Look at Tina!

There's something strange about describing myself in the third person. I've had to write a few bio's for writing I've submitted. It's almost like looking at myself through someone else's eyes-- how are they going to see me? How do I want them to see me?

The bio is an odd combination of resume and online dating profile-- I want it to portray me as a serious, hard working person, but not so serious that I don't come across as friendly. That can be a balancing act which, if not handled correctly, can make me seem a little... unbalanced:

Tina continues to improve her 5k running time when she's not enjoying a good glass of wine and a better slice of cheesecake.

Even if it's basically true, when you see it all together at once, you can't help but picture a Tipsy Tina tripping over her running shoes, her carb craving motivating her to the the finish line, where the donuts are waiting.

So for now, the basic bio goes like this:

Tina Haapala writes personal essays, short stories, and parts of unfinished novels. She manages these words between yoga or belly dance classes,substitute teaching, and anything else that life throws between her and the computer. Tina lives in Wichita Falls,in the part of the world they call Texoma.