Who Am I, Anyway?

I'm a full-time homemaker living in the southwestern U.S. I've been married to my husband, who's an attorney, for 27 years, and we have two sons, ages 15 and 22, and two cats. Besides anime, I like writing fanfiction and original fantasy fiction, messing around on my computer, and scrapbooking. I also have a Master's Degree in Music History.

So How Did Someone Like Me Get Hooked On "Sailor Moon" Instead Of, Say, "American Idol" or "Oprah"?

With two boys in the family, "Pokemon" is very popular at our house. I started watching it with my sons because I believe a good parent has the responsibility of knowing what her children are into. At first I thought the animation style was incredibly cheesy, but then I started to get hooked. I loved the sweatdrops, the falling down with the feet sticking straight up, the broadly inclusive palette of hair colors, the beautiful backgrounds, and, most of all, the eyes. The big, wide eyes on the good guys, and the long, mysterious eyes on the bad guys.

Then, in January and February of 2000, my then-three-year-old went through a phase where he thought 2 a.m. was an appropriate time to get up and play. I would put him back in bed and sit up while I waited out his protests. My favorite sitting-up-at-2 a.m. activity is, of course, channel surfing. One night I cruised past the Cartoon Network and saw - sweatdrops. Falling to the ground with feet sticking up. And gorgeous eyes. It was "Sailor Moon." Intrigued, I put down the remote and watched for a while. I don't remember now exactly what episodes I saw during those late nights of trying to get my kid to go to sleep, but I remember bits of the Rainbow Crystal episodes, and parts of the episodes with Molly and Nephlyte. These were the ones that especially captivated me - the cool-looking bad guy and the cute red-haired girl who seemed to have this strange fascination with each other.

Later, I was able to watch the series straight through in the afternoon. I followed the Molly-Nephlyte episodes eagerly, wanting to know how their story came out. I was heartbroken when he died, but also hopelessly hooked on the show. This wasn't just a kiddy show; it had characters with depth, and dealt with real emotions. I've always loved stories of magic and imagination, and the Sailor Moon story, though it has its ridiculous elements, captured my imagination. It's been a wonderful journey, from first discovering "Sailor Moon" to setting up this site devoted to the characters who started it all for me - Naru and Nephrite.