Caledonia is my net name and I’ve been using it for a couple of years now, although there have been times when I’ve gone by my real name. Caledonia is the old Roman name for Scotland and I chose it as a net name because I’m very proud of being Scottish and it is a very important part of my identity. My family have been in Scotland for generations and it was where I was born, so I have very strong roots here and I don’t think I will ever live anywhere else.

I have a very cynical view of marriage as my parents constantly fought when I was growing up, so you won’t ever see that particular ring on my finger. I don’t have any children of my own and don’t miss it since I pretty much gave up a chunk of my teenage years to babysitting younger cousins. I much prefer being an aunt because you can borrow them and then give them back at the end of the day.

I’m very shy and I would rather have my nose stuck in a book than go to a party which more or less describes my teenage years. I loved school and while my friends were out having fun, I was at home studying like mad which probably explains why I ended up at university and they didn’t. I wouldn’t consider myself highly intelligent because I always had to work really hard to achieve anything but I did graduate with a BA Honours Degree in English Literature. Of course, everyone thought I was destined to become a teacher but the idea of standing in front of a class full of teenagers was akin to my worst nightmare. Teaching younger kids was not an option because I am a total dunce at maths and that is a requirement for that sort of training.

Once I left university, I was ready to leave studying behind and earn some decent money but that bubble soon burst as I discovered how hard it was to actually get an interview, never mind a job! I basically began a long, seemingly endless cycle of unemployment benefit and casual jobs. I suppose part of the problem was I had no clear career goals in mind and apparently no skills for the real world, so I decided to get some computer training. I eventually got a job in the office of a building company and stayed there for three years before I decided enough was enough. It wasn’t well paid and the management had a pretty poor attitude towards female employees.

I’d always been interested in childcare and education, so I decided it was time to go back to school and train to become a nursery nurse. Since I was leaving a full time job, I did a lot of research into my chances of getting a permanent, full time job at the end of it and was assured there was a real shortage of nursery nurses. I would walk into a job with no trouble. My first mistake was actually believing them, my second was attending a college that preferred students not think for themselves and my third was taking a job in a private nursery at the end of it. Private nurseries are only out to make money and precious little of it flows down to the hardworking staff. The final straw came when I had a health scare that left me unable to work for over a year and fighting feelings of depression.

Once my health improved enough for me to start working again, I decided to abandon nursery nursing and went back to office work. I am currently employed with a government agency which is rather unique, so it shall remain nameless since it would be too easy to find me! I do actually like the job and I’m proud of what we do but we are very busy which makes each day very stressful.

While I’m not working, I am usually surfing the internet and maintaining my websites which are listed on another page. I also enjoying crafting. I make my own greeting cards, do cross stitch and want to start scrapbooking - if I ever find the time. I still read books but not as often as before since I have a lot more interests and less time to pursue them these days. I also watch a lot of DVDs and like anything in the scifi/fantasy genre, such as the LOTR and Star Wars trilogies. I don’t consider myself a big music fan and tend to stick to people I’ve liked for a long time such as Bon Jovi, George Michael and U2.