About Me

Hello! My name is Shari. Rhymes with "starry."

I live in my adopted hometown of Las Vegas. Well, that's my postal address, anyway. Very few people who live in Las Vegas actually live in Las Vegas, you know? Even the Strip's not in Las Vegas proper.

I love it here. Snowy mountains, national parks, isolation, plenty to look at, lots of food-and-free-stuff deals for locals, and a short commute to Disneyland and the Pacific ocean. People do drive like idiots, though, and it's probably pretty bad that I've started using expressions like, "It's only 108 degrees today. Not too bad."

I'm married to a splendid man named Mike. He's Australian, tall, cheerful, kind, and smart. And super funny. (I'm just saying.) We met online back in 1997. He wasn't able to move here until 2006. That was difficult. But, so worth it. Never let a little geography get you down, right?

Because I have a pulse and a license and perhaps because my heart is essentially good, someone has seen fit to give me a job as a high school English teacher. In theory, I love this job. I love empowering people, love the content, and love the schedule (even if the timetable is never quite as breezy as people think).

In practice, I teach at an inner city school, and it's beginning to wear me down. The daily lack of preparation, the apathy, the tensions over speaking Spanish vs. English, the struggle to get people to stand for the pledge and not say "The United States of Mexico"... I could go on. I often do.

However, I've temporarily "unpublished" most of my recent posts about teaching - even the venting was getting me down.

Mike and I have eight little Russian dwarf hamsters. We've had a "hamily" going for five and a bit years, and we're just crazy about our pets. Just when we think we're done (the average lifespan of a dwarf is 18 months), we do something stupid like pop in to the SPCA to "just look around." (The SPCA, where every hamster is pre-loaded with special bonus hamsters that arrive after you get home.) So, every once in awhile this turns into a hamster blog. Try not to squirm. We also have an impertinent betta fish called Ursula.

Before I was a teacher in Las Vegas, I lived in Texas and ran the web development operations of an ISP. (An ISP that my Dad started within weeks of me showing him the Internet.) I was also the technology columnist for a certain newspaper of respectable size. All of that lasted about ten years and feels like a long time ago. For now, it's better that way. There are a lot of crazy hours and crazy people I'd like to put behind me.

Before that, I was all kinds of things in all kinds of places. Clerk, catalog operator, fortune teller... Before moving to Texas in my mid-teens, I grew up in Michigan, amongst other places, with my southern parents, which left me all kinds of messed up. I can't even pronounce "pecan" in front of other people now.

For someone who probably (and regrettably) sometimes comes off as exasperated and intolerant, I really like a lot of stuff. Genealogy, geocaching, photography, ancient coin collecting, stamp collecting, paper crafts, reading, experimental cooking, experimental eating, postcrossing, astronomy, "hasbeen" concerts, performing Shakespeare in the living room with my agreeable but long-suffering husband, traveling, writing, musing, dancing, Irish language, research of any sort, movies, TV, theatre... pretty much everything except getting a proper haircut, moisturizing, or knowingly offending others.

(I'm not claiming I'm good at any of these things; I just really enjoy them.)

If you want to feed me, I adore Indian, Italian, and Tex-Mex. (I'm also a vegetarian. Mike isn't. Luckily, we're not into picking on other people's choices.) But don't feed me too much because, not to scare you away, but I'm pretty fat. I wasn't always fat, but now I am, and it takes time to change these things. I know I'm fat, what with being wealthy enough to own several mirrors (that's my fatcat teacher salary talking), but sometimes people feel a need to tell me. Like, in the comments of a post they don't like. And that's just good common sense, really: if someone happens to mention that they didn't enjoy your favourite movie/book/song/recipe, call them FAT. That'll show 'em.

The "overweight internet nerd" stereotype wouldn't be complete without mentioning that I really like to play World of Warcraft. For the Horde, baby!

I'm 38, I don't have/want kids, and I refuse to finish either of the grad programs I've started no matter how much long-term financial sense it makes. (Because I swore the next degree would be for love, not money, and that means astrophysics or archaeology or maybe even art history, not more English lit. Basically I'm looking to enter the Stargate program, I guess. Alas, adequate funding has yet to appear.)

I don't know where my life is going. For myself, all I really want is Mike, some savings and some disposable income, the opportunity to pursue many small whims, a career I like, an interesting place to live, and a healthy body that opens doors instead of shuts them. In that order. So, excluding wanting things for other people (like my parents, who have significant health concerns), I have almost everything I want. (Wow. Should I check for shoes dangling overhead?)

That's all I can think to say about myself. All I would add is that this website is just a little personal thing, a blog, a diary, a shady porch you've chosen to stroll past in your walk to somewhere more important. If you aren't satisfied with the view, keep walking. If you want to sit down, here's another chair. I'm not fussed.

(Note: this post was actually written on 5 December 2007. I just changed the date to the start of the blog to keep it separate from the "regular" content.)

Comments

[shari clement]

hi shari,
my nanme is shari too.
i live in australia. i like your web page it's funny and interesting.

[Shari]

Hi Shari in Australia - thanks, and it's great to hear from one of those rare Aussies Sharis! :) (Or at least by husband says they're almost unknown in Perth?)

(Bobby, howdy! I don't think I have anything further on Asa, but I'll look. I'm mostly on hiatus from genealogy again; my Ancestry subscription runs out on Thursday, so that will be that until summer at the soonest. Note: Bobby's comment has been temporarily unpublished to avoid some search engine problems.)

[Shari]

HI! My name is also Shari! I am in lame old Iowa though. Funny. Three Shari's wonder how many more will find their way here!

[HEather in PA]

I've been reading your blog for HOW long and I've been saying your name wrong the WHOLE TIME.

Not that you would ever have known that if I hadn't admitted it. Starry Shari. Not Stare-y Shari. Ok. I'll have to practice that.

:)

Oh, did I ever mention my Bachelor's degree was in Art History?

I love sitting on your porch. It's comfy and the view is fantastic.

[Shari]

Wow, you've been saying my name? ;)

A PERSON WITH A DEGREE IN ART HISTORY HAS BEEN SAYING MY NAME!

I will put an extra soft rug out on the porch just for Sherman. :)

[Heather]

aww, heck, it's just a Bachelor's....

:)

Sherm wags thanks and we both hope you're feeling better soon. How about trying some sorbet? or popsicles? No dairy to make you more phlegmy, nice and cool on the sore throat.... and really, it's just frozen liquid so the upchuck factor should be low, right?

O

[Shari]

Hello Shari, I was walking down the street and seen you relaxing on your porch and thought I would join you for a tea. My name is Shari as well, rhymes with stare-y though. I've never been to vegas but I watch the show (Las Vegas) and I love it, thats as close to the action as I can get. I live in the wonderful country of Canada in the beautiful province of Ontario, not far from Niagra Falls, thats where our casinos are haha, been there TONS of times, I think I'd go bankrupt if I lived in vegas, and its a darn good thing that The fall is about a 45 minute drive from me, not worth the gas money to lose more money, just for fun once in awhile. Well thanks for the tea, Take care
Shari from ON

[NIkky]

Hi Shari,
I read ur blog , really interesting . I read it twice. Yu seem so be interesting dude.
~Nikky

[Nikky]

Hav a look @ my blog too, and let me knw how I can make it more interesting and nice.
http://awaitedfriend.blogspot.com/

[shari aslam]

OMG
mi name is shari tooooooo
i have never known anybody with the name of shari in mi entire life that's why i typed in www.shari.com and look wat i found ike 4 peepz with the name shari hey i like experimental cooking and art too. Experimental cooking is fun even though it dosen't always taste nice.

luv ya
shari

[Shari M]

Hi Sharis everywhere!!!
Yes I am indeed another.
I aldo love experimental cooking cant use a recipes to save myself! Boyfriend wants to put camera in my kitchen to be able to write down recipes, Good Luck.
I am formerly a fashion designer but now manage holiday apartment on Manly Beach Sydney Australia.
I have Much better lifestyle now.
Ciao