A History of 2 Years of Blogging!

I’ve been blogging for over 2 years now…I started on September 11th, 2004. I was pretty impressed that I maintained it for a year as shown on September 11th, 2005. I’m even more surprised that I kept it up for another one! Funny, I just re-read the 1st year entry and the last thing I wrote was the following:

“By NEXT September I’ll be finished school and the “real” world will slap me in the face. Let’s hope this fortune [You have an unusual talent for success, use it properly] is true at that point… If I keep up this blog you’ll find out! ;)”

The good news is, I’m still here and the fortune seems to have held up so far! ;) I figured before I go any further, I’d give you a bit of history about this blog (and myself).

the1truecoolguy

I got my first internet connection in the summer of grade 7 (I would have just turned 13). I was trying to come up with a name and it seemed that all the good names were taken. I really wanted “Coolguy” but of course that was unavailable. I went into a chatroom and noticed someone’s name was: “The one true Batman” (because obviously Batman was taken). Turns out, the1truecoolguy wasn’t and I got it. :)

I got my very first telemarketing job (at 17) because the recruiter saw my email address and figured I was extremely confident and creative. That job lead to my job at IKEA, which lead to subsequent opportunities, which brought me to where I am today. Thus, it has some sentimental value and it’s not just because I’m a cocky bastard not very humble.

The Life and Times of Mr. Selvarajah

Back in high school, many of the teachers referred to me as “Mr. Selvarajah” rather than “Ian”. I also remember one teacher who enjoyed singing: “Selvarajah” to the tune of “La Cucaracha”! When I was in grade 9, a girl wrote me a letter and asked: “…so what’s the latest news in the Life and Times of Mr. Selvarajah?” I laughed because it made me seem very important and I guess many years later, it stuck! :)

Why I Blog

I started this blog primarily because I knew I was going to Sweden in January 2004 and I wanted to get into the habit of keeping a journal. That’s why, when I started, I would force myself to write something everyday (even if it was just mundane activities of the day).

As some of you know, after the Tsunami, I had a sudden overwhelming urge to go and help. Now, my blog wouldn’t be documenting a university exchange semester, but a disaster recovery relief effort. It was also a great way for friends and family to keep up with what I was doing and to know I was still safe and alive. This was also the first time I started to realize that there were quite a few people who actually read what I had to say. Eventually, around March 2005, I believe, I was syndicated on Kottu.org which also brought in a bunch of new readers. In January 2006, I left to Sweden and blogged about my travel experience for those months.

I find blogging great because it’s an excellent way to catalog the good / bad / happy / sad things that can happen in one’s life. It’s also an interesting way for people to randomly check up on you without resorting to emails.

Blogging Today

While I was wrapping up my summer I considered whether I should continue blogging once I started working. The true/initial purpose of the blog, which was to record my travel experiences, has been fulfilled, so theoretically, I’m done. However, I realized that I haven’t done one of the most important things of any project: a “Post-Implementation Review” (e.g. what went well, what didn’t, challenges, lessons learned, etc.).

I have, of course, learned, experienced and come to quite a few conclusions in the last 2 years, so I’m hoping to write about some of those things and then maybe I will wrap this blog up…or not if things continue to be [relatively] interesting! ;)