Belated birthday

Way belated, in fact.

The very first character I created, Kirsten Peabody-Choi, goes back to a workshop I took on July 31 and August 1, 2004, with UCLA Extension, titled "Creating Memorable Characters." Nobody knew that I was creating Kirsten as a mirror image of myself (she even took my middle name). But the fact that she likes Ally McBeal miniskirt suits, used to sell Mary Kay cosmetics, and worked odd jobs at low pay after finishing her degree, comes straight out of my own experiences and preferences. In fact, she's just a half-white, non-transgender version of me.

Because I started working on her on July 31st, that will be her birthday from now on. In addition, I've always envisioned her as being a year older than Sarah; as a result, her year of birth will be 1976, which means that she has now turned 30. It's time to get back to the drawing board, and work out the idiosyncratic details of her life, including her relationship to her mother, her career, and the details of her eventual move to London.