I, Charlie

I’ve got to get done with this blogging about blogging (and as soon as I can get around to investigating the whole phenomena more I may end up blogging about blogging about blogging).

I doubt that it is important who I am, what I do for a living, or what goes on in my life. But just in case, this post tells the story briefly. Born in Maryland (U.S.A.), I grew up in Norfolk, Virginia, got a degree in Physics from William and Mary, and another in Materials Science from Northwestern University. The first 28 years in about as many words. Then a rich 12 years (or so) in Idaho, working for The Man – a beautiful place and just what I was looking for out of life, at that time. Dabbled in business and made some mistakes – no, money is not the answer, it’s usually the problem – then thought I had to hit the road. I switched to manufacturing and prowled factories in Indiana, Michigan, and finally China – if life were a river I lay on my belly and always drank deeply; but sometimes too deep. Two years in Northern China is a long time for anyone, but I learned what could be learned from the experience, contributed what I knew (and more things I didn’t know I knew), and then moved on. I spent the next year rambling across SE Asia, from Bali to Kathmandu – but that is another bunch of stories (“the travelogues”); many of these blog photos will come from this time. Now, I live in Berkeley, California and work at a technology start-up company nearby; I try to do some crafts (woodworking, hot glass work, blacksmithing, etc.) and believe that we all have to do something for our culture, so I should volunteer more. I like to travel, I do it very easily, and this is a good thing – the world is more than just our local environment, and experiencing it locally makes us better citizens. Enough about me, let the blog begin – no plans, just writing in the moment.

Photos: When I am lucky families out there in the world adopt me, her family in Wuqing (China) owned a fishing pond and we had a tremendous bond for several years, despite not being able to converse at all. Perhentian Kecil (Malaysia) was one of the most perfect places I visited, and this family there fed me and ferried me by boat for weeks.