Ummm, Catherine or Katie. Whichever You Prefer.

I walked into The Coffee Exchange last night and no one knew my name.

After twenty-six years in Tampa (not counting four spent in Boston), I'm not used to such an experience. Back home - Dade City to Bayshore and everywhere in between - I always run into an old classmate, colleague or club buddy. If the party is a political event, someone in attendance has read my site or newspaper articles.

And at least one guy at the bar has f*cked a friend of mine.

"Hey, you're Judy's girl! How is she?"
"I'm not sure, it's been a long time -"
"She was hot. You - you look good. Now that your hair is growing down instead of out."

Sadly, such familiarity is a thing of the past. I will never run into someone who remembers when I bleached my hair or how I campaigned for Dukakis or that time I walked through the mall with my underwear showing.

I'm a stranger now.

So, at my first Drinking Liberally event as a permanent Colorado resident, I ordered a wheat ale, filled out my name tag and mingled.

Everyone was nice and supportive and encouraging. I did my best to make a good impression, stressing that I would like to be involved in my new community and make a difference here. I talked about education, the environment, and parenting.

Not many bloggers in this neck of the woods so perhaps I'll fill a need.

That is, if my new neighbors can get past what my mother refers to as, *unladylike expressions from someone who knows better*.

Oh, f*ck it. I'm a mother and an activist and a teacher and unladylike expressions are what I do. Unladylike expressions and love toys.

So here I am, folks. It's nice to meet you.