Before I get started, who am I?

As much as I would like to appear insightful, if not downright enlightened, by answering the existential question "who am I?" with a carefully chosen quote by a deep-thinking philosopher like Socrates, or a notable historical figure like Gandhi, I wouldn't dare insult your intelligence, nor would I try to write disingenuously. So, staying true to the type of person I really am, I can only answer the "who am I?" question with the same response given by male model, Derek Zoolander: "I don't know." When I first say Ben Stiller uttered those vague words to himself through his reflection in a puddle back in 2001, I found solace in knowing that it was all right to be uncertain with one's own identity or purpose. Fast track 18 years, skipping over a lifetime of accomplishments, tragedies, and celebrations, I am still as uncertain as to who I am and Zoolander's words ring just as true as they did all those years ago.

Although I won't try to define myself with another- perhaps more intelligible- quote, I can share a few milestones that likely led me to go where every man and woman with internet access has gone before, by writing a blog. Albeit, to describe myself is a struggle in and of itself since I would rather write tens of thousands of words (and have) about the lives of fictional characters rather than write a few sentences about myself. I get uneasy when I write about my past, feeling an overwhelming amount of angst- what Freud might refer to as "the uncanny"- when I force myself to relive familiar emotions and events. If that sly Freud reference didn't go unnoticed, you would correctly assume that I have a background in psychology- or an unhealthy obsession with over analyzing myself, which is also true. When I initially pursued a psychology degree and subsequent career in social services, I misled myself into thinking that my passion was to help people with dysfunctional personalities and problems, but it was only when I started writing creatively and changed careers to marketing that I finally realized that I didn't want to cure people of their abnormalities, I wanted to simply understand their motives for doing the irrational things they do. It was- and still is- a matter of sheer curiosity.

So, rather than continue in an emotionally draining field catering to the addicts and homeless of the world, I found it much less taxing to develop stories based on second-hand anecdotes, observations, and off-beat insights I had into the world of abnormality. To make a long story even longer than it has to be, the point is that I find writing to be both amusing and therapeutic. I write to evoke a reaction in not only the reader, but myself; to feel aroused, nauseated, or delighted by wordplay or a particularly clever sentence is my ultimate goal. Having said that, I hope you enjoy your journey into my twisted mind and do not get lost in the abundant eccentricities along the way.