Who am I?
I am from the Midwest and now live in the Pacific Northwest. I moved after an exceptionally bad winter when, after being doused with freezing rain, my car was frozen to the ground for five days.

Why a blog?
“Oh, you have a blog” (insert eye roll here.) Blogs are narcissistic by their very nature. Who cares what I have to say? Who the hell do I think I AM, anyway? Am I an asshole? Possibly. A narcissist? No. (But wouldn’t that be how one would answer?) I’m an introvert so I do not like attention. Blogs are for the extroverts. “Look at ME!” they say. “COMMENT!” Whereas I would (will?) probably curl up in a ball and cry if someone posts a nasty comment. I’ll internalize it, analyze it, and never get over it. Perfectly normal, perfectly healthy.

On the other hand, blogs are ideal for introverts in many ways. I can be thoughtful and mindful of the message I am trying to convey and I do not have to actually speak or interact with any live people. And I can do all of it in my pajamas.

Besides, I had a similar aversion of online dating sites until I met my husband on one. So, really, what do I know and who am I to judge?

Mainly I am doing this so I will continue to write. And I do love to write. I’ve been writing most of my life, in some fashion or another. I started journaling in high school (trust me, you don’t want to read those) and then had to write in college and graduate school. Now, not only am I writing for work, but I recently completed a narrative non-fiction writing program. It had me writing again for fun, which had fallen by the wayside.

Also, no fewer (or more) than one friend suggested it. But she’s my BFF of over 30 years so she counts.

I envision it as something that either no one reads or just my friends read, and that is perfect. For anyone else who happens along, remember: if you don’t have anything nice to say, please don’t say anything at all.

What is “hammyarya?”
hammyarya combines a nickname and an inside joke. It isn’t significant to anyone who doesn’t already know what it means. And probably not all that significant to those who know.