Long, long ago in a nursery far, far away, my uncle came to visit my little six month old self. My parents, full of pride over their first bouncing baby girl, handed me to him then stepped back and waited for the praise to come flowing in.

Instead, my uncle turned me on my side like a guitar, looked up, and said, “How do you play this thing?”

And that’s the moment my parents realized their firstborn, Amanda Lynn, was actually… a Mandalyn.

So since that initial shock, who have I become? I’m a 27 year old home owner who moved out of state less than eight months after purchasing said home. That right there explains a lot about me. I’m a very impulsive person who requires a sense of security. I also have a strong penchant for Goldfish crackers (original, not cheddar), Ozzy Osborne, Final Fantasy (my pocket protectors come in many colors) shellfish, and tasty [adult] beverages.

I live in Boston with my wonderful boyfriend JB (for “James Bond – International Man of Mystery” because he travels for work ALL THE TIME and no one ever knows where he is) and his brother Manned Up (for a memorable dinner out when our waitress made fun of him for hesitating on order another round). Along with the three of us, our house is host to an incredible number of visitors, including local pals after a long night out and friends and colleagues from overseas, primarily Ireland – Cuervo, Smokey the Bandit, JB’s Boss, and Sam Adams are some of our more frequent visitors.

Another important person is Good Time, my best friend and JB and Manned Up’s big sister. Her name comes from two places – 1) it’s always a good time with Good Time, and 2) one night she got drunk and informed everyone she was putting a roof on her (nonexistent) hot tub because she “didn’t want the neighbors seeing her good time.” Classic.

Don’t worry – I’m creating a glossary of everyone, including nickname explanations, that’ll be up by weekend’s end. 

I started this blog because I am determined to learn much, much more than I currently know about this whole space – and I just quit my job, so the timing seemed impeccable. Also, I liked the idea of giving nicknames to everyone. Makes me feel like I am in a spy movie spoof.