Of all the people you know, how do you determine who to include in the Who's Who list?

Most of the people I've included are either very old friends, very close friends, or friends that I hang out with socially that I know well enough to profile and that are referred to often in my journals. Otherwise it would be impossible to profile everyone. Not that I am bragging about the number of people I know, but keep in mind that I have lived in a number of places, I try to be an active (hyperactive actually) member of the community wherever I am, and that I "ain't no spring chicken" according to Walter, who's been telling me that since I was 25. I didn't even realize how many people were in my life until I sat down to put this site together. It's made me appreciate them all. Errrr... not that I didn't before!

Do they know that you have included them on your site?

Absolutely. Each person that I have profiled has read their information prior to my launching the site and has given me the go ahead. Further, they've also signed (or are in the process of signing) legal disclaimers at the insistence of Mike, in the unlikely event that they incur any injury or damages, incidental or otherwise, because I've profiled them on my website.

I intend to take this site as far as it can go. That means that indirectly, my friends will be riding the wave with me. In many ways, my journal resembles a television sitcom of life in Taipei from the eyes of one very CRAZY American-born Chinese woman. If it somehow promotes my friends along the way, I'm all for it. Porque no?

Though I often poke fun of "life in Taipei" and of the people I run with, I do not use this site with the intention of bashing them or to purposely say or refer to anything which might damage their reputations in any way, unless of course their reputation was already marred to begin with! Should anyone happen not like something I've written about them and request that I remove the reference, I do so promptly and without question, though I don't anticipate that to happen often.

Is there meaning in the colors you've chosen for the profiles?

Of course there is! There is meaning to just about everything I ever do. Yellow is for the ladies. Purple is for the gentlemen. Red is for those I've known for a decade or more and whom I am still very close friends with.

When did you start keeping journals?

For this website, I started on October 10, 2000. But offline, I've been keeping journals for over 15 years. I did not even realize that until I started to put this section of the site together. Am I insane or what. One of my assignments in junior high was to keep a diary for the entire school year, and because the teacher checked our journals every week (yes she read our diaries, so, I wrote mostly about her...), it was an assignment that was to have an impact for the rest of my life. Though I kept journals in high school and in college, I started to write religiously when I moved to Washington, D.C. eleven years ago for a 6-month university coop program at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. That was my first time away from home, and because I have such a horrible memory, I wanted to record the experience.

My paper journals are very structured, with each book representing a specific year in time. I even count the total number of pages to get a rough idea of where I should be by when. Each one starts out with my resolutions for that new year, broken down into categories (personal, professional, social, physical and emotional health, community, etc.). At the end of the year, I take inventory of where I stand in each area of my life, noting my accomplishments as well as areas that still need improvement, which thus sets the stage for the new journal of the following year. I am a GEEK. I freely admit it!

Naturally, that all changes with HeyChristine.com, though I haven't quite figured out exactly what the difference will be just yet. One thing that stays the same however, is my writing style. I often use a mix of first person, second person, third person, and completely random dialogue. I do that for pure self-entertainment because at the end of the day, that's what I'm ALL about.

How long does it take you to write and upload your daily entries?

Usually 15 to 20 minutes a day unless I'm on a roll or if I have a little more time on my hands. Since I've been keeping journals for over a decade (at the time of this writing), writing the entries is second nature to me.

How come you never talk about the men you go out with in your journals?

First of all, what kind of question is THAT. Geez. The official reason is that I wish to keep my private life private. The REAL reason is that it's hard enough for me to get men to ask me OUT. The last thing I want to do is intimidate them by putting them up for public display. Then I'd never get any dates at all and life would SUCK. I do make references on occasion depending on the circumstance (wink wink), but that's about as far as it goes.

Are the daily episodes depicted in your journals true stories?

What do YOU think?

How long do you plan to keep up with your online journals?

For as long as it makes sense for me to do so.

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