But what do you "do?"

So I am in the process of repurposing (or, really, purposing) this blog/journal/unlimited space for words on the web into something that I hope will—in addition to offer intriguing bits about words and the writing and reading of them—give those who happen by a better sense of who I am and what I “do,” in the multiple senses of that verb.

I once met a rather genteel older gentleman at a party—I think he was some kind of professor—who, after I responded to his polite inquiry as to what I do by explaining where I worked, shook his head and said, “No, I mean what do you do?”

Sure, it's a bit overly dramatic (and, FYI, not so great as a pickup line with the ladies when later repeated with the same tone by a not-so-genteel twentysomething), but thoughtful, too. And not so easily—or succintly—answered.

In this space I will attempt to finally respond to his question, different forms of which I, probably like you, continually encounter. It will be a long, ongoing answer. But given that what I do for work and what I do are integrally intertwined, it seems like the best approach.* Hopefully, I can shed some light on the kinds of projects, writing and otherwise, in which I involve myself; the types of outside (and inward) pursuits I…pursue; the natural and societal phenomena I find most interesting; and, perhaps, some reasons why.

*For now, or for anyone who cares less about what I do and simply wants to know what I’m about, there’s this.