oh yeah, we hiked into this cinder cone bad boy in Lassen.

This blog has been my little journal and soap box for the merits of being single for the past few years, but now I am in a new little season of life with a real live boyfriend. Yup. I caught me a man. We’ve passed several of the “tests” for new relationships, quite early on, I might add. First airport trip, first meeting parents, first death, first road trip, first volcano hike. And so we’re definitely in this relationship. Which means I am no longer “young, single, (un)professional.”

But it’s such a good title!

When I first started blogging in college, on the ancient site known as xanga, I don’t even know if we had invented titles yet. And I went by “prettybird09,” inspired by “Dumb and Dumber, which was my AOL screen name.

Ah, yes, the days of AOL. “You’ve Got Mail!” What a happy button that was to click. We got a computer with internet when I was in high school….I was always sneaking into the kitchen late at night, trying to make white noise over the screeching of the dial-up modem, wandering into chatrooms and answering the classy “A/S/L?” question from strangers I should never have met. Staying up soooo late. Man, those days were creepy.

I kind of miss AIM chatting. I miss thinking of clever little away messages, and adding color and changing the font. And checking on what your friends were doing and how long they’d been idle.

“Dude, Jen has been idle for three days. Should someone go check her dorm?”

I always loved the friends who told you exactly what they were doing: “shower” “food” “class” “sleeping”

My away messages were usually dedicated to conversation hearts, complaining about whatever paper I was supposed to be writing, lyrics from bad songs.

Back to the blog title.

When I wanted to start this blog as a daily writing challenge, I came up with a fantastic name: “A Year of Blogging Dangerously.”

Being the clever girl I sometimes am, I decided to google the name to make sure I was as original as I’d hoped. Alas, someone far more cleverer than me already had the name. BUT I started reading her blog, loved it, following her on twitter, and now we’re these weird online friends and part of a blogging/drinking wine group that meets in the internet on Friday nights to talk about life. It’s #wineparty. Pretty sweet.

So I settled on the current title as a nod to the wild years I spent in Santa Barbara, sometimes writing articles about singlehood for the Independent, like auditioning for “Real World” or speed-dating.

But now….what to call meself?

I’m trying to think of adjectives that describe me most accurately, or images, or things that represent me.

youngish, happy, teacher, singy, wine-y, fro-yo, Jesus lover, tree hugger, fire pits, drum circles, volleyball, yellow….

I think I’m settling on “Sunglasses Always Fit.”

I’ll tell you why:

  • This will be the title of the first book I ever publish, which I’m hoping to get started next year with the wonderful world of e-publishing.
  • I heart sunglasses.
  • Despite any weight fluctuation, your sunglasses generally always fit. This is important as I have gained about ten pounds of what I call “I’m so happy and in love and goodness boys eat a LOT and I’m just standing here so sure I’ll have some ice cream, too,” sweetest shades ever.weight.
  • Also, I love these shades in particular, and keep them in my car for emergency sunny day situations.

Lloyd: Yeah, I was able to raise 25 extra bucks before we left.
Harry: Where did you get 25 extra becks?
Lloyd: I sold some stuff, to Billy in 4C.
Harry: The blind kid?
Lloyd: Yeah, ha ha! Yeah.
Harry: What did you sell him Lloyd?
Lloyd: Stuff.
Harry: What kinda stuff?
Lloyd: I don’t know, a few baseball cards, a sack of marbles,  [cough] Petey.
Harry: Petey? You sold my dead bird to a blind kid? Lloyd! Petey didn’t even have a head!
Lloyd: Harry, I took care of it…

pretty bird, pretty bird.
Related articles