Ms. Smack's questions and my answers to them from her latest post:

Regarding your job, does it impact on your loved ones?

Not often, as I'm single but lately it's impacted my dating life/new relationship (OUCH, I said the 'R' word!). My friends not much -- most work about the same hours and times as I do and we see each other when we can, try to stay in touch by e-mail & sometimes by phone, and there's the rare case like this week when my friend Susan wanted to visit Palm Springs and do tourist stuff with me.

Do you find yourself giving work related advice out of hours? Can you switch off?

Yes, often. Can't switch off sometimes, for example I'm trying to not give too much details about my work on my public blog, and this is still a small town/valley.

Does it start with snarling at the kids if you're over-worked and end with fatigue?

No kids, but I find myself sometimes reacting as I would to particular clients or court/county staff, etc., I've had negative encounters with on unusually bad days.

How much DOES our career affect our personal life?

A lot I think, but it can be both a good and a bad thing. Bad in taking the negativity home or to others who didn't bring it on. But good in that it reflects your passion and commitment to your work.

Should your friends and family be given a break from the stuff you lay on them?

Yes, as much as humanly possible. Am working on that :)

Ms. Smack's comments about teaching her daughter to be wary of predators on the internet brought to mind my own grown-up issues about public blogging. I've pulled two photos of me that showed my full face, though I love them and tickle my vain little ego; still feeling out if that's the way to go because I'd love to share some without what-ifs as gutsier people have on their own blogs.

... but yeah, I think I can't avoid the self-lovin' pics too long; gonna see if the DH man can snap a few distance, side, and especially back side ones as he seems pretty keen on that.

I've given some more thought lately about why I feel the need to blog publicly, and part of the answer I've come up with so far is that I need both to vent about what I usually can't talk out directly to most people around me, as well as draw little slices of life and share them with the world in general, like tossing a message in a bottle into the ocean. But to do that with some security, I think I will do as other bloggers I enjoy do: Not reveal the exact latitude and longitude of my whereabouts, my person.

Otherwise this becomes a blog that's nothing more than a carefully primped photo album or showcase of what my life "should" be. I don't mean to put down blogs that highlight certain aspects of the bloggers' lives -- vacation blogs, tour blogs, this-is-me-and-all-my-good-moments blogs. I love,love,LOVE to click on the Next button on the Blogger header and get eyefuls of snapshots from every corner of the globe, about lives that I would not know about any other way -- it's like being invited to take a peek into people's lives, people you'll likely never meet but who are treating you as a welcome friend.

But I would find that too confining; wouldn't find a point to it in my life, at least at this time. And I already have plenty of albums and do my share of sharing pics and greetings online and on Flickr with people I know.

So I'll keep walking the joyful tightrope, kicking up dust on demographic tracks so I can shine some light on the realities, dreams, and the in-between that I need to explore within this buffer zone of relative anonymity.