My Mother Is Either a Comic Genius or Bat-Shit Insane

This morning, as I drowsily sipped my coffee and opened my email, I got the living daylights scared out of me when the first thing I saw was the subject line "Donna Lynn Sorenson Obituary".

Turns out my Mom is not, in fact, dead. Nor is she dying.

The message was my mother sending the obituary she has written for herself out to all five of her children.

Because it's written in the past tense, I find reading it to be mind-bogglingly creepy.

In this obituary, my mother, a former English teacher, misspelled her own first name.

She also had this to say about it, "I tried to keep it somewhat short since every word "costs"--always the bargain-hunter 'til the end!"

Either this is the best practical joke she's ever pulled, or she is out of her fucking mind. And as the universe is my witness, I have utterly no idea which it is.

Me! Me! Me! Look at Me!

Is there anything more self indulgent than a blog? The idea that one's passing thoughts and momentary passions are so important they should be documented and published with the expectation that the world waits with baited breath to read them, is beyond hubris.

It's arrogant. It's egotistical. It's all I've ever wanted.

I've hesitated doing this for some time, because I've known there's only one person in the world absolutely guaranteed to read this.

Hi, Mom.

But then, it's lovely to know that I've got a Mom who's interested in what I have to say ... no matter how banal. That's the great thing about Moms. They find one's thoughts and activities interesting when no else will.

Why blog?

1. It's a writing exercise. An author and creative mentor of mine, Jim Mendrinos, is adamant that writers should write, even if only a little, every day. Since I may not be inspired to be funny every day, this is something else I can write. Although I'm certain I won't do this every day, it will move me a little closer to that goal.
2. This will be a creative journal. I plan to use this to document things I learn about comedy and performing, for my own benefit, if no one else's.
3. This will also, no doubt, end up being an outlet for various rants that are so inane, that my friends will not sit still for them. So I'll dump them here. You're welcome.

My inspirations for this ridiculous endeavor are two comics, friends of mine, artists who I greatly admire, Kelli Dunham and Adam Sank. I find their blogs to be witty and insightful.

The title for this blog, "Obnoxious & Inappropriate," came to me years ago, in the wee hours of the morning, while out drinking with my dear friend Paola. I wrote it down and thought it would make a good title for my memoirs. Since I don't seem to have written those yet, I'm using it here. I've always thought it captures the delicate essence of my personality and subtle nuances of the almost imperceptible effects I have on people and environments around me.

"Obnoxious & Inappropriate" ... it's how I hope to one day be remembered.