Chris
Introductions!
Call me Ishmael.
On second thought, don't. That would be dumb. My name is Chris, and I author a blog called "... from the bungalow." Around here, in our humble dwelling, they call me Daddy. I'm sort of the co-chair of a blended family, and I mean blended. My oldest son (Finn) has special needs, his younger brother (Simon) is precocious (I actually hate that word, but--meh--it fits), and their stepbrother (Lucas) is biracial and is suspected to have ADHD. My ex-wife and I are on good terms and try to communicate regularly regarding the problems and progress of our kids. Speaking of which, my ex-wife, fiancée, and I all attended a birthday party for one of Simon's friends last Friday morning, and it wasn't weird at all. In fact, amidst all the chaos and transition of divorce and remarriage, we feel that our kids are fortunate to have so many loving parents.
I am a band geek. At least I was in the eighties and nineties, but once a band geek, always a band geek. I went to band camp, played in all the school bands, even won the John Philip Sousa Award my senior year. I went on to earn a bachelor's degree in music therapy from a large, Midwestern university. Of course, I'm not working in the field right now, and I wish I played more often, but c'est la vie.
I am a currently non-practicing music therapist and a financial aid administrator in higher education. My real job is completely boring, but I'm pretty happy with what I do ethically speaking, and it pays the bills. These days, you can't ask for much more than that.
I love all things Joss Whedon (especially Firefly) and pretty much everything Malcolm McDowell and Edward Norton have ever been in. I love mayonnaise on my hotdogs and peanut butter on my pancakes. I love smelling my kids' heads and tickling them until they can't breathe.
Love. You can learn all the math in the 'Verse, but you take a boat in the air that you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as a turn of the worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down, tells you she's hurtin' before she keels. Makes her a home. ~ Captain Mal
I'm one part hippie, two parts nerd. (Hippie-nerd!) I'm a lot of things, but perfect isn't one of them. I sin boldly and love sincerely. I write because I believe in honoring my thoughts and feelings enough to give them a voice. In doing so, I'm able to not only process them for myself (a lot cheaper than therapy), but also bridge connections for others.
I share a lot of observation and conjecture with a little humor and a lot of heart thrown in. Being a dad, about half of what I write about pertains to my kids, who drive me crazy more often than not, but I love the crap out of 'em! Life isn't perfect or even easy, but it should be fun!
Let's go!
~ Chris from the bungalow (http://fromthebungalow.
Judges Comments:
"I love the quote from Firefly. As a Whedon fan this gains huge cool points. However, the post as a whole doesn't work with quotes acting as hinges.
I'd really recommend a more structured approach to your writing with working quotes into the overall structure. Leave the jokes, take the canoli.
Not a bad first post out of the gate as we do get a good feel for who you are. However, the overall effect leaves me wondering if you'll be able to have enough polish to your writing to make it to the final round."
-Allison, from SVALLIE.NET: The Nerd Connection
"I love the quote from Firefly. As a Whedon fan this gains huge cool points. However, the post as a whole doesn't work with quotes acting as hinges.
I'd really recommend a more structured approach to your writing with working quotes into the overall structure. Leave the jokes, take the canoli.
Not a bad first post out of the gate as we do get a good feel for who you are. However, the overall effect leaves me wondering if you'll be able to have enough polish to your writing to make it to the final round."
-Allison, from SVALLIE.NET: The Nerd Connection
"Chris, I just wanted to say that I am SO excited that you made it into the top 12. This was a great post, because even as someone who reads your blog, I still learn more about you from it. "
-Heather, from My Husband Ate All My Ice Cream
-Heather, from My Husband Ate All My Ice Cream
"Well, I have met you on Twitter a few times, but now I think I can say "it's nice to meet YOU". This post really did tell exactly who you are and I am sure I could paint a picture of you now to anyone else I can talk to. "
-The Dude, from The Daddyyo Blog