21 May 10: There are two kinds of people: People who find the course of their lives profoundly absorbing, and then people for whom the lives of others seem more worthy of attention than their own. Long-time basil.CA readers know that I’m in the latter category; a good many of my friends are in the former. I find my interests interesting; myself, not so much. This explains why I am drawn to teaching, editing, and publishing.

Still, this *is* my website, so I might as well put in a word about myself, in terms of who I am rather than what I’ve done (the latter is what the resume is for). Here goes: I don’t want to own a house or condo, or land, or a car, or stocks and bonds; I don’t want to have more friends; I don’t want to be thin or have enough hair to comb; I don’t crave the esteem of others, though I used to; I also don’t crave longevity, and never have; nobody knows my real views on religion or government, or ever will; in my youth I was obsessed by hitch-hiking because I had to have surprise destinations and conversations with strangers; and Vancouver is the love of my life.