Hi everyone! Today I’m doing the Get to Know Me Tag! This tag was created by Steph from Scale it Simple and is quite long so I won’t go on too long so I can get right to it! Steph left her tag open and while I told her I’d do it quite a bit ago, I had to wait to do it. Because she got the questions and they were meant to be specifically for her from her followers (I believe), I have changed them a bit if needed.

The reason why is because when I originally planned to do it last month, I ended up doing Q and A right before this was scheduled for my 400 followers celebration. That’s why I put it off since I thought my Q and A was going to cover some of this and I don’t like to have too similar posts that close together.

Since it’s been awhile and I have a lot of new people though, I thought now was a good time for it!

Here we go!

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Rules

• Invite other bloggers to complete the questions by tagging them in your post
• Use the ask me anything image in your post
• Answer as many of the questions as you like that I completed above

About Writing

How did you start your blog?

I wanted to start a blog and when I want something, I move the earth to get it! So I decided I wanted to do it, and googled “how to start a blog” and stuff like that. Two websites were recommended the most. Blogger and WordPress. I tried Blogger first because I knew many people who used Blogger in college but I got as far as trying to make it pretty and grew frustrated that it didn’t look how I wanted it to look.

I moved onto WordPress, created a free account, and the rest is history!

What made you decide to begin blogging?

I had been working in an office for about a year and a half when I started my blog. While I liked it, and had recently started a new job, I was feeling a general lack of creativity. I was coming out of NaNoWriMo and really wanted to keep that creativity going.

I actually wanted to start a YouTube channel but I didn’t think I could dedicate enough time to it. Since I had been writing for NaNo and many people were telling me I was good at writing at the same time, I chose to blog. It turned out to be the perfect fit for me!

Are there other types of writing you enjoy doing?

 

Well I do like writing stories, hence my NaNo participation. (If you’re super confused, it’s a month long writing contest to write a 50,000 novel in the month of November. Well now they’ve branched out and you can join other contests in other months and write pretty much what you want, but that’s the basic idea.)

I’ve also written tons of things for work such as professional responses to send for emails received by customers of all the questions they ask most often (it’s the same questions over and over again!) and I also used to write for the student newspaper in college.

Why do you write?

I write because I love it! It’s so creative and I feel that I can really think about what I want to say and find the words to say it with.

My fellow Hamilton fans will understand this next reference. When Angelica is reading Alexander’s letter and she notes the “comma in the middle of the phrase [and] it changed the meaning”. That’s what I love the most, how clever and creative you can be.

It takes so much planning and preparation to write. For a novel, you put little clues as to what will happen. For shorter works you need to use different words so you don’t use the same ones over and over again. It really is an art, finding the right words and right phrases.

Personality

Do you see yourself as an optimist, pessimist, or neither?

Optimist for sure!

Leader or follower?

Leader. It’s funny because I remember when I first realized that I was a leader in high school. People just follow me. If you’re a fellow leader I think you know how strange it can be that the mood in the room will change to reflect yours.

Of course, this can be both a bad thing. Think of leaders in history for example. Or now even. One example of when it’s bad is when Gaston in the new live action Beauty and the Beast is leading the villagers to go hunt the beast and he sings how the villagers will do exactly as he says because of the fear he’s single-handedly provoked. Fellow leaders, let’s not be Gaston.

Being a female leader is tough sometimes. There’s still a significant gender stereotype I’ve encountered. I’ve been described as “intense” and “bossy” but when a man does the same thing he gets all the praise. I actually had a following out with a mentor in college and we never repaired the relationship after this situation happened. But hey, this is who I am and I will never apologize for it.

Talker or listener?

Can I say both? I love to talk but I also love to listen.

When I talk, I share my opinion and offer opportunities for others to learn more about my perspective. I’m also quite smart (oh geez, I’m sure you’re all thinking I have the BIGGEST head you’ve ever seen) so I like contributing my knowledge to the conversation.

When I listen, I learn. I don’t pretend to know everything and am willing to hear another perspective. I also have a strong affinity for stories, and I love to hear people’s stories of their lives and made up.

Broad-minded or opinionated?

At my core I’m opinionated. But I make a strong effort to be broad-minded now! I did a personality test for work that said I “tend to always think I’m right” and it’s not completely wrong! Like I said earlier, I like to learn, so it’s important to keep an open mind to do so.

Introvert or extrovert?

Strong introvert but like many introverts I’ve learned extrovert qualities.

Type A or Type B?

Type A all the way!

Travel

What’s your next adventure?

Hopefully Cancun over Christmas and New Year’s! I hate the idea of traveling with the masses but it’s literally the only time that works great for everyone in my family (and we’re only 4 people) and plus I wouldn’t have to use my vacation days as the company closes over the holidays. We shall see!

What’s your favorite place in the world to be?

Quite honestly it’s my house. I love my house a lot. It’s got a temperature we can regulate, my stuff, and all my comfy clothes and blankets!

 

If you could live anywhere in the world for 3-6 months where and why?

Probably New York City because then I could see many Broadway shows and that’s probably plenty of time for NYC to overwhelm me.

Beach vacation or mountain retreat?

I have only ever done a beach vacation out of these two options and I know I love it. But I am very curious as to how I would like a mountain retreat!

What is your favorite place you’ve ever traveled to?

Parc Guell in Barcelona was my favorite place when I lived there. The first time I saw it all the tourists were there and I was with my roommates. The rest of the times I was by myself at either really early or really late hours so I had almost the entire place to myself!

Mindfulness and Happiness

What do you do in the evening to ensure you’re in the swing of self-care and feeling super duper mindful?

I don’t really do much in the evening besides my usual shower I believe!

How do you keep yourself mindful on a daily basis?

Like the question before I don’t think I do anything too special.

How do you inject happiness into those days when you’re not feeling as positive as you’d like to?

I’m generally a very happy person but I find there is little that a good sleep can’t fix!

For Fun

What is your favorite time of day?

Morning time! I am a morning person although I do get cranky if I don’t get enough sleep.

What is your most embarrassing/funny story?

One funny recent story involves two coworkers. One of them always eats lunch with me and the other is usually too busy but if she walks into the kitchen when we’re eating she stops to chat. Well my lunch friend and I were chatting about how poor our food choices generally are because we’d gone to McDonald’s earlier that day for breakfast food and now were eating chips. Our coworker joined us during this time and this is how it went down:

Lunch Buddy: This is why I can’t be skinny.

Me: This is also why we can’t be instagram models.

Busy Coworker: Well that’s not the only reason why. You also have a brain.

Me: Awwww! That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me!

Busy Coworker: Really? We need to talk more then. Also I did say [really nice thing] to you didn’t I?

Me: Oh yes, you totally did. Okay second nicest!

Haha it was a good time.

What do you see when you walk into a room full of strangers and then how do you proceed?

This is where my adopted extrovert tendencies shine. I pick someone who looks interesting, friendly, and the least likely to be a murderer and say hi! So far it’s worked!

The world ends in 48 hours and you’ve lost your bucket list. What two things would you like to do?

Hang out with the family and go sky diving. Hey, if something goes wrong at least the world was ending anyway.

If you could have dinner with anyone dead or alive, who would it be?

Hillary Clinton. I would love to have just one conversation with her someday.

McDonalds or BK?

Burger King. I love their cheeseburgers!

What is your dream job?

I want to have my own business someday! I don’t know what it’ll be but it’ll happen!

Do you have any pets?

Unfortunately no. My dad hates dogs, my mom dislikes cats/rodents/everything else, and the fish we had died and I’m over that maintenance for no cuddles. I’d love to have a dog someday! Either an Alaskan Malamute or a Pomeranian.

What’s the first song that comes to your mind right now?

Radioactive by Imagine Dragons. Strange, I haven’t listened to that song in ages but I do love it.

What book(s) have made you cry?

Oh Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the first one that comes to mind.

What’s your favorite tv show?

Right now is The Office and all time favorite is Parks and Recreation. Jim tormenting Dwight is my favorite thing and Ben Wyatt is the love of my life while Leslie Knope is literally me.

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Phew! That was long! I realize I didn’t have to do all of the questions but I did so there you go. Feel free to do this tag if you’d like, just be sure to tag me so I can read it!

Thanks for reading!

Pamela

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