Between Paradiso and Purgatorio: Welcome to my Hellmouth

Yes, I'm swimming into the Blogosphere. I've been hoarding witty rejoinders and...Must Get Insights Out...Too much reckless glee...About to blow...

I'm on leave from the graduate nonfiction program at Sarah Lawrence College and I'm itching to opine, words being my most soothing balm.

So Here's the Stitch: Topics will be broad.

I'm interested in getting technology to the masses, or at least kindred spirits, so that we all (w'all?) can do stuff together virtually. I'll be discussing new technologies (most of which are free) that I'm using (or more likely, learning to use), e.g., podcasting.

See, I've become reclusive, yet I'm super community-minded. (That's one of many paradoxes this blog might address). The demands of a toddler, a tween, and a lawyer-husband (strangely more taxing than the kids) have caused me to take refuge in my Fortress of Solitude. Classic introvert that I am, I tend to recharge when I'm alone. When I'm thinking creatively about stuff, listening to music, surfing the web for the next new thing...

Some posts will be focused on How to Live a Good Life (Ethics, Spirituality, Self-Care) and the practices that sustain the Good Life. I draw from Positive Psychology, Stoicism, the Bible, Wisdom Literature from many traditions (including pop culture), and life experience, mine and that of others I have observed closely.

I avoid platitudes. I prefer stories. Most people know the parables from the New Testament (regardless of religious background), the prodigal son, good Samaritan, etc. Why? Because we feel the truth told in stories in our viscera, in the pit of our chests, while abstract statements rarely penetrate our skin.

I set aside time to contemplate the Good Life, and I'm looking for kindred souls. I practice Gratitude fairly formally (to me, the exercise of gratitude is more important than physical exercise, which I also do, more or less, daily) and I will be providing instruction and sharing my gratitude experiences, and hope other bloggers will too.

WARNING: This blog will not be stuffy, and while I have strong convictions, I'm also fairly irreverent in the face of human folly, that of others, and my own. To me, death happens when laughter stops.

MORE WARNING: I can be goofy too. I'm a big fan of well-written, and dramatically-ensembled TV (read: good supporting characters and subplots). Note, for example, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reference in the Title post.

So, to help you navigate my blog, I'll post with labels like:

TechCheck
Good Life
Goofy Girl Goofing Off
Ah, the Children (parenting tidbits)

so you can cherry pick among the pearly bites.
(Oh, and did you guess, I love, love, love word play, as This Blog's Title suggests)

Ciao for now