An Introduction . . .
I thought awhile ago that I would start a blog. Actually, a friend suggested/requested it, and I thought it was a great idea. I signed up and drafted my first post, but I realized that I wasn't really ready. My life was in flux, and having one more perceived obligation was not really something I needed at the time. However, my life has, in some ways, vastly changed since that point. I still don't have time for another obligation, but in some ways, blogging may free me up from others. So, here is take two of my blog.
As the title suggests, I will keep this anonymous, or as anonymous as anything remains on the internet these days. I'm sure a concerted hacker could discover who I am without a huge amount of trouble. However, I don't think the casual viewer, unless I directed them here myself, needs to know exactly who I am.
That said, if you're reading this, there are things about me that would be helpful to know. I am female, but I work in a strongly male-dominated field. I have an advanced degree, but I have come believe that it means pretty much nothing except that I was too stubborn and/or masochistic to quit. Those attributes (or flaws, if you want to see them that way) are also likely why I am a distance runner. I love running more than anything else, but was never going to make a career out of it. I have been running, competitively and not, for decades, but recently got some news that I may not be for that much longer. I'm a feminist. I cannot really fathom how any female could not be a feminist, given that it is essentially a matter of possessing the belief that women and men are equal and should be treated as such, but it's become a contentious word lately. I'm politically progressive and social justice oriented, but probably would not be, had I been raised by different people. However, the two things I really share with conservatives seem to be an overactive amygdala and a propensity for listening to country music. All those years of classical music training, and I like truck songs.
I only tell you these things so that you have some context for my future posts. For instance, I can virtually guarantee you that I will someday blog about having to determine how to address a sexist remark or attitude at work, where if I respond, I'm the overly sensitive female, and if I don't, it's just another veiled insult to swallow, another straw piled on the bale this camel already has on her back. I will also write about running: the good, the bad, and the ugly. It's my longest relationship, in some ways, my deepest, and right now, it is going through some serious changes. As for progressive politics and social justice issues, I will discuss them because, well, because if our country does not make some big changes, socially and economically, we are headed for a situation from which we may not be able to recover. And someday, when I am sick of all the deep, complex, society-changing ideas, I will blog about some country song that I am absolutely obsessed with at the moment.
Thanks for reading.
~AN