22 September 2008

Getting to Know Me, Getting to Know RDGR [Random]

I love Terry's idea of a general "get to know me" post, so here I am, asking you to get to know me, and get to know Rainy Day Genealogy Readings.

Some Tidbits About Me

  • 32 years old, married for four years, one adorable 16-month-old son


  • Stay-at-home mom, and lucky to be such


  • Registered Republican, but have voted Green Party and Democrat in the past (believe it or not). I vote on the candidates and my own core issues, and pretty much loathe party platforms.


  • Committed bibliophile; thrift stores and Dover are my favorite places to shop!


  • I have a BA in English from the University of Rochester, and an MA from Mills College


  • I am half Sicilian


  • I love crafting, and knit, crochet, weave, embroider, and do paper-crafts


  • The internet is my lifeline, and has been for about the past thirteen years.

Why I Blog

In short, genealogy is a great intellectual stimulation for me, which I need very much, and which can sometimes be sorely lacking in the life of a stay-at-home mom. Blending my son's naptime with writing, research, blogging and transcription work has kept me afloat and kept me feeling connected to the rest of the world, even when being at home can be a little lonely. I enjoy the connections I have made, indeed the friends I have made. That's the main reason I blog.

Secondly, I am internet-addicted, and see limitless potential online. As a younger member of the genealogy circles, I try to bring a different perspective to the way research and information is approached online. I see genealogy as a discipline growing and changing right before my eyes, and I want to be a part of the movement that brings family history research into the realm of this new technology-oriented age.

My Best

A. Brightest: iGoogle and Organizing Your Online Research

One of my early posts, this one captures what I am really trying to do in this blog: present online tools and show my readers how helpful they can be in accomplishing our research goals.

B. Sassiest: Ancestry Newspaper Rollout: Why I Say "Meh"

I love Ancestry.com, I really do, but in some respects, they fail, and fail hard; the poor treatment of their potentially invaluable newspaper resource is one example.

C. Beautiful: Extra! Extra! Rethinking Newspaper Research

I don't have any "beautiful" posts per se, so I chose this post, which captures a subject I am becoming increasingly passionate about: the necessity of incorporating newspaper research into our research toolbox.

Getting to Know Me

I am a pretty introverted person, a bookish sort, and have been all my life. One of the most surprising, but pleasant, things I have discovered, is that by writing a blog, you CAN get to know people, and people want to get to know you. I am pretty starched-shirt business-only with my blog, but my ultimate goal is to provide a usable tool to others, and to get to know the little world of geneabloggers a little better. Please don't hesitate to let me know if a post helps or confuses you! As I tell my little son quite often, "Helping others can be so much fun!"

2 comments:

Kathryn Doyle said...

Thanks, Jennifer! I'm so glad I got to meet you in person at the CGS membership meeting.

Amy Coffin, MLIS said...

Thanks for giving me the chance to get to know you. We have a lot in common, though you're just a whippersnapper to my 36 years on this planet.