About

What’s a Sonria? · About Me · About the Site · Legalese

Here’s everything you want to know about sonria.org, and possibly a few things you don’t.

What’s a Sonria?

I’ve owned and used the sonria.org domain since late 2003. It’s pronounced “sohn-ree-ah” with the accent on the second syllable. It’s also my standard web handle, though in a few places I reverse it to airnos. (In fan fiction circles, I use the handle lfvoy.)

The short version about sonria: it’s a pretty word. Here’s the long version:

It started as a conversation about vanity license plates. My mother suggested “smile!” as a good one since people usually do that when they read the word. That’s a fairly common word in English, so the domain name and web handle were quickly taken after the World Wide Web started.

But I also speak a fair bit of Spanish and the word sonría is the command form of the Spanish verb, “to smile.” That was less common and not (completely) taken, so I used it.

Accents are significant in Spanish so sonria without the accent is actually a nonsense word. But it’s short and easy to pronounce, so it meets my needs. As a note, I’m not associated with the Foundation for the Development of Multiple Intelligences at sonria.com. I only own sonria.org.

You’ll find a lot of references to the sun on the site as well. That’s a play on words based on the similar pronunciations of sonría and the English word “sun.” Don’t get confused: the words don’t translate back and forth at all. But I love sunlight and warm colors, so it’s a bit of harmless fun. (It’s also the reason for the “smiling sun” shortcut icon you can see in your address bar.)

I generally write sonria in all lowercase because it’s not a proper name or actual word. And for the record? I really did get the vanity plate for a couple of years although I don’t have it anymore.

About Me

CatherineMy profile information on other sites is short, sweet and to the point:

Brown-eyed brunette. Crazy cat lady in training. Catholic. Childfree. Divorced. Female. Homesick. Photographer. Slight geek. Thirtysomething. Travel lover. Writer. And not necessarily in that order.

This does a pretty good job of covering it quickly, but it also leaves a lot of detail out.

For example, I’m from eastern North Carolina. I wasn’t born there, but I grew up outside Greenville. I lived in Raleigh for most of my twenties, and that’s the place I think of when I hear the word “home.” I plan to move back to North Carolina when I retire if not sooner; I’ve never even considered anywhere else.

Right now, though, I live in Metro Atlanta, Georgia. I worked in the field of human resources (specializing in employee benefits administration) for about ten years, and in marketing for about four after that, but right now I’m pursuing some other options.

Outside of work, I’m single and childfree. I’d planned to be a wife and mother and was even briefly married, but as the years have passed it’s become pretty clear that my path lies elsewhere. The realization hurt for a while and still does sometimes, but eventually I chose to turn and embrace it rather than consider it a lack of something vital.

The reason I do so? It gives me the time and resources to do things like volunteer work in animal shelters. (I am owned by a tabby cat named Emily.) I also spend time with several hobbies, including photography, hiking, traveling and writing.

I’m also fairly active online, and I’m always open to making new online friends. So if you see me online, drop me a line and say hi. Chances are I’ll say hi back.

Just as a quick note to current and potential employers: I do not ever create blog posts from work. However, since it’s not unusual for me to enter several posts at one time, I use WordPress’ scheduling feature in order to avoid flooding others’ RSS readers. This means that posts will sometimes go live during business hours.

About the Site

I’ve used WordPress since version 1.5 and I’m quite happily still using it today. I’ve hosted my web site with HostDime since about 2005, and I’m happy to recommend them as well.

I’m currently using the following WordPress plugins:

The current theme is my own work, but I’ve shamelessly stolen ideas and CSS tweaks/tricks from around the web. As a result, I plan to pay-it-forward whenever possible. The header photos are also my own work; you can see a gallery of all of them on my portfolio site.

I’ve designed this site with standards compliance and accessibility in mind, but I know there are validation problems. Please be patient; I’m still an amateur. I’m actually working to change that, but for the moment, I’m welcoming suggestions.