Be New

I say beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes.

--Henry David Thoreau

So, it is a new year. Time for a new look? Well, that certainly is part of it. If you like the sleek new appearance of the blog, you and I have Curly Su to thank for it. I certainly could not have done it, and when she asked what I wanted for a Christmas present, there was no hesitation. I asked her to give my blog a makeover and she did. I think it is beautiful, and I hope you enjoy coming here all the more.

I am also hopeful that the New Year's makeover is not restricted to the blog's "clothing" or to the blogger's. Like Thoreau (maybe the only thing I have in common with such a penetrating thinker), I am suspicious of all things that focus on changing the outward appearance. I am suspicious because those things often don't have any changes of substance. On a silly level, that may be why I don't have a pointy aero helmet or race wheels. On my rig, they would scream, "POSER!!" I need to change the rider of the bike and make him faster and stronger before I worry about wheels and helmets and any more gear.

Triathlon sometimes is one of those "enterprises that require new clothes." People who can gear up do so, whether or not they are making any changes in themselves and whether or not they have any intention of making this sport a part of who they are. Much more often, however, I have found that triathlon changes the wearer of the clothes, and only later do the clothes change. It has changed me, from my physical appearance to my personality. This year, I want to allow that change to continue and hopefully to infect more and more of my non-athletic life in a positive way.

For one thing, I have long fantasized about becoming a writer. Enough fantasy. It is high time I started being a writer. I need to start just doing it and going about it in the same fashion that succeeded in turning a sedentary lawyer into a passable triathlete. I intend to work on the techniques, practice, get instruction where needed, start small, and increase the volume and intensity over time. Over the long term, I hope to hone my craft and start writing things that people will want to read and perhaps pay for. I hope this blog will be one tool I can use to do that, and that you enjoy watching it happen. Thankfully, I think I have a bit more talent at writing than I do at athletics. So, while I would starve if forced to earn a living with triathlon, maybe I can make a living some day writing about triathlon, endurance sport, life, music, and the other things I love. Whether or not that happens, I love writing, so why not write?

So, the year is new for you as well. To what will you devote this time, your life? Be open to the serendipitous accident, but don't accidentally expend all of 2008 and wonder what happened. Be new.