Obligatory First Post

And not just a little self-conscious about it, let me tell you. What's that part from Pride & Prejudice (mini-series, not the book)? Something about being reluctant to say anything unless I expect to amaze the whole room? Maybe it would help if I had some sort of purpose or direction, but I don't. Not really.

Actually, when I'm being really honest, the reason I'm starting a blog is because everyone else already has one. I was going to say that this was totally unlike me, but that's wrong. It's so like me. In fact, one way to guarantee that I won't do something is to tell me that all the cool kids are doing it. Don't get the wrong idea. If there's one thing I'm not, it's a rebel. But it's safe not to put yourself out there, and it takes shockingly little to turn me back into an insecure, chubby 13-year-old. My usual MO is to try and go unnoticed.

Last year, I started looking for things that would take me outside of my very comfortable zone. I applied for a new position in the company I work for that I really wanted even though I was happy in my job. And I got it, and it was the best career move ever. So then I raced on a dragon boat team at the Portland Rose Festival. That's me on the left with my paddle down and grinning at the camera. Didn't love it, but I committed and stuck with it. And now I can say I've swallowed Willamette river water and lived to tell about it, even if I never step foot in a boat again for the rest of my life. I took some professional classes. I started knitting and sewing again. And I started reading all of these great, creative blogs, and I wanted to do that, too.

Now, I've never been able to keep up a journal with any consistency. The longest I've managed is, I think, three weeks, and then it's usually because I'm trying to work through some emotional trauma: an argument with my mother; problems at work; the deaths of several fictional characters to whom I was overly attached after seven books and more than 10 years. (By the way, J.K. Rowling? Still dead to me.)

So, hi. I'm flyskim. I'm 43, but sometimes I think I'm still 12. I'm married, two cats, no kids. And I always have some sort of project going. Now if I could only start finishing them. . .