I just lost my virginity. At the age of 52.

Yes, until this very moment, I was a blog virgin. Wide-eyed, innocent, as pure as the driven snow.

With this, my first entry, I join the millions online who share their joys, sorrows, thoughts, ideas, opinions and more, in a worldwide orgy of information.

I didn’t even really know what a blog WAS until a few months ago when I read somewhere – I think it was in Wikinomics – that “blog,” the noun form, is short for “web log.” All of a sudden it became clear to me (the blog fog lifted, as it were).

I understood then that a blog is, or at least can be, a sort of electronic diary. An online log, a record of what you think and/or feel at the moment you put fingers to keyboard (or keypad, as the case may be).

But unlike the diaries of old, that we used to keep private and hidden, sometimes under lock and key, a blog is oh-so-public. It’s a diary that the rest of the world is actually invited to read.

Wow. What a concept: here's my heart, here's my mind - come on world, take a peek inside!

What, you may ask, does this have to do with amazing women and this website?

Well, nothing at all. But then again, everything.

The road to creating this website has been long and interesting.

Most of the time I’ve traveled alone. I got lost, stumbled, tripped, fell, took wrong turns, and had to double back several times. Sometimes I lost faith that I would ever reach my destination.

Thankfully, about a year ago, the universe sent me a navigator, Kamyar Houbakht , to guide me on the road. There’s no way I could have built this website without him.

He understood my vision for the site, when almost no one else did. He listened to me, found solutions, and made recommendations. He introduced me to open source software , Wikipedia and blogs!

Today is his birthday. This first-ever blog entry on amazingwomenrock.com is a birthday gift to him, and a small way for me to say thanks for helping me make my dream a reality.

Happy Birthday Kamyar :)