Featured Blogger Interview: Erin

The following is our interview with featured blogger Erin, which we should have posted a looooong while ago. It’s our fault, not hers. Check out her blog here, and follow her on twitter here! Our interviews are courtesy of Courtney, our Features Editor (and it should be noted that the delay here wasn’t her fault).

I was just reading your “100 Things” and I noticed you play the oboe. What’s your story? And do you get completely flabbergasted when people are like, “Um, what’s an oboe?”

In fifth grade, when it was time to choose band instruments, I actually picked the clarinet. I was loved it, and I was really pretty good if I do say so myself. However, when we finally got together with the whole band, I noticed that there were 20 clarinets…and only one oboe player. Suddenly, I thought the oboe was pretty cool. I took private lessons over the summer to catch up on the oboe, and gave up on the clarinet. I loved playing the oboe. In fact, I loved it so much that I considered very seriously becoming an oboe performance major in college. Then, I grew a brain and realized that as much as I liked playing the oboe, I didn’t really want to do that for the rest of my life. Generally, I get a lot of giggles when I tell people that I played the oboe.

Apparently, it’s kind of geeky…but I’m really ok with that.

I was just reading your “100 Things” and I noticed you play the oboe. What’s your story? And do you get completely flabbergasted when people are like, “Um, what’s an oboe?”

In fifth grade, when it was time to choose band instruments, I actually picked the clarinet. I was loved it, and I was really pretty good if I do say so myself. However, when we finally got together with the whole band, I noticed that there were 20 clarinets…and only one oboe player. Suddenly, I thought the oboe was pretty cool. I took private lessons over the summer to catch up on the oboe, and gave up on the clarinet. I loved playing the oboe. In fact, I loved it so much that I considered very seriously becoming an oboe performance major in college. Then, I grew a brain and realized that as much as I liked playing the oboe, I didn’t really want to do that for the rest of my life. Generally, I get a lot of giggles when I tell people that I played the oboe. Apparently, it’s kind of geeky…but I’m really ok with that.

Your thirtieth birthday is THIS YEAR! On Halloween! This means your reign as a twenty-something is coming to an end. Does this mean anything to you, or are you one of those “Pssssh. Thirty, schmirty!” kinds of people?

Honestly? I haven’t really thought all that much about it. I have so much else on my plate right now that worrying about turning 30 seems kind of silly. I actually had a really hard time turning 25, but since then, I’ve been pretty happy to grow a little older and wiser each year. Of course, my attitude may change completely as this year goes on. Ask me again October 1st how I’m feeling!

What is your greatest hope for your next thirty years? (this question is inspired by a country song. I have no shame.)

I tried to think of something wise to say, but it didn’t really work. So, my greatest hope for the my next thirty years is to continue being happy. In spite of all the crap we are going through, my husband and I have a fun, wonderful, goofy, and loving marriage. With him, I’ve learned how to cultivate happiness in the little moments of my day. I hope that the next thirty years will be filled with these happy little moments, no matter what life throws our way.

Your blog has been up and running in one form or another since 2004. Commitment! Did you imagine you would continue to blog for as long as you have? What have been the biggest surprises about blogging?

I really think it’s crazy that I’ve been blogging for so long! I started my blog on a complete whim, and I never could have imagined that it would become such an integral part of my day to day life. The biggest surprise, truly, has been the amazing friendships I’ve made through my blog. I am proud to say that many of my closest friends are amazing people I’ve met through blogging. It’s such an incredible gift, and one that is so hard to explain to people who don’t blog. I really do feel incredibly lucky to have such wonderful people in my life.

Lorelai and Luke are on a shopping trip, walking down a sidewalk of a town that is not Stars Hollow. They’re shopping for a birthday gift for Luke’s daughter, April, when Luke sees something through a store front window. He insists on buying it, much to Lorelai’s chagrin. What is it? BONUS: What movie series is being advertised on the marquis above the theater behind them? (this bit of trivia just seemed appropriate after seeing your husband sing Zach’s “ah ah ah ah-ah oh-oh-ohhhh” song in your vlog. I mean, really.) (Up, down, further down, little higher up, down a smidge…)

Luke wants to buy April a cat toiletry kit. Yikes! What’s with Luke and the cat gifts anyway? Didn’t he also try to give Rachel some cat oven mitts for her birthday? I don’t get it. Luke doesn’t really strike me as a cat kind of guy. As far as the marquis, there are three Orson Welles movies being advertised…one is Citizen Kane, and I just don’t remember the other two. Yes, I am a Gilmore Girls junkie, and very proud of it!

You were nominated for two 20SB Bootlegger Awards: Most Sincere and Best Series. Congratulations are in order! How did you celebrate when you found out?

Thank you! I was completely blown away and flattered by the nominations. I was nominated along with some of my very favorite bloggers, and it was a thrill to see my name alongside their names. 2009 was a pretty big blogging year for me with being Featured Blogger in October, and then the Bootlegger nominations. I feel like my blog did a lot of growing in 2009, and I’m very proud of that. So, I decided to treat myself to a new blog design, which should be done in a few weeks! [Editor's note: done!]

Your “Face of Infertility” series is incredibly moving. What would you say to someone else going through the same experience?

Talk about it. Talk to your friends, talk to your family. Start a blog and connect with others who are going through this. I can’t imagine how I would deal with infertility if I wasn’t so open about it. I’m not saying you have to tell your mail carrier, but your friends and family should know what you are going through. Infertility is a huge sucktasm, and it really does help to have a support system in place. If you aren’t sure who to talk to, talk to me. Really. E-mail me. I’ll respond. I’ll send you cards and love, and I’ll gchat with you until you feel better. Whatever it takes. If I can do this, so can you. How’s that for cheesy?

You are suddenly and unexpectedly marooned on a deserted (but not desert; there is water and vegetation) island. You are alone and you have nothing. Assuming you figure out the food and shelter thing fairly quickly, how do you survive, ie, keep yourself from going crazy with no other human contact? How do you entertain yourself?

I’m assuming I can’t use magic to accio my MacBook and some internet onto my island, right? Well, crap. Can I have my iPhone at least? Probably not. So…I think I would just act out episodes of Buffy to keep myself entertained. Buffy’s got everything…action, love, sexy vampires, the apocalypse, musical numbers. I think it would be an all around good time. Of course, I wouldn’t have Buffy’s collection of leather pants, but I always thought it was quite the suspension of reality to believe that she could really afford those.

How has 20SB changed the way you blog? Has it changed your life in any significant way?

I wouldn’t necessarily say that 20sb has changed the way I blog. My blog is my blog, and I write my little life. However, 20sb certainly did change the way I think about blogging. Like I said, I started my blog on a whim. Just something to do. Now, I see my blog as a way to connect with people, to educate, to laugh, to grow, and to document my life. Being a part of 20sb has certainly changed my life. I have more true friends that are members of 20sb than are not. That’s kind of awesome when you think about it. The majority of my good friends are people that I’ve connected with through the 20sb community. I never would have thought I could make so many wonderful friends on the internet, but I’m so glad that I have.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Yes. Hockey puck, rattlesnake, monkey, monkey, underpants.