the images I post, even after 5 years in Paris, I'm still very frequently entertained with quite simply what I see on the street here.

I journal everyday. I have for 5 years now. Each night, for the last 1,877 nights, I've sat down at my computer and written in my electronic journal (yes, I back it up regularly). My journal is many things to me: a way to organize and crystalize my thoughts, a reference for people I've met and places I've been, a tangible way to track the progress (I hope) of my own thinking over a number of years and a long-term insurance policy against Alzheimer's.

There is an older woman named Gisele here in Paris that I met while wandering around the Marais my first week here who, in broken English, randomly asked me if I happened to keep a journal. I said I did and she said that she collected journals going back to the Middle Ages and had the audacity to ask me if I would send her my journal. I agreed and now, for the last 5 years, she's been translating my journal into French and sending it to a French organization that archives journals for the purpose of documenting life during this time on earth. My journal is their first from an American this century. Don't worry, I only use first names in the journal so if you're mentioned you're unlikely to get a phone call from some historian 20 years from now.

I'm writing about my journal because it will serve as the source for this blog. I will likely pull out some excerpts each week, embellish a bit, add some photos ... et voila ...my blog.

I encourage anyone reading this blog to leave me some form of comment just so I know this blog is serving its purpose ok? (click on the word "Comments" below each entry to leave a comment)