To resuscitate my original 'Cam23 Diary' blog from 2010, or to bury the demons and start again from scratch? That was the question floating in my sub-conscious over the weekend as I gathered the resolve to join this year's Cam23 programme. Last year's attempt bore little fruit and petered out early, to my shame, and so, despite the best teachings on the resurrection (stimulated also this weekend by the latest chapter of Lucy Winkett's thought-provoking book Our Sound is Our Wound prepared for a study group tonight) I've opted to start again with the 2.0 version. Let's hope for better success this time.
Although I wasn't among the finishers, last year wasn't a complete wash-out. In fact, I've found myself using several of the tools in the course of my work in the time since, notably Google Docs (for a very successful library survey in the Lent Term; on the strength of which the Alumni & Development Office have now adopted it for surveys too), Prezzi, and Blogger, of course, to complement the work I do on the College website using WordPress.
So, why try again? Well, although it's becoming more of a habit in adult life than I'm comfortable with, I don't like starting something and not finishing it, and so to counterbalance the weight of rushed compromises that seem to characterise my professional life these days, the thought of achieving a clearly defined goal is appealing. The timetable affording more catch-up weeks than in 2010 is also a bonus, and will help I trust.
More fundamental though is a real sense that this world is the real world rather than a virtual or distant one, and I'd like to feel more comfortable in it. I'm hoping that a combination of more determined timetabling and greater familiarity with a new android phone (catching up with blogs on the train is my latest idea) will make this a more positive experience, and help to knit the 23 Things more closely into the daily weave.
More anon, I trust.
