Interview with Xmichra

Xmichra posted these interview questions for me on her blog, and invited me to answer them on mine, then offer to interview someone else. I like the idea, especially since it's starting with questions about me, so I'm going to play. Questions and rules of play are hers. Answers are mine.


1.what do you do for work? I know that you write a great deal of things, but is this your primary Source of income yet? Writing is not yet my primary source of income. I work for ADP (the payroll people) in their IT department, writing front-end code for their web-based payroll applications. And yes, it is as exciting as you think it is.

2.Looking at this tattoo was what brought me to ask a question, which was "What inspired you to have this specifically done?". You didn't release that answer in your comments.. so I thought it pertinent to ask here. [From my email response]-I got it about 10 years ago, when I was first getting into Wicca. I found that in one of my books and started drawing it. It felt like the perfect symbol of my new faith, and seemed most appropriate to have tattooed on my body. While I'm not as observant as I once was, and my personal beliefs have grown to include other philosophies outside of Wicca, I still consider myself Pagan, and the tattoo still works as a symbol of my relationship to the Divine.

3.What was it about the pagan path that made you feel like you could follow it? The female Deity. I was baptized and raised Catholic, though we'd pretty much stopped going to church by the time I was 8. My dad's atheist, so he gave me the atheist speech at 12, and I gave that a try for a while. But I still knew there was some kind of greater power in the universe, so the atheist thing didn't really work out. I always thought of a woman when I pictured God, even as a kid (Mary always appealed to me more than Jesus -- no, not because of that -- you people are seriously perverted -- I think it was because she always seemed happier) Anyway, with the idea of God as female already there, Wicca had a pretty easy time of it with me. There's a lot of crap that goes along with Wicca that I just ignore. That's how I approach religion these days. I've taken the core Wiccan ideas and just grafted the bits I like from other religions and philosophies onto it. That's why I refer to myself as Pagan rather than Wiccan now. Pagan is a bit more vague.

Is it still something you embrace and practice? It is still something I embrace, though I admit I do not vigorously practice. My spiritual identity is still strongly Pagan, I observe those holy days I really like, and try to live by the basic Wiccan tenets, but I'm not terribly "active".

4.How did you meet your wife? How did you know she was "the one"?? I met her at a comic book store. And that's how I knew she was the one. ;)

5.You say the most impact on your life was the birth of your daughter. You also point out you felt obligated to say that.. but that it indeed did the most impact. What was your lifelike before a child, and why do you feel it is so different now (other than the typical baby-ness)? I don't think my life has changed all that drastically since the birth of my daughter. It's more full with her in it, and I tend to be more responsible, but I'm still the same person I was before she was born, with the same dreams and aspirations. It's the same life, only better now that she's part of it. That said, her birth had the most impact on me (in the "wow, I'm never forgetting THIS" sense) because... well, hell, I watched my wife produce an actual human being using nothing more than her own body. That is seriously the coolest thing I've ever seen. And I got to hold a brand new human. Amazing. :)

Now, these are the official rules to interview.. but since Chris didn't ACTUALLY ask to be interviewed I will not hold him to it. BUT, Chris, you can totally do this if you so choose!
For those of you who may want to be interviewed in this fashion, here are the Official Interview Games Rules:

If you want to participate, leave a comment below saying, "interview me".
I will respond by asking you five questions - each person's will be different.
You will update your journal/blog with the answers to the questions.
You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Or you will be punished. Severely. No, not in the good sexy way.