But why...?

I bumped into my friend Navid on the way home from work tonight. He said, "I read one of your Scarperer posts the other night". "Oh...?" I said. "What's that about then?" he asked. As we walked through town we talked about blogging. I told him that The Scarperer arose from my need to capture some of the things I think about when I run.

Whilst I ran tonight (4.04 km in 22'23" at a pace of  5'32"), I thought about this further. All Navid was trying to find out, I guess, was why I do it. They say that if you ask why often enough, you'll get to the truth (or if you're a child, you'll get a smack). So why do I blog? Well, as I've said before, when I run or swim I process my day and I wanted to capture the thoughts that blossom during my run or swim.

I used to write a blog a couple of years ago and re-reading some of the posts I wrote between 2002 and 2005 is quite fascinating. It's almost like reading about another person; I'm not him anymore, I've moved on (at least, I hope I have). Undoubtedly, had I not captured some of my thoughts from this period, they would be forgotten; lost like they'd never existed in the first place.

But what is a blog? Well, in Blogger's introduction it describes a blog as:

"A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world. Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules."

So, there you have it, Nav. I'm not sure which of those terms best describes The Scarperer; perhaps you can tell me next time I bump into you...?