the UGC: How This Came To Be (or "The Ugly Green Chair")

How This Came To Be (or "The Ugly Green Chair")
December 31, 2005

A little over 5 years ago, I had a problem. I was addicted to fonts. I was downloading them left and right, and sometimes buying the typefaces I was truly in love with. I had found an ezboard forum about fonts. People would post pictures or links and ask if anyone knew what font was being used. I checked this board DAILY. I was obsessed.

At one point, someone had posted a link to a charming little site called Loobylu. They wanted to know what font was used in the header. So I clicked the link, and was bowled over by the lovely illustrations. I was hooked. I started checking that site every day as well. After a few months, and after finding some similar sites to add to my bookmarks, I had a "Hey, I could do this too!" moment.

I already had a web site, cleverly entitled "Whitney's Web Page", which was neglected and rarely updated. I decided adding a journal and changing a few things around would force me to keep the site updated, would be a small creative outlet, and also a good excuse to work on my writing skills (Ha!).

The inspiration for the URL came from my desk chair which I had acquired a few years earlier and affectionately named, "The Ugly Green Chair". A little odd, I know, but it was a URL that actually wasn't taken, and a bit more creative than www.whitneyswebpage.com. After slaving over some html (yay for hand coding!), my first post ever made its way to the web. I had coded everything for at least the first year. Archives and everything. When that got too tiresome, I finally switched to Movable type, and never looked back. The photo thing started happening after a trip to Oregon where I broke down and bought a digital camera. After 5 years, this little site has evolved into what you see today.

I'm actually surprised I've kept up with it this long. I know there have been lulls and sometimes a complete lack of content for months at a time, but I have no intention of quitting. This is still a creative outlet for me, a reason to take photos, and heck, maybe my writing has improved a tad. And of course, I've met tons of great people who I'm honored to call friends. So thanks to everyone who's ever sent an e-mail, or left a comment, you all make my day.

Happy birthday Ugly Green Chair! Here's hoping I can keep this up for another 5 years.

$\"THE$ \n\n\nA little over 5 years ago, I had a problem. I was addicted to fonts. I was downloading them left and right, and sometimes buying the typefaces I was truly in love with. I had found an ezboard forum about fonts. People would post pictures or links and ask if anyone knew what font was being used. I checked this board DAILY. I was obsessed. \n\nAt one point, someone had posted a link to a charming little site called Loobylu. They wanted to know what font was used in the header. So I clicked the link, and was bowled over by the lovely illustrations. I was hooked. I started checking that site every day as well. After a few months, and after finding some similar sites to add to my bookmarks, I had a \"Hey, I could do this too!\" moment.\n\nI already had a web site, cleverly entitled \"Whitney's Web Page\", which was neglected and rarely updated. I decided adding a journal and changing a few things around would force me to keep the site updated, would be a small creative outlet, and also a good excuse to work on my writing skills (Ha!). \n\nThe inspiration for the URL came from my desk chair which I had acquired a few years earlier and affectionately named, \"The Ugly Green Chair\". A little odd, I know, but it was a URL that actually wasn't taken, and a bit more creative than www.whitneyswebpage.com. After slaving over some html (yay for hand coding!), my first post ever made its way to the web. I had coded everything for at least the first year. Archives and everything. When that got too tiresome, I finally switched to Movable type, and never looked back. The photo thing started happening after a trip to Oregon where I broke down and bought a digital camera. After 5 years, this little site has evolved into what you see today.\n\nI'm actually surprised I've kept up with it this long. I know there have been lulls and sometimes a complete lack of content for months at a time, but I have no intention of quitting. This is still a creative outlet for me, a reason to take photos, and heck, maybe my writing has improved a tad. And of course, I've met tons of great people who I'm honored to call friends. So thanks to everyone who's ever sent an e-mail, or left a comment, you all make my day. \n\nHappy birthday Ugly Green Chair! Here's hoping I can keep this up for another 5 years.

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