Welcome!
Welcome to my blog. I have been meaning to start one for some time, but I've never really had anything interesting to say. But as I write this from Gulf Port, Mississippi, working as a relief volunteer for Hurrican Katrina, I think I now have something to share. But before I get into that, there are a few administrative things I wanted to get out of the way.
1. What's the name mean?
"The Home and the World" is a novel by Rabindranath Tagore. For some reason I decided to re-read it on the plane to Mississippi. The book is great, although you may get impatient with it if you are into books like "Da Vinci Code" and "Kite Runner," where the narratives have this great self-propelling momentum. This book will make you pause and think about what's going on a lot. You can tell it was written by a poet; the character sketches are deep and the dialogue subte. I decided to name my blog handle after it mainly because I couldn't think of a better name (rejections included variations of my own name and "Braveheart"). But the name is also fitting because the character Bimala in the novel was struggling to break free of life in a sheltered environment, where she wasn't sure of her true self, what she was capable of, etc. I'm now trying to do something like that, and this trip to Gulf Port is the first installment in that journey.
2. What's the purpose of the blog?
I want to record the events along the way for my own personal reflection. I also think that the experiences may be of interest to others who are like-minded to me. But I intend to stick with the events themselves and limit my personal thoughts and feelings. Preaching to you is pointess, especially since you are thoutghtful enough to reflect on the events in your own way. Besides, experience is life's most effective teacher. But I will be adding my reflections where appropriate to remind myself of what I was thinking/feeling at the time of the event.
3. How did I get to Gulf Port, Mississippi?
I am mostly here because of my company, Mercury Interactive. They made me an offer I couldn't refuse: get full paid time off to come as a Red Cross volunteer for two weeks. What a great gesture. Several people have told me how lucky I am to work for a company like that, and they are right. I also wouldn't be here without the support of my managers, Chee and Helen, who have shown nothing but enthusiasm for my decision. My good friend/coworker/roommate Joachim also made a large sacrifice for me to be here. In addition to giving up his own spot, he is assuming my workload while I'm gone. What a baller.
That about covers the background that you need. I've actually been here since Saturday, so I will be spending the next few days catching up with everything that's happened, starting with my first training session back in California. I have taken a bunch of notes, and I will post them as if they were presently happening. Hope you like it.
1. What's the name mean?
"The Home and the World" is a novel by Rabindranath Tagore. For some reason I decided to re-read it on the plane to Mississippi. The book is great, although you may get impatient with it if you are into books like "Da Vinci Code" and "Kite Runner," where the narratives have this great self-propelling momentum. This book will make you pause and think about what's going on a lot. You can tell it was written by a poet; the character sketches are deep and the dialogue subte. I decided to name my blog handle after it mainly because I couldn't think of a better name (rejections included variations of my own name and "Braveheart"). But the name is also fitting because the character Bimala in the novel was struggling to break free of life in a sheltered environment, where she wasn't sure of her true self, what she was capable of, etc. I'm now trying to do something like that, and this trip to Gulf Port is the first installment in that journey.
2. What's the purpose of the blog?
I want to record the events along the way for my own personal reflection. I also think that the experiences may be of interest to others who are like-minded to me. But I intend to stick with the events themselves and limit my personal thoughts and feelings. Preaching to you is pointess, especially since you are thoutghtful enough to reflect on the events in your own way. Besides, experience is life's most effective teacher. But I will be adding my reflections where appropriate to remind myself of what I was thinking/feeling at the time of the event.
3. How did I get to Gulf Port, Mississippi?
I am mostly here because of my company, Mercury Interactive. They made me an offer I couldn't refuse: get full paid time off to come as a Red Cross volunteer for two weeks. What a great gesture. Several people have told me how lucky I am to work for a company like that, and they are right. I also wouldn't be here without the support of my managers, Chee and Helen, who have shown nothing but enthusiasm for my decision. My good friend/coworker/roommate Joachim also made a large sacrifice for me to be here. In addition to giving up his own spot, he is assuming my workload while I'm gone. What a baller.
That about covers the background that you need. I've actually been here since Saturday, so I will be spending the next few days catching up with everything that's happened, starting with my first training session back in California. I have taken a bunch of notes, and I will post them as if they were presently happening. Hope you like it.
posted by Neil Patel at 9:40 AM
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