Post the First: Excuse My Mess

If you've happened upon this blog, you're either a friend, family, or have incredibly rotten luck - there isn't much to see, here, yet. This is hardly my first time attempting a blog, and it likely will not be my last, but hopefully I'll learn a few things from this particular attempt that will help me in future endeavors.

Or I could just make a big damn mess of it. So...excuse my mess!

This is as good a place as any for my introduction, so here goes: I'm Jessa.

Whew, that was easier than I thought!

I guess that was a pretty terrible introduction, so I'll give you a few more details (none of which are likely to give you any indication as to the purpose or intent of this blog):

I'm a homeschooling mother of three living in Columbia, South Carolina. My oldest son is verging on 16, my daughter is almost 11, and my youngest son is nearly 10. (I'm not sure if having Christmas and three birthdays between December and February was brilliant planning, or a tragic misstep - sure, you catch all the great sales, but then you're tapped out for the rest of the year! Yikes!) I have a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, and I'm currently working on a personal project that I hope will help me get into a graduate program in the next couple of years (though I'm not guaranteeing a post on that, anytime soon). I'm a huge nerd and a complete geek (and there is a distinction, but you CAN be both!); you'll likely see a lot on this blog on everything from gaming (console, PC, pencil and paper, and even board games) to books (nearly always better than the film, I promise you), from science fiction and fantasy (and every sub-genre within - steampunk, cyberpunk, high magic, urban fantasy...I could go on forever), to history, science, and social issues. I'm all over the map, so this blog probably will be, too.

I love to read and write, and I have been told on occasion that I have a talent for writing. You're probably not going to see that, here. Sure, there may be glimmers, but this is really an experiment for me - a process that I'm working my way through. I enjoy reading blogs, but I've never written one beyond a few posts, and I've finally committed to sticking with one. That means things are going to be rocky. I'm not just learning to write a blog; I'm learning all the stuff that goes along with that, a little at a time. So while you see the basic sort of layout and template that Blogger provides, here, over time I hope to make the visual improvements on my own. For a geeky, nerdy type, my computer skills are barely above the average user - something I'm trying to change. Granted, that requires me taking my nose out of my books for longer than it takes to make a blog post, so you may be waiting awhile.

So why am I writing this blog? There are quite a few reasons. One, it's cathartic to have a place to get all my thoughts out of my head, where I can examine them (and yes, even have them subject to public scrutiny). I am, by nature, an introvert - shy, yes, but really just not the sort of person who engages people casually. Small talk not only bores me, it makes me feel extraordinarily uncomfortable. If you want to hold an in-depth conversation with me on cosplay, Doctor Who, or the cultural implications of self-expression among Japanese youth through fashion, I'll talk your ear off (at least until you beg off, or run away screaming). You ask me about the weather or compliment my shoes, my replies are likely to be monosyllabic (and I'll be the one running, as soon as it's polite to do so). Writing this blog excuses me from small talk, but also ensures that when I engage in discussions on topics for which I am strongly passionate, the people reading are people who want to engage in those discussions, too.

Another reason - my fiancé is holding my favorite book hostage, and unless I blog every day, he's going to dog ear a page. I think he's just crazy enough to do it, too.