*tap tap* Is this thing on?

This blog was created during my senior year of college at American University, as part of an independent study on sustainable food production. I intended for it to be a place I would discuss insight and developments with regard to agribusiness, aquaculture, water, small and big organic and nutrition as it relates to “real” food. Ultimately, it transformed into an extended ‘thesis’ of sorts on sustainable food production, for a study I undertook with the guidance of my professor, Terry Sankar.

After graduating, life gets even busier. I found myself working full-time for a local tech start-up company (Hy.ly) while also job hunting. Local Foodie Fight took a back burner–and then faded away. To be honest, I didn’t want to blog much while applying to jobs, out of fear I might say the wrong thing–might I insult a client of an agency I was applying at? Might I come across as ‘too much of a hippie’? (I know, that sounds silly, but it crossed my mind.)

In September 2010, I started working as a digital associate at Spectrum Science Communications, a PR agency in Washington, D.C. I guess there’s something about starting a new job that compels you to thrust yourself into it and avoid all possible distractions or time-sucks. And that’s where my head has been for the past six months–trying to avoid the time-suck. But I think I’ve passed that fearful stage.

I had been noodling over starting to foodie-blog again, on the heels of my new Arganica membership and the prospect of our backyard garden blooming. But, I’m not going to lie—the final push to get me back on here, typing away at 5am on a Tuesday when I have an 8+ hour workday starting in 3 hours: I’ve humbly and excitedly accepted the chance to speak on a panel at the upcoming Social Learning Summit at American University, called “Going Green on the Social Web.” I am pretty jazzed about this opportunity, mostly because I’ve never spoken on a panel before, and it’s a personal goal of mine not to sound like a bumbling idiot at some point in my life while I am doing so.

Hopefully, now, blogging will feel less like a burden and more like a source of happiness that challenges me and hopefully offers value to others. It doesn’t hurt that I’ve also discovered because of the ‘traction’ this here blog got “in its hey-day,” I still get about 50 hits/day from search and blog rolls alone, even though before now, I hadn’t updated in over six months. And that isn’t bad in my book.

I hate to write one of those “Oh hey I took a hiatus and here I am promising that won’t ever happen again—back and better than ever!!!1” posts…but…well, there, I just did.