This is the obligatory “About” page, which seems to be a requirement for most every respectable site. I’ve procrastinated on writing this properly as the previous version didn’t play well in the new theme, and frankly, I’m rather boring. I bore myself by writing these things.

These days though, we know many folks like to get a better sense of blog authors, why they write, and especially whether they should be writing in the first place. Somehow I should make myself seem like a real person, and show you just why you should bother to keep reading here. Oh, and also? I should apply sunblock daily.

I am currently writing web content for a number of sites on a contract basis. I am also doing courses towards a technical writing certificate, having rather serendipitously worked as a technical writer in the spring and loved it desperately. I also did web design and development for a few years, and trained people to use computers and the internet within a small-town library.

When I grow up I want to be a technical writer, web developer, user experience designer, information architect, and an instructional designer for adult education. (I move away from the mic to breathe in*)

In short, some people want to be astronauts or superheroes, and I just want to start learning information through osmosis. I’d like to be a brilliant expert by tomorrow, please. And I spend about $2000 a year buying books in an effort to become one someday. I want to be buried with my web design library, and if Heaven doesn’t have an O’Reilly or Sitepoint warehouse, I’m afraid I can do without it.

I’m not always convinced I should be reading this blog either. Take an enthusiastic, ambitious, overzealous, and at times hyper student of just about everything, and give her a copy of Wordpress and a domain. This is what you end up with.

If you’re looking for experts, I recommend Alan Cooper, Jesse James Garrett, Robert Hoekman Jr., Luke Wroblewski, Cameron Moll, Aaron Walter, Louis Rosenfeld, Peter Morville, James Kalbach, Jennifer Tidwell, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Cameron Adams, Jeremy Keith, Dave Shea, Molly Holzshlag, Dan Cederholm, Dan Brown, Jason Beaird, and Eric Meyer. But I think those guys are really busy putting together awesome presentations and writing more books. If you want to be a genius, please read their stuff.

On the other hand, if you want to read a somewhat less formal, certainly less theoretical, shorter, and perhaps at times actual practical discussion of their theory, stay here.

But don’t you have a personal life?

I am also a mother of two toddlers. My oldest is three years old, and my youngest is 20 months old. And yes, I am batshit crazy. That said, we are currently adopting the older boy, and although he lives with us his legal adoption won’t be completed until sometime in 2009. I am also engaged to my partner of four and a half years, and we plan to get married in May of 2009. He puts up with way more crap then anyone should be subjected to, and he does it with a smile. I also have a dog, two cats, and no self-control whatsoever, and I’m living in Ontario, Canada.

*Don’t worry if you don’t get that joke, it wasn’t that great anyway.