Friday, August 14, 2009

My name is not Bob...

...it really isn't. Yet, I've been addressed as Bob by strangers since my youth. For some reason, many people (such as doctors, teachers, writers, etc.) see the name Robert, and their mouths translate it as "Bob." So yeah, first thing you should know about me is that my name is not Bob; it's Robert. Or Robert Lee Brewer. Or even Mr. Brewer if you want to be stiff and formal.

This is an introductory post, so I ought to tell you a little about me (though if you're reading this, you're probably already somewhat familiar with who I am).

Here are 10 quick facts about me:
  1. I live in Georgia with my wife (the poet Tammy Foster Brewer--formerly Trendle) and stepson (Reese) and youngest son (Will).
  2. My two oldest sons (Benjamin and Jonah) live in Ohio with my ex-wife, who (though we don't always see eye-to-eye) is a great co-parent.
  3. I regularly (2 weekends out of 4) visit my Ohio boys, which means I do a lot of driving.
  4. Some of my preferred activities are reading, writing, playing disc golf, running, managing my fantasy football team (I'm in a keeper dynasty league with a bunch of friends), hanging out with my boys and awesome wife, social networking, watching movies, listening to music, cooking, etc.
  5. My day job: I work for F+W Media, Inc., as the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market and WritersMarket.com. My responsibilities include editing listings and articles; assigning articles; creating new content; blogging; social networking; writing copy for promotions; formatting, styling and configuring databases; writing e-newsletters; writing articles; speaking at events; leading webinars; developing new ideas; improving processes; and so much more. Needless to say, they keep me busy.
  6. I also write and publish poetry. You can Google my name and find quite a few published pieces online. You'll probably also run across my Poetic Asides blog (http://blog.writersdigest.com/poeticasides).
  7. I hit my friends limit on Facebook. I didn't know there was a friends limit on Facebook until I hit it. So, I've now got a Fan Page in addition to my regular profile.
  8. I have a Twitter account at http://twitter.com/robertleebrewer.
  9. In a former life, I was a pretty quick runner. My favorite event in high school was the 800 meters. My best time was 1:57. As I've aged, I have gained an appreciation for longer distances. Would love to run a marathon someday.
  10. My specs: 6 feet tall, about 210 pounds, brown hair, blue eyes, size 12 shoes.

So anyway, that should do for an introduction. I plan for this blog to be all over the place in the future; so enjoy the focus while it lasts.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

As a fan of Poetic Asides I am happy to see you doing some more blogging! I must also add this- my hub's first name is William, but he goes by his middle name, yet he has been called "Bill" and even "Billy" by doctors, clients, etc ...weird thing eh? :)

Tomara Armstrong said...

Congratulations on the new blog. I look forward to reading your posts.
~2

Unknown said...

Oddly enough, I never considered "Bob" for you. But then, I'm southern and just assumed your name was Robert Lee, like my cousins Johnny Wayne and Mary Jo.

Jessie Carty said...

Yay! A personal blog :)
I always had teachers who wanted to extend my name and make me Jessica - which I am not a Jessica or thought I was a boy before they actually saw me :)

Kathleen said...

Robert, when do you sleep??? BTW, people are constantly changing my name, Kathleen, to Kathy, which I HATE. Kath is okay, though. Nice introductory post for you blog.

Margaret Fieland said...

Robert, welcome to the wonderful world of blogging.

My mother named me Margaret so she could call me Peggy (go figure). I started using Margaret for my writing but my family mostly call me Peggy. Some people call me Maggie because I use that as a handle (madcapmaggie) online. I will answer to Maggie but it's not my name -- or it wasn't until so many folks started using it ...

Margaret Fieland

Unknown said...

It was really nice incident you posted here and would you mind if I call you Bob?? Just kidding. I am looking forward for your next post.
Size 12 shoes

Anonymous said...

I love the title of your blog and have dealt with the same issue all my life. What really kills me is that even after I've initiated contact and signed my message with Rob, they completely ignore it and call me Bob. My mom liked to tell the story about when I was about 4 and was asked by an older gentleman, 'And do they call you Bobby?' that I responded with 'They call me Robert!' It wasn't until my junior year in high school that I opted to go with Rob.

This blog is great and I really enjoy Poetic Asides, especially the Wednesday Poetry Prompts. Thanks for all your hard work.

Unknown said...

Very cool Robert. I am excited to read more of your blogs. I like that you run a fantasy football league with your friends. That is always a great thing : D.

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