why I blog

It appears that this blog, which I have always thought to have pretty low readership given the specialization of its topics, has received some recognition.  The Nursing School Blog has recently listed How We Cant Eat Anything in their "Top 40 Blogs for Crohn's Support".  How cool, and how humbling to receive such recognition!  It inspired me to expatiate a bit about why it is that I blog.

When I first began How We Cant Eat, it was intended to be a source of support and humor (amidst myriad complaints and woe-is-me's, of course) for other Crohns.  In particular, I had hoped to reach out to other Crohns and anyone with AI  Sidekicks (autoimmunity, not to be confused with artificial intelligence) who were pursuing a similar career path to myself; that is, Science.

During my period of darkness which began in August of 2009 (see archives), I had scoured any and all resources for proof that it could be done, this juggling of chronic health tempestuousness with the scientific research and graduate student lifestyle.  I found (at the time) no such accounts, and decided to create my own in the hope of attracting protagonists of a similar vein.  The accounts I did find, however, have been -- and remain -- extraordinary comforts and testimonies of empowerment (see "Crohnies and Foodies" and "Science Coterie" blogrolls, and here).

Today, my reasons for blogging have evolved slightly.  First of all, I'm actually about to enter into that mysterious land of pre-doctoral scientific research, and will be equipped to comment on the maintaining of balance.  Twoly, I hope to continue to contribute to the discussion of tips, successes and failures, keeping hold of a proactive state of mind and body, and obstacle negotiation methodology.  It has been hugely beneficial to me thus far, and I can only hope that readership and discussion will continue to grow.  Perhaps this recent link love from The Nursing School Blog will not only buffer readership of  How We Can't Eat, but through doing so connect its humble narrator to many more such catalogs of the journey of balancing AI Sidekicks with successfully (at least sometimes) chasing one's passions.

I love to write, I love science, and I love trouble-shooting.  The latter is a large part of my ruminations on Crohn's disease as well as research, and wh'ver the twain shall meet.  How We Can't Eat is also a juxtaposition of my entirely science/media oriented blog, How We Are Hungry.  I write in that blog purely for the pleasure of deliberation, to develop my scientific voice, and (pardon the blatant allusion) out of hunger for any extraction from the intricate puzzles of universe through the scientific lens.

Afternote: Please plug your blog if it does not already appear on either of my blogrolls!