If you know me in real life, you know me as Tamara, Tam or - in certain cases - as Spam, Duckie, Yesterday, Tomorrow, Mat / Matty... anything but Tammy. There have only been two people who have gotten away with calling me Tammy and one of them is no longer among the living.

If you know me in real life, you also know I generally don't pull any punches. I'm often tactless and wicked sarcastic, but that's not showcased as much here as it is other places. I like to think that Matty - this site's online persona - is my softer side. (Yes, I do have one.)

If you know me in real life, you know I have an absolutely filthy mouth and an equally filthy mind. I try to curb the language - I don't want to be embarrassed by anything I write here. That what my other journals are for.

If you know me in real life, you know both my parents passed away from complications due to alcoholism. I don't drink. I don't do drugs... illegal ones at least. I am heavily medicated for your protection, however. Seriously.

If you know me in real life, you know I am bipolar with borderline personality disorder and anger issues. The bipolar is my mother's final gift to me. As for the BPD and anger issues... well, if you were an only child, distanced from your blood relations, and orphaned by 26, I think you might have some issues, too. I make no excuses and I refuse to be stigmatized for it.

If you know me in real life, you know I'm a HUGE R.E.M. fan. The shining moment of my fandom, to date, was scoring front row center seats to a show in Detroit. I've also met Bertis Downs' nephew and had some of my photos from the 2008 show at Great Woods featured on R.E.M.'s website. It meant a lot to me that some R.E.M. staff member went through the thousands of pictures submitted by fans and pulled several of mine. The four computers in my home network are named after the original members and some peripherals are named after long time staff or collaborators. Nine of my seventeen domains (including this one) are R.E.M. related. Hi! My name's Tam and I'm a Stipe-aholic.

If you know me in real life, you know I'm fiercely loyal to my friends and consider several of them my family. As a result, I have two sisters and two and a half brothers. I've been known to go out of my way to protect them. So much so, that I've done things that open old wounds and have caused me more pain than a person should bear. But I don't regret it for a second.

If you know me in real life, you know I'm originally from Connecticut and back in my beloved New England after a seven year stint in Toledo, OH. I moved to Toledo in an effort to continue my career in hockey. I'd worked for the UConn men's hockey program and the Hartford Whalers before becoming the Director of Community Relations for the Toledo Storm. My front office days are behind me, but not my love for the sport. I'm a diehard Boston University fan and support just about any team that has a player on their roster (NY Rangers, Colorado Avs, San Jose Sharks... I share my birthday with the REAL "Great One": Bobby Orr.

If you know me in real life, you know I have four children. Our daughter, Arsey, passed away prior to her 13th birthday, but she will never be forgotten. Her brother Apache joined us the year my father died. My matched set of beautiful blue merle Aussies were joined by a psycho kitteh, Charlie. About a year ago, we added a black and tan German Shepherd named Guinness to the family.

If you know me in real life, you know I married a guy from Ohio, while we were in Las Vegas for the first (and only) Blog-Con, surrounded by people I knew only from their blogs. The ceremony was at the Venetian. The reception was at the Aladdin, in someone's room with ten-ish other bloggers, watching Hoopty getting his head shaved by Jaded Ju. It was one of the more interesting experiences of my life, but I'm still bummed we didn't do something tacky, like the drive thru Chapel of Love. I don't know how he's managed to put up with me for ten years, but he really should be sainted for it.

If you know me from just my blog, you know me.