Back in January 2005, I posted a
diary asking people what their political history was, specifically what their teen politics were, if any.
Lots of folks contributed to the thread, and we all learned a lot about the person behind the username. I mean, we all speculate about what might make dKos user [fill in the blank] tick, what shaped their political views, etc., but we rarely get to find out if what we've speculated is actually true.
Well, that was 9 months ago, and there are many, many more dKos users now.
It's time for another "introduce yourself" diary. Don't be shy! These threads are like crack to Kossacks. Everyone likes to talk about themselves. I mean, hey, it's the internet. No one's gonna know that you're blogging in your underwear, don't worry, and if we did, we'd still think you were brilliant.
Here are a few questions to get you started, if you're having trouble:
- Why'd you chose that username?
- Where did you first hear about dailyKos?
3. Can we send you updates for our products? (Oops, wrong questionaire...)
- What's your political background?
- What part of the US do you hail from? If you're not in the US, where do you live?
I'll go first. Follow me below the fold.
My username comes from something I used to work with (plutonium) and my first name (Page). I have a background in chemistry, and spent some time working with nuclear waste, which was fascinating, but not a job I'd want to do again.
I first heard about dailyKos from my husband, who said "Check out this political website... you can post these things called diaries. It's pretty cool." The rest is history.
My political background will most definitely not stand up to some of yours. If you count going to the polls with my parents in 1972 (I was three years old), maybe that's when a seed was planted. My parents had talked about McGovern so much at home that I thought he was actually going to be at the polls, and said so quite loudly when we were there.
So, growing up, politics for me was mostly a matter of understanding what was ethical (I knew Nixon wasn't), and what was right (preservation of civil liberties, etc.). I spent most of my time studying, and eventually in labs, starting when I was about 13. I grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and since my grandfather was a retired Army colonel, I spent a certain amount of time out on Kirtland AFB. In the back of my mind, I knew there were nuclear weapons out there, and that scared me.
I graduated from high school in 1987, so, in the words of Ani Difranco, it certainly was "...coming of age during the plague of Reagan and Bush...".
There's a whole hell of a lot more that I could say, but obviously I grew up liberal, stayed liberal, and the first time really got involved in politics was with Howard Dean's campaign.
As for where I'm from, right now, I'm still in Albuquerque, NM. But as of next Thursday, I'll be on a plane to Amsterdam, and my furniture will be in a shipping container on the way there. My Dutch husband and I bought a place in Amsterdam, and it's very exciting - but also terrifying - to move so far away from home. It was my decision, and I love it there (I spent just about every other month, for a year, in Amsterdam), but it's still scary.
Ok, guys, now it's your turn. I know you're dying to talk about yourself. Go for it! Introduce yourself! And take the poll.
Note: If you want to post a photo of yourself, several things:
- PREVIEW IS YOUR FRIEND. Giant photos will slow down the speed at which the thread will load.
- Post photos 340px wide or smaller.
- ImageShack is a great free image hosting service.
- We all want to know what you look like. We're waiting, dammit.