The Great Interview Experiment

Neil from Citizen of the Month started The Great Interview Experiment which is almost 300 people strong at this point. I understand it’s still not too late to sign up so if you’ve ever had a hankering to interview or be interviewed, go leave a comment. My interviewer was Cog of Driving the Flies who came up with some great questions for me to answer.

Why do you blog?

I started blogging as a way to keep in touch with my kids. When I discovered about a year later that they didn’t actually read it, I had to reevaluate why I blogged and decide if I wanted to continue. I decided that I wanted to keep blogging and just write about whatever was going on as a way to keep a journal. Sometimes it’s hard to write when it feels like nothing is happening or only really hard things are happening, but I keep trying. I always appreciate being able to go back and see when things happened.

How many unfinished posts do you have stashed away?

I cleaned out my unfinished posts about a month ago and it’s now at 2 from about 16. I finally admitted to myself that I had no idea what most of them were supposed to be about anyway.

Do you have a guilty pleasure blog, one that you read just for fun?

I skim about 30 blogs every other day and they are all just for fun. : )

You have interviewed a wide range of people, and been interviewed as well. What is the question you’ve always wanted to ask someone but haven’t, or a question you wish someone would ask you?

I think I’ve always asked what it is I wanted an answer to. At least, I can’t think of any burning questions that I’ve been saving up. As far as someone asking me – I suppose it’s what is your favorite number. The answer, of course, is 7.

If you could have a single day in your life to live over, which one would it be?

Wow. I have no idea. It would be hard to choose from awesomely fun days and the hard days where I actually learned the most. Two that come to mind are the day I had my first baby and the day I went into the mental hospital for the first time. Both of those days were exceedingly hard and also so rewarding. The day I got married to Joe went so fast and we were feeling stressed and it might be fun to go back and relive that day minus stress and hurry.

Comfort food?

I’m a potato girl. Baked, french fried, mashed – add a little salt and I’m in heaven. At least until I remember how many calories I just ate.

For what do you wish to be remembered?

A lot of what I do is centered on removing the stigma from mental illness. I suppose I’d like to be remembered as someone who helped that cause a bit.

What about someone’s blog dances on your last nerve?

I try to blog and let blog. Everyone has their own idea of how they want their online home arranged so there isn’t really anything that gets on my nerves. And if something does, I just don’t go back there anymore.

Your issues with mental health are well-chronicled. Given that they are a big part of you, including the many noteable accomplishments, would you trade off the cycles if you knew it meant you wouldn’t have accomplished what you have?

I wouldn’t change anything except when it comes to my kids. And I think every parent has a whole library of things they wish they could go back and change. It haunts you when you know that you did anything that hurts your kids. But even though I sometimes stay up late at night wishing I could change something, just realizing that wallowing in that pain doesn’t bring any positive results helps me to move on. Usually. : )

What piece of music/album/playlist have you carried with you across media, that you had on cassette or vinyl, to CD and now to mp3 or other digital format?

This is so sad but the only 8-track I owned that made it to a cassette and then somehow made it to a digital file is Anne Murray singing Danny’s Song. Oh, and there was a Chicago 16 which made it pretty far, too. Today I’m in love with Regina Spektor, Feist, Kate Nash, Amy Winehouse and Medeski, Martin & Wood.

Are there too many bloggers?

Never. Always more room in the pool. You never know who might pick up blogging next and say things that really touch your heart.

If someone came to you and told you they wanted to start a blog, what is the most important advice would you give this person?

Write what you feel. Don’t start a blog as a way to earn money unless you’ve been around a few years and know how to do it and even then it’s going to be really hard. Be kind when leaving comments on other’s blogs – don’t ever say anything you wouldn’t want your mother to know came from you.

Thanks,
cog

Thank you!
lpc