First of all,

I need to get a few things out of the way.

Number one, of course, is the cliché that is my blog. The whole thing began (or rather, is beginning) as a "me too" project. I read Aaron's blog, then read his sisters' blogs, and I decided that writing a blog could help me more fully form my writing style. I've yet to write a book, paper, essay, etc. without the prompting of a teacher, church assignment, etc. I figure that with the freedom from criticism a blog provides, I can move my writing in a direction that is not speech-style, argumentative-style, news-article-style, etc. I also appreciate the fact that I can stuff as many "etc.," "et cetera," "and other things," etc. statements into one paragraph as I can possibly muster, and there's nary a soul to know it.

Number two was going to be something else, but after writing number one, I decided that I'd best interject this right now: Aaron is absolutely right. I've always thought the word blog was awkward to say; it's much worse to type. What comes to mind is "Rooty-tooty-aim-and-shootie!"

Number three is what number two was to be: a disclaimer about my title and picture. This actually fits quite nicely in number one as well, seeing as the title and picture are just about as cliché as can be. I was trying to think of a title, and "Life's" just came off my fingers. I said, "That sounds somewhat deep. Life's what?" Eventually, "derivations" popped into my mind. "Good word, that." Slapped it on the end. If you're looking for a meaning, you'll probably find one. But let me save you the effort and say that, despite what the historians observing my extremely influential blog will tell our great-great-great grandchildren, the original author had none in mind.

New paragraph, still number three. Picture. Yeah, it's scenic to be sure. These are the Olympic Mountains in Washington (I highly recommend you visit them). What better way to make your blog seem meaningful and insightful than to plaster nature across the top? It's instant zen, like coffee without the beans, smell and beverage.

Number four is a plagiarism disclaimer. Not only am I using a numbered list in my first blog post, but Aaron's number 2 has been copied over completely. What can be derived from this by you, the reader, is that you are not safe. Your blog is not safe. Within a mere ctrl+c - ctrl+v, your post could end up on my blog, without a reference or link to be seen. You've been warned.