## Thanks for visiting my blog

While there's quite a lot to say about the process of getting started (in big things or little things in life... more thoughts on that in a later post),
this post is more about what I hope to accomplish with this blog over the next few hundred (thousand?) posts. Realistically, I have the following three goals for this space:

+ I'd like to get better at writing. This blog will have a personal feel to it, because I want it to, but I'd like to think that the simple act of typing out my thoughts will lead to a better understanding of the craft of writing in both professional and personal applications.
+ I'd like to have fun. Again, totally self-centered motivations, but that seems like a realistic goal.
+ I'd like to get better at organizing and presenting my thoughts on complex issues, and I find that writing with a goal in mind helps to organize those thoughts.

Those goals are mostly self-directed, and that's ok. But I'm glad that you're here, too, so here are some goals that depend a bit more upon you, the reader:

+ I hope that you can learn something practical or useful that you can use in your daily life.
+ I hope that you can come to a more complete understanding of some subject, even if I don't directly broach that subject in these posts. I've found that a lot of the material that prompts these posts comes from sources outside the typically thought-of realm of good, solid information or no-nonsense tutorial. Hopefully, that adds value rather than distraction.
+ I hope you catch all of my spelling and grammar errors and email me (at alex@alexpear.com) before telling your friends.

All of those are, I think, realistic goals. My more ambitious goals:

+ I'd like to spark conversation on topics that extend beyond the scope of individual posts (reminder to self: implement comment sections)
+ I'd like to consistently provide real value to the readers of this blog
+ I'd like to have "readers" plural (once the site is a bit more polished, perhaps)
+ I'd like to have perfect spelling and grammar on every post (this one might already have gone out the window).

These goals aren't exactly textbook in format (realistic, measurable, meaningful, and time-sensitive), but I hope that they've communicated to you my intentions for this space. Either way, let's figure it out together.

-AP