I started blogging a year ago to share my summer in Peru without having to sort through the people I know. Without a blog, I figured, I’d have to rank and evaluate friends and family if I wanted a useful and appreciated email list. I posted extensively, if not regularly, while abroad. And in the ten months since I returned, I’ve posted less frequently. For much of the year I found myself busier than I had known life could be. And early on I made the choice to avoid writing much about my activities of the day, week, or month. Those of you who’ve read know I like to share the things I’ve done, seen, or read in the context of thoughts I’ve had, thoughts I have. My experiences (especially those at school) aren’t interesting in themselves, even to me most of the time; when they’re interesting, they are so because of that to which they connect, and because of the other things between which they allow me to make connections.

I expected I’d have more time to write this summer, and that I would. No such luck. I’ve been working 50 hours a week at my internship. I squeeze in several hours of socializing each evening to recharge between work days. I try to read a little, to spend some time with my parents. This schedule was hard to adjust to, and it has meant a difficult first month–in a lot of ways. I’m enjoying the lifestyle more, but I’m not finding any more free time. So while I’d like to post more frequently this summer, I won’t be writing much. Expect a few pictures, a few thoughts, maybe some links. But personal essays will have to wait. My spring semester and my weeks in Tanzania never got written up. Hopefully they will be at some point. And my time at Talking Points Memo, as fascinating as it has been so far, won’t be described here until after I’m gone, if even then.

But, as I’ve done for a year, I’ll share my accomplishments, especially those already public, here proudly. Blogging is, after all, an undeniably exhibitionist activity, as modestly and discreetly as one tries to do it. This shit is on the internet, basically a glass box with contents that go in, never out, and become permanent immediately.

That’s a lot more than I’ve meant to write. In short, I’m really busy these days. I won’t take the time to write the backstory behind my work, but I will share it when there’s a finished product, as there was for the first time today. Here is my first (shared) byline in a professional publication–albeit a blog. Seeing it when it went up was very exciting. And equally exciting was this shout-out from the boss, which greeted me when I got home tonight and helped cap off an up-and-down month with one final up. More of this is, hopefully, to come.