Who I Am, and Why I am Doing This

For the past few months, I've contemplated starting a blog. This recurring thought surprised me, because I never thought that I had much that would be interesting to say, and I always thought blogging carried a bit of pretentiousness with it that I would rather not have. (Yes, I'm only 31, and I'm already acting like an old man. This is not the only example of that.)

The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that my desire to start a blog came from my desire to write. Of course, I write every day - I'm an attorney, and a litigator at that. I'm also constantly on email. But that is not the writing that I wish to do - I want to really write, short stories and novels, maybe even some essays. I have no experience in doing this. I was an engineer as an undergraduate (all those "rocket science" jokes make me laugh, because I really was a rocket scientist) and my graduate degree is in the law, so I have very little exposure to real creative writing.

Therefore, I need to practice. I think that the allure of a blog for me was an opportunity to practice, and in a way that others (the few of you who are interested or stumble upon this blog) can comment, criticize, and otherwise guide my development as a writer.

So, that is why I am here. Now, as to who I am.

I never know how to start this - what is the most relevant fact to share first, and what does my choice say about me? I am 31 years old, am married to my 30-year old high school sweetheart, and we have twin sons who are nearly two and another baby due in June. I'm a practicing attorney, specializing in high-stakes civil litigation, and my wife is a part-time social worker. The boys are full-time goofballs and weirdos, which I think sound like the best professions out there.

And now we'll see if I come up with anything interesting to say.