Tess of the d’Urbervilles | Raising the Curtain

They say every journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step. This post represents the first step of my bloggosphere journey. Like most novice bloggers, I start this journey with a whole lot of enthusiasm, wonder and excitement together with a squeeze of trepidation and many questions. I am hoping that in a couple of years, I’ll look back at this post and see how far into the bloggosphere I have travelled, laugh at what I didn’t know and like a proud parent savour what I have grown and nurtured.

Why this blog? I enjoy the written word and entertaining people. If I can raise an “ah-ha”, a laugh or a smile out of just one person, then it’s a good day. I also love community. Ironically, my love for the written word came long after I left school – my English teachers will attest to that. I remember not so fondly my high school years in English class wondering why the English department had nothing better to do than butcher some great novels. Take Thomas Hardy’s novel, Tess of the D’Urbervilles – a fabulous girl meets boy story. At one point (actually several points, but let’s not go there), Angel leaves Tess and Tess is blue. What an amazing literary coincidence that at the time of Tess’ “blueness” the weather is dank, wet, cold and depressing to match her mood. And just my luck I had to write a thousand words about this very imagery. Why couldn’t Tess just turn up the stereo, listen to her favourite break up songs, eat a tonne of ice-cream, cry her little eyes out and funk out without the appropriate scenery like everyone else? It would have saved me an excruciating thousand words!

Roll the film forward and I am grateful that the love of the written word found its way to my life. This is a very good thing given I have spent most of the last quarter of a century working in a profession where every word counts and a stray “and” or “or” can change the meaning of a document or the course of a transaction (not to mention cost someone a whole lot of mullah). However, business writing is not creative writing and my creative muscle is begging for a regular work out. So the blogosphere it is.

I have called my blog “Raising the Curtain” because through it I hope to find a way to effectively prepare for life’s second act. What happens when you get to the crossroads and find out that the road map which you have been using no longer applies or that life has stopped providing the signage you need to finish your journey? How do you survive middle age and come out bigger and better than before? I don’t have the answers….. yet, but I am hoping to go at least some of the way to finding them through writing, sharing common experiences and humour. I am not a change your life guru or a dream merchant… but what I do know is that a journey shared is more fun than a solo journey and I love learning new things.

So, let’s raise the curtain to the second act. Currently at the crossroads I can see a “Stop” and a “Give Way” sign and a sign that says “U-turn”. None of these seem right. There is a whole lot of fantastic living still to be done and most likely a “Dip” or a “Hump” on the way. I love to hear your points of view, so let’s make this a two way conversation.