Thursday, January 08, 2009

I do not know why someone in the Philippines wants my bio.

At the bottom of this web page, you'll see a little box that says, "Sitemeter." This is a widget that allows me to track how many people visit my website, where they come from, and what they're looking for.

It doesn't identify people by name, although I can often figure it out. I know, for example, that the visitor from one particular IP address in Richmond is my sister Susan, that the visitor from Atlantic Beach, FL is my sister Kathy, and that the visitor from Singapore is my dear friend Carla. It reassures me to see the same addresses recur and know that people are checking in occasionally, just to make sure that I haven't died alone and been eaten by my dog.

The two search strings that bring strangers here most often take them to the discussion on "Light as a feather, stiff as a board," and the explanation of the quotation "Good night, you princes of Maine, you kings of New England." Sometimes the search strings give me ideas for new posts, if people land here with a question I haven't answered.

But last night someone in the Philippines came here with the search string "bio of Clair Lamb," and that scares me a little. I don't know anyone in the Philippines, as far as I know. I'm not applying for a job there; I'm not currently applying for a job at all. Who wants to know about me, why, and why didn't they just send me an email? I'm easy enough to find.

Mine is not an identity worth stealing, and that's not really what worries me. It's just a very creepy feeling, having an unknown person looking for outside information, rather than just writing or calling to ask for my resume.

So if that person was you, and you're still looking for that information, please get in touch. LambLetters AT gmail.com. It's a boring story, but I'm happy to share.

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