In the beginning...

2009-07-09T12:38:00.018-04:00

Well, hello there. (Huh, look at that. Saying "hi" most likely to herself. How friendly, yet slightly schizophrenic, of her.)

Being as accustomed as I am to academic writing, it stands to reason that I would be inclined to open this blog with a statement of purpose, of sorts. (Bullshit. She actually hates statements of purpose with a passion and never, ever knows what to say in them. But she also has no idea how to begin and this sounds sufficiently pretentious, so she is leaving it in.)

So here it goes: (Finally!)

I had initially conceived of this blog mainly as a family-tree-type-of-thing. A genealogical narrative, basically. Upon further consideration however, I realize that as time progresses the genealogy will probably become entangled with other stories of people who are not actually related to me, stories of friends and acquaintances, stories that someone told me at some point, and even stories and commentary from my current life. (Or, you know, stuff she once heard somewhere and some more stuff about herself because, apparently, she is that incredibly interesting!)

My intention is to punctuate some of these stories, especially the genealogical narrative, with photographs, whenever I can. In a way, the idea behind this blog is to record memories, to document, to organize and, perhaps, to preserve. In the course of your visits here you will learn about where I come from, who I am, and how I got here. You will encounter old photos of lost people and lost places alongside random snapshots of, for example, my dogs. (Does this sound to you like an academic syllabus yet? I mean, a syllabus for an advanced seminar about a certain self-involved blogger... No? Not yet? Not even a little bit? Ah, just give it a minute...)

Given the fact that this is an exercise, that I crave structure and strict deadlines, and that I work best under pressure, I intend to post regularly and fairly often. How regularly and how often, you ask? Well... Perhaps once or twice a week? Every X number of days, or every Y day of the week, maybe? All I can say is that I will figure it out as I go along. The point is, I intend to post regularly and often. Barring real life intrusions, such as pressing academic (*ahem* she means "real") deadlines, trips (don't worry, she rarely ventures outside of her area code), emergencies (knock on wood), really fun parties (she wishes), and the like, of course. Also, considering that, if given the chance, I am more than fully capable of editing myself into oblivion without ever being fully satisfied with the finished product, I intend to post entries in what I consider to be rough draft state. (Basically, she is reigning queen of procrastination who does everything at the very last possible minute, who has no self-discipline whatsoever, and who thus requires regular, even if self-imposed, butt-kicks in order to accomplish anything at all. Also, don't expect literary jewels, this is a blog, not the "New Yorker", people.)

This recounting will not be chronological. Part of the idea behind this blog is to gather all these stories and memories in one place so later I can organize them in a more coherent and cohesive fashion. For now, it will just be a bloody mess, so go with it. (Yeah. What she said.)

As for accuracy, credibility and so on... Well, this is what I know and how I know it. Some of these stories may or may not involve well-known people. Some of these stories may or may not involve photographic evidence. But memory is memory, so take that for what it's worth. (Basically, she writes, you read; and we're all good. Also, unless otherwise stated, this is not fiction. But are you familiar with poetic license? Here, let me show you mine.)

So there you have it, my statement of purpose. Stay tuned; I fully intend to bore you half to death with a detailed (sort of; not really) account of my birth, shortly. (No gory or cutesy details. Promise.)

Oh, and if you want to know who I am and such, check out my profile info, which will be posted sometime in the near future. (Or, you know, not.)

Cheers, (And may I offer my sincerest congratulations on actually reading through this whole mess! Give yourself a cookie, you've clearly earned it. Or better yet, make it a drink.)

Never been to Transylvania

In the beginning...