And then there was blogging...
Reading my late grandfather's diaries, on January 1st of 2000 he opened with this sentence: "January 1st, 2000 - The first day of the week, the first week of the month, the first month of the year, the first year of the decade, the first decade of the century!"
A very clever and inviting way to start a diary. I aimed for an equally impressive intro, but January 1st 2010 failed to support my goal, as it isn't quite as an exciting year as the turn of the century. But hold on to your porcelain tea-cup there, my friend, cause 2010 is indeed an exciting new year. With all that is going on in the world, endless questions arise to the table, and many anticipating faces await the many wonders, surprises, adventures, happenings, etc; that this new decade unquestionably will bring.
And as a timid yet solid addition to that, 2010 will also add to the world BA-LOG! "So what!" you say? I agree. It's an unnoticeable move that will make no difference to or in the world. I will resort to defending BA-LOG with the oh-so-overused cliché "It's the small things that count in life!". You hear people say 'Take it easy! Stop to smell rose, listen to the birds, look at the sky..' and so on. Sure, theoretically those things sound just swell. Well, in my world, taking it easy means getting no work done, there are no roses anywhere remotely close to where I live, the only birds I heard this week were some annoying seagulls by the shore and my neighbors frantic parakeet, and the sky is mostly grey and depressing during most of the year. So I think those sayings should be categorized into specific geographical specifications. Instead, from now on the universal cliché saying will be 'Hey, relax! Have a cappuccino, watch some FRIENDS, read a ba-log!'. Much more intriguing, in my opinion. It'll catch on… (I have something to say about clichés, but I'll spare you the neurons and bring that debate up some other time)
So, what is BA-LOG? It's the Bekim Aliji Log. My blog. My ba..log! I would love to reach 365 new blogs by the end of this year! My first thought was a new blog each day, then I snapped back into reality and realized my schedule often is more crowded than Tokyo, so the only definite criterion is the number of 365 blogs, not divided into the ratio of one per day.
And what will the ba-logs entail? Everything from brief stories, to long letters, to weird observations, to my daily activities, to interesting things I find in the world, to inspirations, to commentary on social issues, to news, to fun events, sad events, exciting subjects, books, movies - good and bad, architecture, dance, music, creativity in the world, photography, food, more food, coffee, and all in between.
And how was my first day of the first week of the.. *fast forwards*…of the millennium? Well, it started out with me being invited by a friend to a party at his place, for New Year's Eve. I went, and it was a nice gathering. I knew three people there, but the rest of them seemed nice, and it ended up being a pleasant evening. It all went smoothly, until we decided to call it a night. Took my jacket and left, five minutes later I realized I didn't have my phone on me. So I thought I'd forgotten it in my friend's apartment, and went back to get it. But it was nowhere to be found. Which means, some lowlife imbecile from the party took it. I hate people! They are just a burden to this world. I don't even care about the phone, it's just a piece of metal and plastic. Forget even all the hundreds of pictures and videos and text messages etc. All I really want back are all the important notes I've saved over time. For years now, whenever I've had an idea, for work, or whatever, I wrote it down. Not to even mention the endless of lists I saved. It may seem stupid, but they were really valuable and too many to remember to write them down again.
But I'm a very stubborn person. I will find it. Trust me. Well, don't trust me, but root for me.
Anyway, onto the next day. A sad start, but other than that particular event, it's been good. I went back to Kenny's house, ate chicken skewers with teriyaki sauce (delicious) and had an intense YouTube-session until sometime after 6 a.m.
So, the next day, January 1st, the beginning of the year, I start off with sleeping until late afternoon. It was already dark again when i woke up. Spent the day at Kenny's, watched movies with friends, ate chicken skewers again, and missed my last train home.
It is now exactly 6:15 a.m., hours after what is normally considered bedtime, and I am eagerly writing my first blog, or ba-log as I will call it, and hoping for a successful outcome! 1 down, 364 to go! Hey, did you guys (I already assume I have endless of trusty followers of my blog) know that the total time span for 2010 is 8,760 hours?? That's it?! Are they serious?!? That sounds like the equal amount of time I spend in a year waiting in line for coffee! Or the amount of time i spend complaining about things (WHY MUST EVERYTHING BE SO COMPLICATED?! Another topic for another ba-log though). Anywho, that's the skimpy amount of hours the year offers us, so make the best out of them. Go, learn, create, read, observe, do what you do, cause soon the hours we have will be gone, and a new year begins. But that means you're a year older, muscles get weaker, bones lose calcium, attention span shrinks (as does the body), and you'll be less likely to do all those things.
So go! Wish me luck on this, then go, do stuff, and tomorrow is a new ba-log day!
