Welcome

Hello, and welcome to the blog!

This blog is here for a couple of reasons. First, I'm a Ph.D. student, and as such, I'm going to have to write a thesis--some monstrous 200 page long thing. In the interim, I have to write various papers and reports, and I'm finding that I'm having problems doing the most basic task of writing: putting words together in an orderly, understandable way. I figure that I need the practice of just writing complete sentences.

Second, it has been suggested to me that I take up a hobby. Apparently my life is somewhat pathetic. Now that school has begun, my days go something like this: I go to school, I come back home. Over this past summer, I worked mostly from home, and so didn't leave the house for days at a time. I don't draw, or do anything "craftsy" or "artsy". I cook minimally, so that I have something to eat. I don't listen to music, and until a few weeks ago, I didn't own a TV. I have no pets. I don't collect anything. I don't do anything outdoorsy--gardening, hiking, running/walking. My shopping trips are functional, not recreational. I neither travel nor entertain at home. I don't think I DO much of anything. I'm not sure this is necessarily a bad thing--I mean, I can't really figure out if reality TV show stars do much either, besides be on TV--but it does leave me in a tough spot when someone asks about what I do for fun.

I'm not sure I'd call this blog something I'm doing for fun. This blog is intended as an exercise more than anything else. The goal is for me to write for 15 minutes, twice a week--hence the name 2 by 15. That way, I can get in practice putting words on paper, and I have something scheduled I can do for 30 minutes each week. Basically, my goal is that on Tuesdays and Fridays, I will sit down at my computer with a timer set for 15 minutes. During those 15 minutes, my fingers are to move continuously, and I'm to type whatever comes to mind. If what comes out is coherent--great. If not, well, it's the exercise that counts.

This will be a themeless, subjectless blog, held together, hopefully, only by a schedule. May it last longer than a typical New Year's Resolution.

Welcome.