Back to Work; Back on the Net

I think this might the longest that I have gone without an entry! Our internet has been out at home; I could get online by using my phone's mobile hotspot feature, but it's soooooo slow. I know. I know! I remember the days when a 14400 modem was blazing fast. I have such first-world problems.

Anyway, I'm back at work after my Thanksgiving vacation (which was great), so I am stealing a little time before I head home to post -- a Sunday Stealing meme!

It seemed appropriate. My dozen readers have probably forgotten me. Alas! (Heh.)

Here goes.

1. Why did you sign up for writing your blog? I started Red Nose on Diary-X in 2002, when I was on a weight-loss kick. I purposely did not name it something weight-lossy because I figured it would morph into more than a weight-loss blog. I was right.

2. Why did you choose your blog's name? What does it mean? I chose Red Nose as a nod to my sordid past as a circus clown.

3. Did you ever have another blog? Not at the moment. I have "placeholder" blogs at Blogger and Livejournal, but they're just there to direct people here. I also sort of run a blog for the DC juggling club, the US Department of Juggling, but there's about an inch of dust on it.

4. What do you do online when you're not on your blog? Check Facebook, shop, read other blogs and forums, catch up on hockey scores, pay bills. The usual stuff of cyber life! 

5. How about when you're not on the computer? Watch TV, listen to music, occasionally clean up, bake, read, sleep. The usual stuff of non-cyber life!

6. What do you wish people who read your blog knew about you? I'm really Queen of England.

7. What is your favorite community in the blogosphere? I love participating in Holidailies. I've been pretty consistent on that one! I also like the NaNoWriMo community, even though I was MIA this year.

8. What is your philosophy on your blog layout? I picked this Typepad template because it's fairly circus-y and seems to fit in with the title. Other than that, I don't really have a layout philosophy. I do, however, have a layabout philosophy. (I think it's good.)

9. Tell me about your picture you use to represent you on your blog. The lovely and talented Weetabix took the picture at Weetacon II. It's one of the best pictures of me, ever. I reddened up the nose with Photoshop and that was that!

10. Pick 3 random blogs from your blogroll and tell us about them. First: Funny the World, by Bev Sykes, is one of the first blogs I ever started reading. When I was considering putting my thoughts online, I was googling around, started reading a few online journals, and found that Bev's was linked to a lot of them. I started reading her, realized that we had lots of things in common, and an online friendship was born! Second: xtcian, by Ian Williams, is a wonderful blog. Ian is a scriptwriter. He has a gorgeous family, takes marvelous photos, and is a rabid fan of Tar Heels basketball. After the 2000 election, he proposed the formation of American Coastopia, a sentiment with which I heartily agreed. Finally, for beautiful, lyrical writing and wonderful photography, read Candy Sandwich, written by Kristin. I met Kristin a couple of years ago (maybe three?) at a DC bloggers get together, and I've been loving her writing ever since.

11. What features do you think your blog should have that it doesn't currently? I really can't think of any. Oh wait... how about an automatic updater thingy that would automagically transfer my deep thoughts from my brain to the blog?

12. What do you consider the 10 most "telling" interests that we would infer from what you blog persona? I'm a hockey fan. I love the ocean. I miss my mother. I write. I have a weird sense of humor. I juggle. I love my family. I enjoy travelling. I take a lot of pictures. I tend to get very involved in something, do it a lot for awhile, then gradually lose interest.

13. Do you have any unique interests that you have never shared before? What are they? For awhile I was really into origami, particularly modular origami. That started when Joe asked for a dodecahedron for Christmas and lasted until... oh, about 2002 or so.

14. The best thing about blogging is all of the friends that you make, Beside from those folks, do you think your blog has fans? Thousands and thousands! They're just exceedingly quiet. (Heh.)

15. What's your current obsession? What about it captures your imagination? I am having a lot of fun learning to play silly tunes on the ukulele. One day I shall take lessons to unlearn everything I have taught myself and then learn to play correctly.

16. What are you glad you did but haven't really had a chance to post about? I had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at my cousin's home in Annapolis. SonnyeBoy was able to come and that made it extra special. I shall expound on this later this week. Promise!

17. How many people that first became a blog friend, have you met face to face? Lots, mostly thanks to Journalcon and Weetacon, but also independently of those gatherings. I think the first blog friend that I met face to face was the lovely and talented Melinda, at Journalcon 2004.

18. What don't you talk about here, either because it's too personal or because you don't have the energy? My sex life. (How's that for a provocative answer?)

19. What's a question that you'd love to answer? I would love to answer the following question with an enthusiastic YES: Would you like a million dollars?

20. Have you ever lost a blogging friendship and regretted it? Not really. I don't read as many as I used to, but I do check back with them every once in awhile.

21. Have you ever lost a blogging friendship and thought, “Was that overdue!” Nope. I'm glad for that!