IS THIS MIC ON? HELLO?....

God, my biography...I never thought it would be published.

Hmmm, what to tell you...

I'm passionate, anal retentive, a tad obsessive, Italian, a good listener, homicidal/suicidal and days where I'm in between (the meds are helping)... Oh yeah, and I love to laugh (but my humor leans more towards Will & Grace than say, Everybody Loves Raymond). And I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.

I'm a singer (for my friends), a former drummer who wanted to sing, a lyricist who gave up trying to find a collaborator, and a screenwriter.

I spend most of my free time in my head. It's dark, it's never closed, there is always a movie on, or cool music playing. Sometimes there are scripts being written, or dark things being plotted, and often naughty thoughts floating in and out at will. I find reality to be a nuisance, but I know I have to put up with it in order to have that free time.

If you don't know what I meant by that last paragraph, that's okay. Those of you who get it - what hospital were you in, for how long, what for, and what are you taking for it now? (We have to stick together.)

MY EPINIONS "PERSONA"

This is where I'm supposed to tell you how I rate stuff, right? Well, my system's pretty complicated. Get out pens and pencils.

If I find your review very helpful, then I rate it Very Helpful. To be found Very Helpful, you need to be thorough without talking for days like I do! You need to not have a review that is full of typos, or incoherent sentences. You have to give me enough information to make a decision on whether I'd want to see that movie, hear that CD, etc. It's just as simple as that.

My Web Of Trust. I was very clueless when I started here. (Still am, but in different ways....) No one told me I should be reading alot of other people's opinions! I thought my sole purpose here was to write. And that's what I did. And my WOT remained very small (those who trusted ME), because the number of people I trusted was also very small. Once I started reading, rating, etc. (in the last four or five months), both lists have started to grow nicely.

One of the ways I find new people to read, is going into the profile page of someone I trust, and looking at who they trust. I click on a bunch of names, add them to my email alert list, and then, when I can, go in and read ten to twenty of their reviews. If I like what I read, then I add them to my web of trust.

If I still haven't found you - and there are several of you I'm looking for (!) please feel free to email me and ask me to read your stuff. I will do it. And you can email me just to say hi, ask me to water your plants, or just listen. Don't be shy!! I love to hear from people. And it makes me feel like I have a life. Ya know? Okay.

COMMENTS

This is not a "comment" I'm going to make, it's a little section regarding "comments" left (or not left) at reviews.

I don't mean to go Hallmark here, but life can be pretty crappy, and don't you find it nice when you're out at the store or something, and someone is really nice to you, or smiles at you? As Jann Arden says, I am breathless from the mercy of a smile. Have you had days like that, where you just wanted to kiss the person for not being a jerk like everyone else in your life at the moment?

Well, when someone leaves me a comment, it makes me smile. It makes my day. I don't care how short or long it is. "Good job", or "you suck" are just fine. At least I know someone is listening, that I haven't spent hours writing for no one, you know what I mean?

So when I leave a rating, I will usually leave a comment, unless there's already like a hundred, or I'm just in a homicidal frame of mind (did I tell you the meds are helping?). I would like to think I made somebody's day. My point here is this: take just a second and say something when you rate. If everybody did that, I think everyone would be happier, and to me that's more incentive than any money they could pay me.

Think it over.

FINAL THOUGHTS

For all the b*tching all of us do about Epinions, and the site not working like it should be, blah blah blah, I am always so grateful to have a place I can go and write. I have an outlet I never had before. I try not to take that for granted.

For all of those who trust me, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support. For those of you who don't - get on the stick!

If there were no music, then I would not get through.... Shawn Colvin

That's a wrap. Take care and keep writing.