2002-06-20 1:37 p.m. It occurs to me that I've gained some readers over the past few weeks. Mostly, I'm sure, thanks to my friend Shannon. All the same, it's probably safe to assume that any new readers haven't had the time to slog through all 381 of my entries to bring themselves up to speed. And if you are new, and if you have read all 381 - damn! Go outside and do something. Anything. Also, cool! What I'm saying is that I feel it's time to give you guys the lowdown. The me-in-a-nutshell. The quan of Charmcity. And since I write yet am not a writer and since I journal and yet am no journalist, I present me; elementary school newspaper style: Who? I like it when the questions start out easy. Lets my mind build up some steam. The who is me. Hi! I'm Charmcity. Or, as I'm known in real life, Mike. Some people (ok most people) call me by my last name because, well, I don't know why. It just happens. Alot. Without my encouragement. Not that I mind. I love my last name. It's a great name. I'm just not gonna tell any of y'all. Oh sure, you all seem like nice people. On the sureface. But I'd venture a guess that at least one of you is a little bit crazy. Let's see; what else? I'm 25, live in bee-yoo-tifful Baltimore Maryland and suffer the soul-sucking heartaches that only corporate America can provide. I laugh too loud, I dream too much, and if it's deep fried or hand-dip'd, I want to eat it. I love my friends, I hate my enemies (both of them) and think the world of my family. I'm still trying to decide what to do when I grow up. What? A rather cryptic and ambiguous question. What about my diary? What about my life? What about Bob? I have no idea. Let's examine. The diary, this diary, was started wayyyy back in late 2000. At times I amuse myself with it. At times I annoy myself with it. And, at times I couldn't care less about it. My life? Well what about it. It's a life. I'm sure it's not the best life ever. But it works for me. It's not perfect, not by a long shot, but the thing is, I finally feel like it's my life. There's a certain momentum that carries you through the first 22 years of your life. It's only after that momentum wears off that you have full control. Well, the momentum given to me is gone. It's all up to me now. It's my life. And I like it. Alot. When? Now. Oh, and then. I was born in 1977 somewhere among the rolling hills of Western Maryland. Well, in the Washington County Hospital to be precise, but 'somewhere among the rolling hills' sounds much more dramatic and romantic. Or, to combine them, dramantic. Or romatic. Back then, western maryland was the world and I couldn't imagine leaving. Then when I left, home became the punchline of some tired joke. ("...so I told him: Western Maryland! Bwwwwaaaaaa hahahahahaa.") Now though, I'm realizing home was never as bad, or as good, as I remember. I miss home. Terribly, some days. But I'm glad I'm making a new home of my own. Where? Well, damn. I already kind of covered that. Why didn't you people tell me I was skipping ahead. Not paying attention? Well, wake up! No, not you. You! Anyway, these days, Charmcity comes to you live and in technicolor from, well, Charm City. That's Baltimore, for those of you unfamiliar with the minutae of civic pseudonyms. My fair burg also goes by 'Mobtown', 'The City that Reads', and 'The Greatest City in America'. That last one was chosen about a year before NYC became the real, honest to God, Greatest City in America. I don't know why, but I feel kind of hinky seeing Baltimore's park benches trying to claim that honor for the city. Anyway, I went to college here and decided to stick around once I graduated. I love it because it's an honest-to-God city with a small town attitude. And that can be good and bad. It's been alternately described as the northernmost Southern city and the southernmost Northern city. Of course, the reality lies somewhere in the middle. I love living here, and I love learning new things about my town. And I don't care what you say, we have absolutely the best crabs. Anywhere. Alaskan Snow Crabs? Psssshhh. I'll take a Maryland Blue any day. With Old Bay, of course. Why? Another ambiguous question. Why did I start this diary? Like alot of things, on a whim. Somehow I stumbled onto d*land one day while bored at work. I was instantly hooked. After a while of doing nothing more than reading, I decided to come up with a diary of my own. For a long time, it was the standard blue and white template, but then good ol' Mocksie offered to design a layout for me, and the result is what you see now. I like it. I think about changing it up from time to time, but I, well, I like it too much. And I fear change. If you search hard enough, you'll find some entries where this diary helped me crystalize some feelings and get through hard times. Mostly though, it's my escape. Escape from work, escape from life. I don't feel as tied to it as I used to. (hmmm? Am I saying I need less of an escape? I can hear the mental gears a-turnin'...) But don't worry - I'm not going anywhere. How? Through the magic of Andrew and the internet and the good graces of my company. And by "good graces" I really mean the fact that they've never pulled my proxy logs. Or, if we're talking about my life in general, I have no idea. There is no earthly reason why my luck has held out this long. (25 years! And still pushin' my luck!) Huh? Exactly, m'friend. Exactly. downtown----uptown leave me a note, fool!

designed by mocksie. brought to you by diaryland.