I’m Back-ish!

OK, it seems that enough time has gone by and I no longer have any excuses to not write. In fact, I was looking through the standard repertoire of reasons not to write and I realized I pretty much how nothing left in the bag.

After all, this blog was supposed to be a showcase for some of my writing, regardless of whether I had any real talent, direction or ambition.

2008 will forever be etched in my brain as the worst year of my life. My family and I watched as my dad suffered with one of the cruelest diseases ever, ALS. Anyone who has been to my blog in the last year, already knows that. As we pick up the pieces as a family and learn to burn the images of the last year out of our heads and latch on to the wonderful memories of the man, I realize we have so much more work to do.

Here are some of the goals of this blog. This is not really a resolution per se, but a reaffirmation of the value of Cafe Leone as an entity unto itself…a destination for some poor souls that stumble upon it on their way to a real blog.

• Continue to use this site as a “today my kid picked his nose today and ate it” site. Having 3 or so baby goats is not easy but it does provide a lot of fodder for some writing prompts.
• Link to photos – I am a proud user of Flickr photos and I have been trying to make better use of it. I love the ability to quickly upload a cellphone picture to Flickr from my Verizon Voyager. There are also family members and important friends scattered around the globe who are occasionally interested in what latest pose my daughter is striking.
• Use it in conjuction with other social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Plurk. I have been avoiding using my blog for those <140 character posts because the other sites are so much better at it. But it is time to use my blog again as warehouse for my imponderables and true confessions.
• Write about writing – I know everyone in the world is writing a novel. I also know that no one should admit that fact until, at the very least you are sitting at correct side of the table in a Barnes and Noble signing your new book. Well, I am no different. I have randomly picked up a keyboard and began writing. This site will be a proving ground for some chapters here and there and a request for your ideas.
• There is a small chance that I will start this blog up again and put a more controversial spin on it. Whether it is liberal politics or atheism, expect to see more of that stuff. Hopefully, you will all see it for what it is…a simple way to get a dialog going without disrespect or controversy.
• I also purchased the domain cantinaleone.com which should highlight some of my journeys on wine trail. It really won’t be a wine blog as there are so many excellent wine bloggers out there; I am not worthy to even carry their swill buckets. But, it will be about the journey from knowing almost nothing to amassing a respectable collection. All of this will be done within the shadow of my dad who made his own wine every single year.
• I will still write about my dad and my culture from both sides. My father is from Italy and my mom from Uruguay. I hope that I can make their culture shine. I am extraordinarily proud of my heritage.
• The ultimate goal though is to reconnect with all the really cool bloggers that have been with me since the beginning of this journey. I will see both of you in my Reader.

I can also tell you what this blog will never be. It will never be a daily journal. It will be updated when it is updated. Be it once per month or once per year.

There you have it; you now know precisely what I know.

Thank you both for everything!