and so it begins...

First, to explain the title.  I am an unapologetic napkin thinker.  It's what I do in the "in between" times.  The time between ordering and actually receiving my food in a diner, or restaurant or coffeehouse. It's what I do almost anytime I find myself waiting.  It's become a reflex.  A way in which I sort out my thoughts.  Whether it's my "to do" list, or my life's direction, there is probably a napkin record of every stage of my life. 

I have used napkins to make a sale, finding that illustrating my point to a client on that little white square was friendlier and less threatening to the customer. And I have jotted down some of my best sales meetings and trainings on them. Those live in a binder between plastic sheet protectors.  I keep promising to type them up and electronically file them, but they just seem more organic...authentic, in their original form.  And in any event, how do I transcribe the doodles, and symbols and "shorthand" that only I understand?  Something gets lost in the translation, no?

Napkins have been used as a poor substitute for GPS when getting directions in an unfamiliar place.  They have been a point of contact.  Who hasn't jotted down a phone number on one? (No further commentary needed.) I have kept notes on books I should read, songs I should hear, places I should visit and quotes I want to remember, all on the backs of these flimsy, little squares.

I've been observant over the years, seeking other similarly addicted souls and have found lots of company.  And I have sought to define the attraction (on the back of a napkin, of course).  Napkins are handy, they allow for spontaneity.  I feel no need for perfection, it's just not expected on a napkin as it would be in a white paper or on a Power Point. I feel freer to hand out ideas, I sketch more and I think in a much less linear fashion.  And finally, it goes perfectly with my other addiction: coffee.

I am an enthusiastic reader of blogs.  I follow dozens of blogs on knitting, cooking, travel, politics, spirituality, current events, politics, music and daily life.  And I have wanted for some time to start one of my own, but found it almost impossible to do.  For one thing, most blogs I read are around one central theme.  How do you decide which passion you will write about daily?  I knit obsessively.  Maybe it should be a knitting blog?  I love to cook for family and friends, trying out new recipes and creating twists on old ones.  A cooking blog?  I travel constantly for business and pleasure.  Maybe that's my theme.  And through it all, I chronicle my surroundings with a Nikon D80 slung across my shoulder.  A photo blog, perhaps?

And then there are the endless questions of how to set up your website and what do you name it?  What will it look like and can someone with limited computer skills actually do this?  You can see how analysis paralysis can quickly set in.  And why it has taken me so long to get here.  

Until it hit me.  I am over-thinking this.  I am just going to pretend that I am writing this all on a napkin.

And so it begins...