from the ashes

oh, internets...how I've missed you.

it's been over 8 months since I've written anything other than a grocery list, and boy am i happy to be back.

why was i gone for so long? good question, i don't really know. i do know that late last year, i just felt drained. my creative juices had stopped flowing; maybe i lost my muse. the thing with writing, like anything else, is that if you don't stay active, then you lose the ability to do it. this has been a great outlet for me in the past...i'm hoping it'll only get better in the future.

but why now? after all this time, why start another blog? over the past few months several people have come up to me and encouraged me to start writing again. just this week a friend of mine suggested i use my power (read employment) with the Tribune Company to get a weekly column in one of their papers. i assured her that 1) i have no power within the Chicago Tribune, and 2) they don't just give columns to average phil's off the street with no experience, or journalism background. but i promised her i would consider blogging again, which seemed to satisfy for the moment.

on my way to work this morning i was really thinking about writing again. is it something i really want to commit to? what if it's been too long? i'll never get an audience back. i thought "if i do this, i'll need some sort of sign...something from above." just then it hit me....

a bird had just crapped on my arm.

i figured considering my luck, that's as good a sign as i'm going to get. so here i am, internets, poop-stained arms stretched wide, ready for your warm, familiar embrace. don't let me down.