about

hey. how’s it going?

my name is danielle king, and this is “mah blawg.”

i’ve been actively blogging, (web) designing and internet-ing since about august of 2007. don’t try to look back at early posts, because if i have any sense at all, i’ve deleted them. because they were embarrassingly pedestrian and uninteresting. it’s worth mentioning, this is certainly not my day job or anything. if it were, it would look better. i’m actually an aspiring political scientist, with strong side interests in the web and photography. it’s not totally clear how all of these things play together, but eventually i may parse together some kind of fancy Venn diagram or something.

i’m from the “magic city,” also known as miami, fl (go heat!; just…get it together already, dolphins).

i went to the university of miami (’08, B.A. in political science and sociology, go hurricanes!). and then, i took a year to do an americorps program.

so, now, i go here in my quest to pursue a PhD in american government and identity politics. it’s been an adjustment, learning to live in gainesville, fl. but all in all, i couldn’t ask for a better-fitting phd program, or a better graduate school experience in general.

in keeping with form, rather than continuing to blather on, here’s a list to peruse (in case this wasn’t enough personal mundanity for you):

things about the author that aren’t really of any particular significance
1- i really like orange juice, particularly with my breakfast.
2- breakfast is my favorite meal to eat out. in gainesville, fl, the best place i’ve been to is The Jones Eastside Diner.
3- Fireworks over Illustrator, Illustrator over Photoshop. usually.
4- i have a pretty awesome cohort of men in my life.
5- there are a lot of things about me (many of which may come through on this list) that might suggest me to be some sort of arrogant hipster elitist. the validity of this remains unclear.
6- i really dig vinyl.
7- my idea of a perfect night involves a St. Germain-Bombay Sapphire martini, a really good book or a really engaging project and my record player (see #6).
8- there are 2,157 artists in my itunes music library.
9- my ratio of shot to developed photographs is tragically low. but i’m working on it.
10- Christmas is my favorite holiday, and might actually be the best day of the year.
11- there have been times in my life where Diet Coke was valued over oxygen.
12- i have this thing about scarves.
13- most of my clothes are in shades of grey or brown. inexplicably.
14- i’m becoming a professional academic (in part) because it’s the most legitimate profession that i can go into where it may be considered acceptable to wear Birkenstocks every day.
15- i’ve considered writing to Apple, to ask them if they would consider becoming an official religion.
16- Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” has occasionally been responsible for me not leaving my house for several days. it’s whatever.
17- i’m not really that good at video games. which absolutely hasn’t stopped me from wasting many, many hours on them.
18- writing on legal pads with Zebra ballpoints gets me through class when Harper is being problematic.
19- my iPhone 4 is absolutely an extension of the most functional parts of my brain. and also, magic science from the future. guys, we’re living in the freakin’ future.
20- i enjoy making lists. obviously.
21- when i get handouts or papers type-set in Arial or Times New Roman, i actually cringe.
22- i’m doing my best to live a (largely) paperless life. this helps.
23- i wish i could either stop biting my nails or stop cracking my knuckles. not both, just one.
24- to me, part of being a good Democrat means that i block my number from neither the Human Rights Campaign nor the ACLU, even though they both hit me up for money way too often.
25- cycling is my love, and charlotte is my baby.
26- in the spring of 2011, i think i’m going to start a garden. with herbs, flowers, and perhaps even some vegetables. maybe. don’t quote me, because…
27- i chronically plan (in detail) and begin projects, but never finish them. i’m hoping to counter that, with a little transparency.
28- i’m obsessed with order because without it, i’d lose EVERYTHING.
29 -i curse way more often than is necessary. probably because i decided that it was fun when i was ten years old, the year i first said “shit” out loud.
30- i file what paperwork i do have to deal with obsessively, and in a file cabinet. and let me tell you, i need another one.
31- argyle socks are for cool kids, or at least, that’s what i’ve been telling myself.
32- i’m a watch loyalist, and i hope to wear all my favorites for at least the next ten years.
33- i need to move to the part of the country where the leaves change color, neighborhoods are comprised of houses with porches, the ocean isn’t too far away and people vote for the Democratic party (sometimes, and for the right reasons, not because that’s what their grandfathers did).
so basically somewhere in (east!) South Carolina, Maryland, Massachusetts or Connecticut.
34- if it hasn’t yet become painfully obvious, i’m a huge liberal. and definitely voted “that one” for President.
35- i like to personally classify as a professional amateur.
36- Weimaraners are the most lovely dogs. and i want one, but mostly because i cannot rationalize being 5’3 & owning a Great Dane.
37- i identify most strongly with jellyfish, because they use a single orifice as both mouth and anus. this identification is metaphorical.
38- i like to buy stuff. that’s really hard for me to admit, since i used to be kind of a socialist.
39- i’m an aspiring polyglot, although i suspect that having poor language aptitude will make this kind of tricky.
40- without Things, i’d have certainly flunked out of grad school in my first semester.
41- i’m physically incapable of writing in cursive/longhand with any kind of efficiency.
42- i’m a note-taker. sometimes, it even happens when i read a book for pleasure…although i can’t remember for the life of me when last i had that kind of free time.
43- shameless plug: google chrome is the fast.
44- i’m trying to use Facebook less, but i won’t even bother trying to cut down on Twitter.
45- i have a lot of opinions in the areas of furniture design and men’s fashion. the keys to my heart can be found somewhere between IKEA and J. Crew.
46- my favorite bands in high school were Radiohead and System of a Down.
47- sometimes i feel the spirit of clubbing come upon me. i blame it on being from one of the biggest party cities in the world.
48- technology frequently astounds me. i frequently say things like, “I CAN’T DEAL WITH THIS, IT’S LIKE LIVING IN THE FUTURE!” (see #19)
49- Scrabble and any derivative game keep me sane, but Cranium is the greatest board-game ever.
50- as a liberal Christian lesbian, i realize that i confuse people simply by existing and having opinions out loud. this is, i won’t lie to you, kind of fun for me.