Fact: I'm starting a blog

It's a new year and a new decade, so it seemed fitting to try something new, something that will get my mind out of its work-induced rut and get some creative juices flowing again.  I've been considering the idea of starting a food blog for some time now.

Fact: I love food. Eating it, making it, reading about it...I am the typical (and nowadays, ubiquitous) annoying foodie who will make their friends wait before eating to snap a shot of that beautifully composed whatever-it-is.

Fact: I live in Manhattan, perhaps one of the most food-obsessed cities in the world. My list of restaurants that I'm itching to try only grows every day as I read about that new specialty only-in-new-york-bacon/hot-dog/cupcake/burger/fried chicken/pizza place on seriouseats. I truly love living in this city and all the culinary surprises it holds.

Fact: I enjoy writing and photography. For the past year, my writing (and thoughts) have been limited to finding more ways to say "create great value through synergy realization" or some other nonsense, so I thought I could leverage my capabilities and existing platform to achieve something greater. Ugh. My love of photography has been developing over the past year after getting a DSLR and realizing the beauty of depth of field, so now I feel like I need a focus or direction or just something! Enter the blog.

Fact: I'm at a time in my life where I'm re-evaluating and deciding where to go next, and I'm hoping that this blog will help me get there by awakening long-dormant parts of my brain. I can't remember the last time I wrote something that wasn't for an assignment or project, so, crossing my fingers, I'm hoping to relearn how to write for myself.

Fact: food is something special.  It's not just nourishment for the body, it's nourishment for the mind. The smells, the tastes, the textures...food is a full sensory experience.  It creates new memories, evokes old ones, and connects us with others through shared experiences.  Who hasn't had the experience of getting a taste or whiff of something and being transported back to some childhood memory? Remember, the cold-hearted critic in Ratatouille wasn't won over by some new concoction of bacon-wrapped pork belly, but by a comforting dish of vegetables that recalled his mother's cooking.

Food can be simple.  One of my favorite things to eat is a bowl of cereal. Food can be complex. I mean, we live in the age of molecular gastronomy for crying out loud, when even bagels are no longer really bagels. But everyone has their "madeleine," that taste or smell that triggers a remembrance of things past.  

So here is my foray into the blogosphere. Here's to the new year.