Hey. Due to popular demand (…that is, the request of one person), I’ve decided to finally put something here.

So a warm salutation to any lost, forsaken soul who’s stumbled upon this place. I’m Hephastus…at least…that’s my screen name. Some people call me Heph. You’re more than welcome to do so as well. I’m all in favor of creative nicknames, though, so if you’ve got something better to call me, go for it. I guess I’d prefer something that isn’t obscene, but whatever works.

Very few people around here know me. The handful who do probably met me through the Fan Fiction Board on NSider, or, perhaps, just misread my name as a disease affiliated with liver injury and were confused enough to send me a PM. About that: my name’s supposed to be “Hephaestus,” referring to the mythological Greek god of fire and forge. When I created my account on NSider account years ago, I first considered being “Dionysus,” (the ancient Greek god of wine and fertility), but later decided I’d go with a name that had less to do with sex and alcohol. So, yeah, I chose Hephaestus. I spelled it wrong…left out an “e”…I suppose that may have something to do with the confusion.

Anyway, back to the writing. I periodically post things around the Fan Fiction Board here. Odds are that if you click the topics I’ve created recently, you’ll find some of them, as I hardly ever make threads elsewhere. Writing creatively is something that’s always kind of appealed to me, and I’ve been using NSider as an outlet for stuff I’ve written a good little while now.

I’ve been asked a few times who my favorite author is and what I like reading, but the sad truth is that I don’t read much at all outside of school. I’m a big fan of music, though, and I feel as if a lot of the artists I like have had a profound effect on both my writing and my life and general. About that, my three favorite artists are probably Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and Bob Dylan, usually in that order. I realize that the first two hit their stride when my parents were my age, and Dylan was even earlier, but…what can I say. A friend of mine once said I was “born to be old,” based largely on my obsession with music and movies twice my age and my ability to tell long, boring stories with no real conclusion. It seems as if I keep proving him right every day…

Moving right along, I’m also a baseball enthusiast. Big fan of the San Francisco Giants…don’t live anywhere near San Francisco, but my father’s a fan, as was his father. So…that’s how it works, I guess. Overjoyed with Tim Lincecum recently winning the 2008 Cy Young Award.

I think I’ve rambled long enough here, so I’ll stop. My cat seems bent on sitting on this keyboard, anyway…but, um, if you’d like to discuss anything mentioned above, by all means, shoot a PM my way. Happy to discuss anything else, too, I guess, or take comments, complaints, insults, or whatever. …It’ll mean you’ll have to put up with more rambling, but it’s always a joy to see the Inbox light up.

‘Til then.

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