About

The Basics

I am a writer, editor and designer living in Seattle, Washington. I’ve been writing about the Internet on the Internet since 2002. 

You can find me on Twitter.

You can read my clips here.

I occasionally update Vintage Smith College, an archive of historic images from that quaint women’s college in Northampton, Massachusetts.

59 Things About Me You May Or May Not Be Interested In

1. My full name is Drew Lenore Zandonella-Stannard. I did not fully master its spelling until the ripe age of eight.
2. I started this blog in October of 2002 the night before I had a twenty page sociology paper due and not a single word typed. I got a B on the paper.
3. I accidentally tucked my skirt into my tights before leaving the restroom on the first day of high school.
4. I follow 547 Tumblr blogs.
5. I am living proof that one cannot die of kitsch.
6. I am a big supporter of the afternoon nap. See number 65.
7. I graduated from Smith College in 2006. It is not a “girls’ school without men.” It is a “women’s college without boys.”
8. I once won a coloring contest at a local grocery store. The prize was a disposable camera.
9. I make hip crafts. I do not use “craft” as a verb. I like to embroider.
10. My domestic fantasies are second only to my lust for technology and culture.
11. I haven’t ridden a bike since 1995.
12. My household consists of a nice man named Jacob and a sweet chihuahua-terrier-Italian greyhound mix named Maude.
13. My television addiction is slowly being lessened by a professional life and interpersonal relations.
14. Now I just obsessively hoard episodes on the DVR and micromanage my Netflix queue.
15. I grew up in Seattle, where my parents owned their own coffee roastery and were staunch co-op supporters.
16. That said, I’d love an Americano, please. 
17. My parents are the best women I’ve ever met.
18. They were the 350th gay couple to marry in Massachusetts and celebrated their 29th anniversary this June.
19. I am the product of donor insemination. 
20. My father was smart, sharp, and hilarious. He passed away of AIDS in 1997. 
21. To read more about my big gay family, go here. 
22. I am an only child.
23. I am a fan of expensive, experimental beauty treatments.
24. Every three to five weeks I pay a sassy woman named Carol a hefty sum to bond eyelash extensions to my face.
25. I believe that nail art is the last bastion of female-centric beauty. 
26. Things that have been present on my nails: hearts, stars, jewels, music notes, tango dancers, taxi checkers, my company logo. 
27. I am a feminist. You can call me a feminist. It is not a bad word.
28. I do not currently nor have I ever had a driver’s license.
29. I ride the bus everywhere I need to go. I am an environmentalist by default.
30. I am a Taurus through and through.
31. I once received a spray tan that left me with large brown spots on my rear. Never again, never again.
32. I have spent the majority of my adult career talking, thinking and writing about food. Please do not call me a “foodie.”
33. I have three tattoos.
34. I snore, but I’ve been told it is inoffensive. I think those people were liars.
35. I’ve been known to walk and talk in my sleep.
36. I enjoy the great indoors, however, I have explored the Ape Caves of Mt. Saint Helens, hiked portions of the Appalachian Trail and survived two earthquakes.
37. I believe in God. Jesus is a different story.
38. I voted for Kerry and then Obama. 
39. I am left handed.
40. I have two autoimmune diseases that really cramp my style.
41. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 1998. My version of Crohn’s leaves me achy, nauseous, dizzy, and glued to the toilet.
42. I’ve been hospitalized three times for Crohn’s. Prior to my diagnosis, I missed almost five months of junior high. I graduated anyway and lost fifty pounds. I looked like Mary-Kate Olsen.
43. Unfortunately, my brush with an Olsen-level body mass was brief.
44. I was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis in December of 2011. There are days when I can’t move and there are days when I’m almost fine. It’s a process. 
45. I’ve been on more medications than I can count. Currently I inject myself with Golimumab once a month. My gogo juice is gonna help me win. 
46. I will talk endlessly about autoimmune everything, extreme medical treatments, mystic crystals, and gluten. Just ask. 
47. I am afraid of the dark. I am terrified of dying alone. I am scared of becoming horribly disfigured, getting lost in the woods, or being pursued by a serial killer.
48. I am not afraid of needles, blood or domesticated animals.
49. That said, please tell me your ghost stories. I cannot get enough. 
50. In misguided youth I sang in an Ani Difranco cover band.
51. I did a four-year stint as a DJ for WOZQ 91.9FM.
52. In previous lives I have worked as a wedding planner, a gallery coordinator and a substitute teacher.
53. In high school I won the Presidential Public Service award two years in a row. The second year, I received a little button that said “citizenship.”
54. When I started this site I published via a very early paid version of Blogger. They sent me a sweatshirt when they were bought out by Google in 2003.
55. I am a natural brunette. I have been a blonde, a red-head and once a sort of off-yellow color with blue highlights.
56. No matter how bad my day is, I always wash my makeup off before going to bed.
57. I can write with my toes.
58. I can play a mean ditty on the piano.
59. I’ll take a gin martini with a twist.