Identity issues....

I was talking to someone about potential conflict when you feel split between different worlds. As he explains in his blog http://michael-contemporarymusings.blogspot.com/, he is half English, half Indonesian. Both of my parents are from Pakistan, but I don't really feel much of an affinity for the country. I'm very much a Londoner, born and bred. Waving flags and singing national anthems makes me cringe. If Lord Tebbitt wants to apply his cricket test to me, I'll tell him I don't care if England or Pakistan wins the match, cricket is boring. I'm not pulled between two different worlds because I don't really fit into either. I'm very religious compared to my English friends, but compared to my muslim friends of Pakistani descent, I'm v liberal. I've trained to be a scientist, but don't want to follow that field anymore.

Basically, I feel a bit all over the place. Or maybe I'm just eclectic, and interesting.

"I am large, I contain multitudes" as Whitman would say.

What's Past is Prologue

An introduction would probably help, wouldn't it?

OK, let's see. I'm 28, London born and bred (I have occasionally ventured beyond the Watford Gap, but to be honest, anything beyond the M25 has the label "Here be dragons" in my mindmap). My parents are from Pakistan. I'm a muslim, reasonably religious with an unpredictable streak of liberalism. I've always wanted to work in the life sciences, and am currently working towards finishing my PhD in Biochemistry.

I like writing (things like this - I do NOT enjoy writing chapters for my PhD thesis). I hope to develop my writing skills, and this blog is, partially at least, in aid of that.

I ought to have picked a better username really - Phoenix is a little too ubiquitous. Still, you can find me on various websites as Phoenix or PhoenixUK or FeenixUK

http://www.mansized.co.uk/members/Phoenix

http://www.last.fm/user/FeenixUK

http://www.youtube.com/user/FeenixUK

http://www.43things.com/person/PhoenixUK

My first post

This should be something profound, which will really grab readers' attention and retain them as return visitors.

........

I thought the whole blogging phenomenon was pretty much over - I mean, it's so 1997 (I got that date from wiki as the first known example of someone using the phrase as a verb and noun - what did people do PW {pre wikipedia}).

The only blog I've read recently is http://londonpreppy.blogspot.com/ . Give it a read, it's hilarious. I do worry about the writer's mental health ;)

I toyed with the idea of starting my own blog, I mean, I think I have a lot to write about. I'm a fairly unique individual, I must have thoughts that others would be interested in reading. But then everyone thinks that about their own thoughts, so isn't it really arrogant to presume they are worthy of being preserved for posterity in the electronic ether?

Meh.

Was chatting to my friend D about what I want to do in the future. As usual, writing cropped up. "Start a blog," he suggested. So I did.