Introduction

I don't pretend to be particularly funny, eloquent, or brilliant. I do have a unique perspective (as we all do) based on my upbringing, mental wiring, and life situation.  My mind is constantly going, for better or for worse, so I'm throwing my voice out into the Internet maelstrom in case it proves to be of use to anyone.

It is profoundly weird to be introducing myself to an audience of unknowns.  I'm someone who believes sincerely in tailoring speech to suit ones conversational partner -- really just out of courtesy and relevance.  This whole thing will inevitably be a flirtation with WTH, so here goes.

Basic facts:

• Born in 1971 (so firmly middle aged)
• Mom is 3rd generation Japanese, former 4th grade teacher, now retired cardiac nurse
• Dad was a clinical psychologist for decades before dusting off his masters in mechanical engineering and starting a company selling his inventions to nature photographers
• Brother is 18 months younger and owns the aforementioned business with Dad
• Raised just outside of Winchester, VA, a town which is rural, Christian, conservative, egalitarian, and homogeneous (white)
• Childhood environs notwithstanding, only one of the above attributes applies to me
• Parents mantra: don't buy anything you could make yourself.  This led to a wildly creative and unconventional childhood.
• Almost everyone in my family of origin is, to some degree, ADHD Inattentive Type.  
• I have a now almost certainly obsolete graduate degree in Management Information Systems.  I worked in software marketing and product management for telecommunications for 9 years before staying home with kids full-time.  You won't get any judgement from me on the overwrought working mom/SAHM debate, but this is what I wanted to do despite regular showdowns with soul crushing boredom and near constant self-worth evaluations.   
• My kids are turning 15 (Son) and 13 (Daughter) this month -- both have inherited some degree of ADHD from my side of the family.  I'm worried about oversharing (a pervasive issue for me, but generally on a much smaller scale) and how that will affect all of the members of my family.
• I'm going back to graduate school to get a Masters in Social Work and ultimately to be a therapist. 
• I'm curious about lots of things and read constantly.  Here is an incomplete list of stuff I'm interested in: stories and story-telling (memoirs, This American Life, fiction, Oscar nominated movies), stand-up comedians and comedy in general, digital life and it's affect on real life, raising kids, Attachment Theory in adult relationships, couples and finances, materialism, cooking and new recipes, the history of everyday living, mindfulness and meditation, ADHD and executive functioning, organizing and organizing systems, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and habit formation, mental illness stigma, sex education for teens, and any new social science research.  

My Dad has encouraged me for years to blog about the random thoughts and elaborate systems I've established (and many times discarded) in order to change habits, smooth processes, get things done, or live a richer life.  So, this is me taking the plunge despite much ambivalence.  Wish me luck.