First one

I have a daughter in China. She is a Fulbright Scholar and for some reason, I think I have to compete with her. She blogs. I blog. She....well, she blogs so I must blog.

Being the first one, I will lay out some of the thoughts I have about what I want to do with this thing...other than compete with my extremely talented, totally creative, highly intelligent, very-far-away daughter.

I work as a middle manager for a fairly large federal safety agency. The job is stressful and I sometimes need a place to vent feelings that does not involve someone who can either write comments in my own performance appraisal or who needs to be treated like a...well, let's leave that for later.

Some days there will be much to write about, much to vent, and other days there will be not much. For example, as I write this today, I am making preparations for leaving tomorrow. I will be in Las Vegas, attending the wedding of one of my five daughters. It's a fairly short trip, out on Wednesday, return on Friday. Then the weekend, then back to work. I will have no computer, so there will be no posting; I promise to try to remember what happens so I can jot some thoughts when i return.

Right now, I'm watching a movie that demands attention. So, dear reader - and since I am reading this as I type, I probably mean that literally - until we once again meet, au revoir.