I was born in 1975. I’m a native of Orange County, California–yes, the one they made a movie and a television series about–and grew up in the suburban center. The city I grew up in is roughly 80% Latino. This is why I have no problem with eating Mexican food for breakfast, lunch and dinner and anything in between. I spent one miserable year in Jersey, but other than that, I’m a California girl. I would rather live with earthquakes than anywhere you can’t grow lemon trees or jalapeños. I’ve been in a lot of earthquakes. I’m still here.

I was not really raised with any particular religion, as my dad was atheist and my mom was agnostic. After my parents finished their messy divorce there was a brief and last-ditch attempt to “save me” by dragging me to church, but this probably had the opposite intended effect; I went pagan in college. Over time this has faded to a gentle and vague spirituality that is closer to Buddhism, but I still fundamentally believe nature has much to teach us if we would only listen. I also do yoga, which I love. Not hot, squeeze-your-brain-out-through-your-ears yoga, but the the decaf variety that focuses on relaxation, meditation, and breath. I don’t like leaving a class feeling more exhausted than when I came in.

I have a degree in English from Cal State Disneyland Fullerton. It’s one of the largest schools in the nation–last year they had something like 35,000 students. Obviously, it wasn’t exactly the nice Oberlin experience my husband had. But it was affordable, and since I was putting myself through college, it was either be a number or forget going to college at all. I graduated in 2001 and got married that year, after having lived with Bruce for almost a decade. Then we talked about moving. We had been wanting to get out of Orange County for several years by that point, and we finally decided it was crushing our spirits in ways that we just couldn’t take anymore. We knew we would have to make some big sacrifices to get out. So we headed north to San Luis Obispo county, and I’ll spare you all the details, but in short: Bruce still works in Orange County. Yes, it’s 200 miles away. If you’re wondering why we didn’t just get jobs here, that’s because there are none to be had; the only jobs in this county are crummy, low-paying retail and ranch hand jobs, and even those are immediately snapped up by the local Cal Poly students.

But it’s beautiful in SLO County. The air is breathable, the ocean is clean, and there is no “rush hour” on the local freeway. There is a distinct lack of Porches and bad attitudes. You can see gorgeous rolling hills instead of massive housing tracts, store clerks remember your name, and nobody is ashamed to shop at Kmart. Basically, it’s a fabulous place to raise kids.

Rabbits are the only pets we’ve ever had together. Sylvia was our house rabbit and she outlived two companions, Tigger and Milkshake, both who died of various medial troubles. We regretfully had to put poor Sylvia to sleep in February of 2007, when she was over ten years old. Bundit came into our lives in December 2007.

I’m an INFP, and my husband is an INFJ. This means we’re pretty weird people.

In early 2003 our lives changed forever. We had planned on having a child, and “seeing how that goes” before having another…though I told Bruce I really thought any kid ought to have at least one sibling in this world. You know the old saying about being careful what you wish for? Bruce had just started reading Maybe Just One by Bill McKibben when we found out we were having not one, but two on the way. You’re going to ask anyway so I’ll tell you: yes, twins are a handful (but adorable), no, they’re aren’t identical even though they sort of look like it, and no, it doesn’t run in the family. On either side.

Miscellaneous Tidbits

Developed Interstitial Cystitis in October 2005. Genetic destiny, unfortunately. My mother and sister have it too.
It took me seven years to get through college.
My husband taught me to be nice and put spiders outside, not smash them. He’s a good man.
My favorite shows are The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and The Sopranos. Those are the only shows I watch.
I think our president is a complete asshat.
I’m in the Mayflower Society, a decendant of both William Brewster (1566) and Stephen Hopkins.
My favorite music genre is chillout. It’s a more relaxed version of trance, which was a favorite in college…I blame my affintity for electronica on an 80s childhood.
I’m a Democratic Socialist with serious Green Party leanings. But I generally vote Democratic.
I’m also card-carrying member of the Sierra Club, and have been since junior high.
Some of my favorite authors are (back when I had time to read): Bill McKibben, Edward Abbey, Don DeLillo, Toni Morrisson, and more recently, Ariel Gore. I usually read more non-fiction than fiction.
I consider trees personal friends.
I’ve been vegetarian since 1994 or so; my husband has been for almost as long as I’ve been alive.
I’m a Totoro nut. And a computer nut.
Sting and Colin Firth give me weak knees.
I pretty much hate all authority.
I’m not fond of Microsoft and I think spammers ought to be shot.
Both my father and husband are from Jersey (I think this is pretty cool).
My husband is twice as old as I am. No, he doesn’t look his age.
He has a doctorate in creative writing.
I never learned to cook. I’d be fucked without the microwave.
I can sort of sew and knit, however.

Email

twinmama at that Gmail place

Haunts

Flickr
43 Things
Last.fm
LibraryThing
LaLa
AllConsuming
Technorati