Ok, so I’m a couple days late. Sue me. I was busy being awesome and traveling for the New Year….

The year of the Dragon yet again. Two other very important years in my life were also labeled as such; the year I was born, 1976, and the year Emily was born, 2000. I hope this is a good omen for my life in 2012; lord knows I could use it!

To all my friends past, present and future, have a great year and live life like every day could be the last. There is no sense in not taking the bull, or in this case the dragon, by the horns and making life happen!

Try as I might, I couldn’t keep Jack completely quiet. Thanks for the back up little man.

Once again, the audio on my phone leaves a lot to be desired. Sounds so much better at Karaoke.

I became a Twitteraholic in February of 2009. For 6 weeks I barely ate, barely slept, barely functioned any place but on my stream. I lost 20 pounds. It was the fucking weirdest time in my life and then one day, everything changed for the better. I created a True Blood canon character and became a(n)(legitimate) RP. I started off on my own, then working with some of the best character handlers I have ever had the pleasure to work with. I fell in love with my character and found myself asking what she would do when I made decisions. She infected me in a very positive way. She was my muse and still very much is to this day. I had the best two partners an undead girl could ever hope for and I adore both of them so much.

I created another character as well, her polar opposite, and wrangled my husband into playing with me. We were a force to be reckoned with. He never gets enough credit for being my partner, the other one always does by everyone, so I’m taking this opportunity to toot Randy’s horn for him. He’s hilarious and really good at entertaining you all. He’s half of two of my all time favorite Twitter conversations and to this day both encounters make me laugh uncontrollably. To clear my slate, as I was just asked this yesterday, he is NOT…I repeat NOT @VampireBill. I love my husband, but I don’t think I’d create him a fanclub on the internet for kicks. I do that for strange undead guys instead. *smirk*

During all this excitement, I managed to create a giant labor of love thank you card by starting the @BillsBelles blog. @VampireBill and the Belles are some of the best people I have ever known and I truly enjoyed every moment of the play time we all had together. I gave my heart and soul to my cause every day of the week and to be honest, it just made me feel good to do it, it still does, though I have very little material to work with these days. This by no means is me saying that I am throwing in the towel, but things have tapered off quite a bit. I will always enjoy rocking that crotch avatar, or as Bill likes to refer to it, “my lap”. That man is the pillar of class. Such a gentleman.

My Belle sisters and I may have been brought together by our common love for The Man, but he’s not the glue that keeps us together. We all met here for a reason; it was meant to be, plain and simple. I always felt left out in my everyday life and unable to find friends that held common interests until I met them all here. They’re my social circle and I have been told that in this day and age, it’s normal. I wish the person that told me that would tell my mom the same thing.

Alas, all good things must come to an end and here we are. I tried for a long time to hold it all together by working with other handlers and creating hilariously asinine short term sideline characters to add comic relief. It’s no secret to anyone that pays even the smallest bit of attention to The Man that @AgentGouda is yours truly. Gee Shan, perhaps you could put some of your eggs in another basket? No? Ok then…..In my defense, I took on characters from other handlers and then they magically ended up hanging out with Bill. I call that kismet. When you have a good formula, why mess around?

I’m not rolling over and quitting here or playing dead, but I won’t be around much at night for a while. *GASP* I know, it’s a shock to me as well, but if we all try really hard, we’ll get by. My husband, ya know the guy that is not @VampireBill, lost his job 18 months ago and I have been working to support us all this time. I got a job offer recently to work in reservations with US Airways. I jumped at the chance. The benefits are fantastic, not to mention the flight perks, but that comes at a cost to my Vampirism. I will now be working from 3-11pm M-F for 12 weeks of training. OMG, Shan will not be on my stream assing off, worshiping The Man and playing with the Belles? How will we survive? I know, I asked myself the same thing, but somehow you’ll get by. After the first of the year, I’ll get my schedule assignment and who knows what that will be. Like I said in the beginning of this post, things happen for a reason and I think this is no exception. I’ll still be here because frankly, this is me we’re talking about and I always find a way…..

That last one makes me giggle.

That was how my great grandparents learned of my father’s birth. Their oldest son was in the United States Navy, on the other side of the world and his wife, my grandmother, gave birth to the man who would someday father the coolest chick you know. My great grandfather told his friends “I have a grandson! Born tomorrow!” I love to tell that story.

My dad traveled home to Illinois and Naval Station Great Lakes. Living for a few years in my grandparents’ hometown of Brookfield, they eventually moved the family to Bruce Lake in Downers Grove and had three more boys, my uncles Mike, Tom and John. My dad has told me tons of great stories about growing up there, what a great childhood he had and about trips to Florida and New Jersey to visit family. Ya know, since we’re actually New Yorkers. Funny how life works, isn’t it?

When I was small, my dad would tell me tales about summer camp, living on the lake and Heidi the German Shepard who used to walk around to the front door and ring the doorbell. Guests would say, “I think someone’s at the door.” My grandfather would respond…”No, it’s the dog.”

My Grandmother likes to tell me how her father thought my dad was the only grandchild worth his salt. “Georgie was always allowed to visit Mother and Daddy’s house, Shanny. He was such a good boy.” Her parents had some dough, nice house on the Jersey shore in the 50′s….swanky; moved to Sarasota in the 60′s. My grandma is a little crazy, but she never had any girls and I’m Georgie’s oldest….do the math….Naples is beautiful in the winter.

Fast forward to the early 70′s, a skinny little brunette friend of my Uncle Mike started babysitting my uncles Tom and John. She was in the kitchen in her bikini(We are SO related!)making PB and J when my dad came home from work at the service station. He was all…”Whoa, who’s the babe in the kitchen making sandwiches?”. Knowing my father, he probably smiled, waved and said…”Hey.”. He’s quite polite and subdued. So obviously this was my mother. They started dating my mother’s senior year; they bought a couch instead of going to prom and got married in April of 1975.

Low and behold, a bouncing baby girl was born August 16th, 1976. She was the one and only The Shan™. I had a pretty cool childhood. We went on lots of trips to historical places. If you could drive there, we went on a weekend trip. Detroit, Indianapolis, Toledo, Minneapolis, Nashville…and for July 4th every year, we went someplace that was inherently American. My dad was big on that; he’s quite the patriot.

At the time, I was not as enthused as I should have been, but I was a teenager. Sue me. Looking back, it was such a good idea. I have been to so many places in this great nation of ours; I’ve visited 31 states. My dad made that all possible by working 2 jobs most of my formative years so my mom could stay home with us. Then on Sunday, he’d work on his cars, fix them and sell them. That’s his passion. That…and music. Gee, I wonder who he passed that on to? I have a fine appreciation for classic rock and good old fashioned American made muscle cars thanks to my dad.

So July 18th, 2011 is my Dad’s 57th birthday. We’ll be going out for lunch today, the 6 of us, and just enjoying the day. He deserves it. He has always been a good friend, teacher, provider and most of all…my dad.

It’s been a long time since I have been that way. I got a little distracted and found myself writing less and less. When I did find the time, it was disjointed and I never wanted it to see the light of day. Not that I regularly posted any of my other writing, but it was not even stuff that I could stomach reading back to myself.

It’s not just my story writing, even my blogging is weak lately. The half written drafts are lying about my wordpress dashboard like scattered headstones in a tiny literary graveyard. Hey, that was pretty good. Let’s remember that little nugget….

What I wonder is this… how can someone who can tweet so much and have so much to say, not be able to put words into something meaningful? It kills me to think about it really.

Here’s an always random, and perhaps comical, glimpse into what I’d like to do before I die. I had better get a move on.

1. See Madonna perform live. I had a chance once when we were in Vega$, but didn’t feel like spending $300 a pop for tickets.

2. See Paul McCartney perform live before HE dies. Again, had a chance, but the practical and broke side of me passed it up.

3. Visit London. I’m an Anglophile, Beatle fan, Doctor Who nerd. This is a place I NEED to see.

4. Do just one thing that is completely nuts and spontaneous. Like take off on a clandestine mission of discovery or something equally theatrical.

5. Win the lottery. Ok, so you have to play this to win it, but maybe some day I will and subsequently hit the jackpot.

6. Stop being everyone’s doormat. Yeah, I’m nice….to a fault maybe. I’m understanding as hell, but that doesn’t mean you can toss me aside and say, “Oh yeah, Shan will be ok with that. She’ll just deal.” Too many people do that to me and I need to make that stop.

7. Study German again and regain my ability to speak it. AUSGETZEICHNET!

8. Have the dirtiest, most wicked, sexiest fricking sexual experience of all time with someone who knows exactly how to unlock every corner of my imagination, darkest desires and tear me apart. It can be a night or a whole week long, it just needs to happen. With who? I have no idea, but when I figure out who he is, I will be sure and let you all know.

9. Scare the hell out of my friends. Took care of that one with number 8. YAY! I feel so accomplished!

10. I just want one night with all my greatest friends in one room. We’ll laugh and have a ball, talking about all the stupid jokes we’ve told each other over the years. We’ll talk about old times and we’ll be happy. Then this can happen and I’d be ok with it.

11. Because it’s one more….I WILL admit to the deepest, darkest secret I hide. It’s a doozy, so you’ll wanna tune in for that.