So apparently the folks at Geocities mistook the imperative "change payment information" for "cancel account and screw user." When I received a new Visa recently and updated my information accordingly, the site (and my ability to edit it) vanished. They're working on it, I'm told.
On the plus side, if I do have to start from scratch, it will at least give me an excuse to do some serious spring cleaning to my online portfolio. You ever come across something you wrote in sixth grade decades later, and find yourself unable to read it without laughing, cringing, or both? That's about how I feel when I read the early articles I wrote. They're serviceable, of course, but you can almost feel the insertion of writerly-ism. Ick.
My mom, bless her heart, has kept several of these, including my very, very first article for a college newspaper, which is possibly worse than several things I wrote in sixth grade. Can't blame her, I guess. But these certainly (at least I hope) are no longer really representative of my writing right now. It's kind of like publishing your online profile at 40 with a high school graduation pic.
So perhaps it's best you haven't seen my website just yet, not that I'm particularly thrilled to be paying for a canceled account. But in the meantime, here's me:
I'm a 26-year-old, recently married freelance writer. I have a degree in journalism from Arizona State University, but in-depth studies and stories intrigue me much more than the fire-off-a-story, get-the-quote-right-now, inverted-pyramid world of newspaper beat journalism. I still rely heavily on my journalistic training every day, and I still write for The Arizona Republic and The East Valley Tribune when my schedule and their ever-changing editorial structure allows. The journalism training has allowed me great professional and personal growth, and some of my favorite mementos (my first front-page piece, my article that got close to 200 personal responses, my photo of me and Walter Cronkite) are from that world. However, I've recently gone the direction of the longer-form narrative, and I'm now pursuing a Master's in creative nonfiction from Goucher College in Maryland. It's an awesome, low-residency program that allows me to stay in Arizona while completing the degree, although there have been a fair share of misadventures and fiascoes inherent in correspondence learning.
My interests in writing tend toward science and nature, though I've done a fair share of human-interest and travel pieces as well. I've written for Arizona Highways Magazine for some time now, after scoring an invaluable internship there two years ago. I'm currently in the proto-planning stages of a book-length work on couples in which the husband and wife are/were both scientists, and the unique accomplishments and idiosyncrasies inherent to that type of arrangement. I've already gotten to meet some pretty cool people through that, and my biggest challenge will be remembering to be in unbiased-reporter mode rather than starstruck-dork mode when I'm spending time with them. It's tagged "Love in the Lab." I know this sucks. The title will change.
I'm also a mom (my son, David, just turned 5 March 11th) and engage in all the momminess that goes along with that. Until recently, I was a single mom, although I had (still have, in fact) inexhaustible and invaluable support of many family members, most of all from my own mother. I recently got married, December 2, 2006, - to my longtime best friend Aaron. Between his schedule (he's a retail manager) and my writing schedule, it's a juggling act, but we manage, and we're having fun. Our family is rounded out with two parakeets, Pretty Eyes and Rainbow (my son named them) and a recently-acquired large, sweet stray cat we named Momo.
2 comments:
LOL... I know I just commented, but I wanted to share again. More details to complement yours.
I know the feeling of finding old work and not quite knowing what to think of it. My mother recently unearthed a box containing several paintings, drawings and photos from elementary school. I think I was more mortified than anything else.
As for myself, I am 28 years old, married to the wonderful father (in fact, his birthday is also March 11) of my three children: DD, 3 years old, DS#1, 22 months old, and DS#2, 3 months old. I am currently pursuing a degree in Visual Arts: Photography at the University of Louisiana. I eventually hope to complete a live-action photographic body of work in the style of Frank Miller's graphic novels (Sin City). I've been in love with those books ever since my mom found out I'd gotten them from her closet and completely freaked out over it. I think I was eight at the time.
Anyway, I'll quit rambling now and take my strange lady craziness elsewhere :).
Thanks for your comments. Don't feel too bad -- when I was in elementary school, the totality of my drawings included a cat on a rug (at least, two circles with triangles on the smaller circle, on an oval), over and over and over. And my mom saved a few dozen of them too, Heaven only knows why.
I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one doing the mom/artistic pursuits thing. It's not always the easiest double life to lead, but it's almost always fun, with the possible exception of the Murphy's-Law-like regularity with which son-related emergencies and editorial deadlines coincide.
Good luck in your degree; I'm always jealous of those with visual arts talents. I must've been out writing when those were handed out -- did I mention the cat-on-rug drawings?
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