I've been asked to write something about myself. Oddly, I'm not sure I want to do this in any kind of disciplined way. And I'm also uncertain about whether, as advertising, this will be "accurate." I write on many subjects, and what you see here may not be what you get in the posts.

But here it is: the post that will serve as (or at least be the acorn for) the future bio page.

I'm a 42-year old white woman (mostly Anglo-Saxon, probably slightly Slavic, with a little Creek Indian thrown in and God knows what else). Ancestors on the Mayflower, Methodist family roots. I'm very short, and I'm told I look 5-10 years younger than I really am. This has been difficult in the work world, but I suspect it will become more and more gratifying over the next decade or two. (Photos of me exist online; you can look for them if you like.)

My husband and I can't produce children biologically, but want a family. We're in the process of adopting. I want twins, reasoning that that would be a "ready-made family," but the odds are against me.

We live in the hills east of Los Angeles, near Pasadena.

I'm interested in guns, architecture, crime fiction, movies, art, and music. But with respect to music, I'm a pig. I like 70s rock, with a good beat and lots of bass. Some of what I like is good, but that's an accident: quality is not a prerequisite. In many areas I can be refined in my tastes. Music isn't one of them.

I like to cook, but rarely make the time. I like to grow plants, but have no talent for it at all.

I support the war in Iraq, and the War on Terrorism in general. (What do you mean you can't wage war on a noun? Japan is a noun. The Axis is a noun. Fascism is a noun. Go home.)

I'm pro-gay rights, and in favor of legalizing marijuana. I think the War on Drugs is an abomination, and has thrashed the Bill of Rights more thoroughly than anything John Ashcroft ever did.

I'm a big fan of the Bill of Rights in general. Fond, in particular, of the First, Second, and Fourth Amendments.

I work in publishing; I've been involved with magazines for over 20 years. My husband works in television. We're both writers; he's a successful one.

Mostly, I'm a blogger. Blogging is an addiction for me—a necessary outlet. Fiction projects come and go, but blogging is something I expect to do for the rest of my life. Not because there's any virtue in it, but because I've caught the disease.

I tend to forget that a handful of people from my "real," flesh-and-blood life read these pages, and concentrate instead on writing for those whom I haven't met—or, in the case of the Bear Flag Leaguers, those I met only through blogging. Mostly, I write for the people who leave comments and send me e-mail.

If you're a regular here, I'm writing for you.

Posted by: Attila at 02:22 PM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
Post contains 517 words, total size 3 kb.

1 She's writing for me! She's writing for me! In your face, occasional readers! She's writing for me!

Posted by: Jeff Harrell at November 14, 2004 03:00 PM (UAuME)

2 Excellent, this speaks volumes! (One question though: Where did the name of your blog come from?) *Always-curious occassional-reader*

Posted by: Jeremy at November 14, 2004 04:41 PM (UOSU9)

3 I think that it came out very well. I hope that y'all get lucky and get twins, would be fantastic. 70's rock is great. Stones, Deep Purple, Rush, etc. and, yeah, where does the weblog name come from?

Posted by: William Teach at November 14, 2004 04:47 PM (KCG7N)

4 As a regular, I'm honored.

Posted by: Stephen Macklin at November 14, 2004 05:02 PM (U3CvV)

5 As I recall, I had three possible blog names ready. My initial foray, as with so many, was on Blogspot. The name "Dr. Bitch" was taken. This was my second choice, and in retrospect I believe it's the better name. The phrase sprang, fully formed, into my head. If I had to try to parse it out, I'd probably say it related on an unconscious level to Rush Limbaugh's allusions to "sitting in the Attila the Hun chair." And from being called "Miss English Major" repeatedly in high school and college. (In high school there were majors, but no one paid them any mind, since we were all "university prep" majors. But it was well-known that I would be an English major once I got into the University of California, since I was clearly born to be an English major at the University of California.)

Posted by: Attila Girl at November 14, 2004 05:34 PM (SuJa4)

6 Is this the "regular reader" check in desk?

Posted by: Lysander at November 14, 2004 09:06 PM (ht9UE)

7 Yes. Someday it'll be replaced by the customer service desk, wherein those who have been nicest to me in the comments get their feedback taken seriously, and those I don't like get compared to Michael Moore. Shortly after that, I take over the world [evil villain laugh].

Posted by: Attila Girl at November 14, 2004 11:00 PM (SuJa4)

8 Oy, the evil laugh (at least it's not the maniacal evil laughter, or I'd have to find the Evil Overlord reference). And a direct reference to The Evil One himself... can't we just lock it in a car and let it eat itself to death, a la Pizza the Hutt? Lysander

Posted by: Lysander at November 15, 2004 10:58 AM (ShW/G)

9 Foundya at http://www.mwilliams.info/archives/001495.php Thanks for blogging just for me and all us "me"s who enjoy your site.

Posted by: Politickal Animal at November 15, 2004 01:31 PM (Yims8)

10 That brunch was a while ago! Glad you stopped in.

Posted by: Attila Girl at November 15, 2004 04:29 PM (SuJa4)

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What a relief. We were a little short on our paperwork (which we knew about), but our social worker approved our home and its orderliness/safety. Apparently, she was already three quarters of the way through the report she needs to submit about us. Yet it's truly lovely that she won't have to come back, except to do an annual verification while we wait, and four visits within the first six months the child is with us.

But I'll bet we aren't the first to get nervous about this process. The house was not as spic-and-span as I would have liked, but I did manage to shovel most of the clutter off of many horizontal surfaces. (I've often thought that clutterbugs should sleep in hammocks, since they don't provide level places for papers and whatnot to accumulate.)

I'm a happy girl, but I need sleep. And lots of it.

I'm now officially allowing myself to hope again: the spouse and I went out to an early dinner afterward, and on the way back I told Attila the Hub some thoughts I had on arranging the [gulp] nursery.

And he wants to have a baby shower once our approval is final. It looks like we may only be a few weeks away from that, though we'll see.

Meanwhile, I'm working on our "profile," the photo album they show to prospective birthmothers so they can select parents for their babies. (There's even a "leave behind," a resume with a photo on one page, with the "dear birthmother" letter on the flip side.)

We're continuing to discuss what our limitations might be on race, on learning disabilities, and on drug exposure. We continue to think about what degree of contact with the birthmother we would be open to.

Professor Purkinje, thanks for the photos. If my child is half as cute as yours are, I'll be very happy indeed.

Posted by: Attila at 07:24 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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