A Life In Denim

Why I've made the decision to enter the long-trodden road of the blogosphere - where no thought or tale-of-woe go untold.

I've been traveling the long road of change and growth over the past year, and dare I say, I'm currently working to find myself. This statement alone conjures images of overly-perky sorority girls, binge drinking to the musical selections of Lady Gaga and discovering their sexual side. Needless to say, dear reader, that's not quite the journey I have in mind for myself.

After nearly a decade of working within the realm of so-called conservative politics - more accurately, working as a political hit-man - I came to the realization that I remained unfulfilled. The endless barrage of direct mail that had to be created, campaign plans that had to be drafted, and my uncertain future between election cycles, coupled with the constant needs (and self-aggrandizing) of clients - while my personal needs were constantly on the back burner - finally became too much for my sanity (and my soul) to handle.

So, like many lost souls before me, I returned to the hallowed halls of higher education. It is within these halls that I hope to explore the inner-me, by opening myself to possibilities and new ideas - while hopefully working to atone for a lifetime of personal and professional sins.

I suppose the over-riding reason I decided to add my scribbles into the sea of personal journals, blogs, Tweets, and Facebook posts is simply, 'perspective'. So many times we (as in people) travel the road to better ourselves, yet somewhere during that journey, we lose our goal and forget what we set-out to accomplish in the first place. This blog will be my forum to document the personal goals I set for myself, and hopefully, keep me grounded. I feel like Doogie Howser, already!

The idea behind the name of my little corner of blogtopia.

During my first semester within the halls of knowledge (and my first sixteen weeks of self-exploration), I began to read the works of Raymond Carver (pictured in all of his glory, above). After reading my first Carver story (Menudo) I was hooked, and I haven't looked back. Carver's work speaks to me in a way that isn't flowery, or polite and he doesn't work to spin the truth about humanity. Carver exposes our inner-fears in a raw context, stripping away the glib to expose the dirt, hardship, and sadness of regular people. The works of Raymond Carver are exactly what I needed to help me begin this process. I never thought that a writer could touch me so much as to prompt so much personal change and inspiration.

As I began the process of creating this blog, I was reading Carver's "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love." So the title of this little blog is my personal homage to Mr. Carver. It was Carver that helped me take my first step into the realm of change, and it's Carver that will provide my new personal motto, "This time, next year, things will be better."

As I exchanged my supple-leather brief case for a vinyl backpack, purchased at Wal-Mart's Back to School Sale – something I would describe as more of an extravaganza than a mere sale - it became evident that I was committed to this personal journey - the die had been cast. So, for the near future, I hope to keep my blog up to date, as to reflect on the constant (and sometimes overwhelming) changes that occur, navigating my new life in denim.

Salud!