2-4-6-0-1! (Ten points if you know where that’s from).

But seriously, who am I? And why do you care? I’ll try to answer the first question as best I can, but for the second I can only hypothesize. My guess is that you’re willing to test my theory that I do, in fact, have something to say. And I appreciate that.

So: my name is Katie. I am a May 2006 graduate of Boston College, where I majored in English. Last month I got a job working for a publishing company that I’ll just call The Publishing Company (TPC), since I’m a little paranoid about blogging about work. It only took me two months out of college to find a job, but it felt like forever. So far, I love it.

I grew up forty-five minutes north of Boston. Just last week, I moved out of the house I’d lived in all my life into an apartment in the Boston area, closer to work. I’m living with my college friend and her brother, and so far, everything’s great. At least, it will be until I run out of money.

So, what do you need to know about me? Well, I was thinking about it, and I realized that most of what makes me me can be attributed to the fact that I have lived in Massachusetts my entire life. I fit so many of the Massachusetts stereotypes (except the bad driver one. I’m a nervous driver, but not a bad one). So, here’s what you can know about me based on where I’m from.

Massachusetts is home to some of the most diverse, unpredictable weather in the world. I wouldn’t call myself unpredictable, but I’m definitely diverse. My interests are many and varied (see my profile).

Stereotypically, I am Irish Catholic. While I do not consider myself terribly political, my politics are generally pretty liberal, as Massachusetts is a famously liberal state- and, I’m proud to say, one that legalized gay marriage. My personality, however, is very conservative, which is fitting, because Massachusetts is actually pretty socially conservative, if you think about it. After all, the Puritans did come here, and even now, you can’t buy liquor in the grocery store (which my friend from California thinks is weird) and you can’t smoke in bars (which is great for those of us who hate smoking, but…kind of an oxymoron). Anyway, I’m not a big drinker myself. I didn’t drink at all until a few months before I turned 21, and I never drink to get drunk.

Massachusetts residents, I’ve found, have this weird stay-in-one-place mentality. Maybe because the state is so small and population-dense. I hear that in other parts of the country, people drive hours for a soccer game and think nothing of it, but here we complain about driving thirty minutes. And a lot of people who grew up here won’t leave- including almost my entire extended family. My mother and my grandmother both hate the weather here, and when I asked them why they wouldn’t move, they replied, “Because we grew up here!” Although I laughed, I do understand that. I am kind of a homebody. Although I’ve flirted with the idea of moving to New York, it’s hard for me to imagine cutting ties with this state.

I walk really fast and am very impatient with people in front of me who don’t, which I’m told is a Massachusetts thing.

Massachusetts is home to about a million colleges as well as Boston, the best college town in the world. It’s also a state that places great emphasis on education. I myself am pretty smart- not a genius, but smart. I always got good grades.

Massachusetts has also been home to many great authors, including Alcott, Hawthorne, Emerson, Thoreau, and Dickinson. I taught myself to read in preschool and haven’t stopped since. I read everything I can get my hands on- classics, chick lit, kids’ books, mysteries, short stories, romances, you name it. I also love to write fiction and non-fiction and I would love to be published. Writing to me is like sleep- technically, I can live without it for awhile, but it’s damn uncomfortable when it’s not there.

I am a Red Sox fan. From that, it follows that I am extremely loyal, not abandoning the team even after the disastrous 2003 playoffs. In my own life, I am loyal to everything and everyone I love. I don’t abandon people who need me, and even with stupid little things I’m very loyal- like, it takes me a long time to admit that I have a new favorite movie/TV show/musical artist, etc., because I’m still loyal to whatever I liked before. It also follows from being a Red Sox fan that I am an optimist. I had faith in a team that suffered an 86-year dry spell, and I now know that optimism pays off in the end.

For my interests, check out my profile. Other things you should know about me?

I have a sister two years younger than me and a large, very New England extended family.

I drink hot chocolate like most people drink coffee.

I collect quotes and write them out in multicolored spiral “quote wheels.”

My favorite color is purple.

I draw stars everywhere.

I’m kind of a girly girl.

I love taking baths. It’s killing me that the water pressure in my new place is too weak for baths.

I love animals but don’ t have any pets.

I suck at anything involving hand-eye coordination. I love swimming and running, though.

This past summer, before I was hired at TPC, I had two jobs, one at BC and one slightly off campus. It was the first summer I didn’t work at a swim and tennis club in my hometown of which I’ve been a member since I was six.

And I’m picky about food, movies, and men.

I’m sure you’ll learn more about me as I continue to blog. Please keep reading!