We interrupt the current stream of travel vignettes in order to celebrate a truly momentous occasion: the 10th birthday of my online journal.
It is no testament to either perseverance or superior writing that the blog, started as the written record of our expatriate experiences, has survived our subsequent repatriation, periods of little to no focus, and proliferation of other platforms on which to express oneself.
My mild control-freakiness is one contributing factor. I simply prefer being in control of the management of my own content. Social networks are a long way yet from earning my trust with anything that I would like to safeguard. Vast majority of my output anywhere originates as blog posts on burlaki.com.
The other factor is settling on a niche that I feel comfortable – and reasonably satisfied – to create content in.
In the past, I tried my hand – with no discernible success – at cinematic and literary reviews, political and economy-driven discourse, deep thoughts and exercises in incredulity. Go read through the archives, if you dare. There is a lot of indifferent writing to peruse. The worthy efforts all fall under loose memoirs heading – whether they were my Youtube’d memories or favorite travel anecdotes – or photography.
So, for the last 3 years or so I have been almost exclusively focusing on the juncture of travel and photography. There are occasional family-related notes or non-travel reminiscences, but I definitely want to call myself a travel blogger these days. I doubt that I possess the craft or the stamina to ever convert this occasional writing into something more than a hobby, but as hobbies go it feels at present a reasonably non-taxing and fulfilling one.
Which means that there is a good chance I will be keeping this on for the foreseeable future. Consider yourselves forewarned!
Thank you all for sharing this journey with me! Here is to the next 10 years of seeing the world and making travel memories!