Andrea from Caffeinate Me is a single, 25-year old in L.A. She works behind the scenes in the movie business. Her blog covers everything from her weekend updates, to her dating life, to her passion for photography, to her workday, and many other topics. You never know what she’s going to be talking about from day to day. She says her blog can be a little boring (I disagree) but can also be incredibly witty and charming (I agree).
Here’s my interview with Andrea from Caffeinate Me:
Daddy Dan (DD): Tell me a little about yourself.
Andrea: I’m 25-years-old and living and working in Los Angeles, CA – typically – in the movie business. I’m so far behind the scenes I sometimes don’t even want you to know I’m there. I love food, photography, my job, literature, and getting into crazy shenanigans, and my blog reflects that. I’m also single, and my blog reflects that, as well. Most people would describe me as shy, simple, hard-working, intelligent, and painfully honest. The blog is also a reflection of all that.
DD: How long have you been blogging?
Andrea: I started blogging in 2001 at LiveJournal, but recently made the move to blogger in January 2008.
DD: What got you started?
Andrea: I started blogging shortly before I started my freshman year at UCLA. LiveJournal was just coming into fashion and I thought a blog would be a great way to a. chronicle my tumultuous transition into adulthood and b. keep in touch with some of my high school friends.
DD: Why do you continue blogging? What do you get out of it? How long do you think you’ll continue?
Andrea: I’ll absolutely keep blogging. I often cry to myself (and out loud) about the inherent lack of anonymity, but, honestly, I really enjoy blogging. It’s just a nice outlet for my whims, for my joys, for whatever ails me or makes me smile. I also love the interaction. I have a great group of internet buddies that I never would have met without my blog. (Like Dan, for example!! 
)
DD: Tell me a little about your blog.
Andrea: My blog is just a reflection of me. It collects my thoughts and my life. A little work, a little socializing, a little pop-culture or shopping or photography. It’s an outlet for my personality and my hobbies. Posts range from anecdotes to quotes to AIM conversations with my brother to photos to reviews to complete re-caps of my days. It can be a little boring, but it can also be incredibly witty and charming… much like myself.
DD: What’s the story behind the name of your blog?
Andrea: Almost every afternoon, my fabulous boss invites me to go and “caffeinate” at the local Starbucks. I can’t say no to coffee. I’m really badly addicted. I actually think I have a mildly addictive personality or whatever the phrase is. Anyway, the point of this story is: I’m much too caffeinated, so I named my blog Caffeinate Me after it.
DD: Why should people read your blog?
Andrea: Because I’m just like them! If people enjoy the average person’s average trials and tribulations, then they’d probably like my blog. Also if they like laughing at a single person’s dating misery, they’d like my blog. Finally, if they just want to relate to somebody, they should give my blog a read.
DD: I’m afraid of heights, so this is something I would NEVER do, but you recently went sky diving. Why??? What was it like?
Andrea: I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to go skydiving. I don’t really know where the urge came from. Maybe it was watching Road Rules in my adolescence when it used to be good. Maybe it’s the little troublemaker in me who always wants to do thing that sometimes aren’t considered the norm. I don’t get to indulge that side very often. Skydiving is really thrilling and really fun. For the few moments of freefalling, you really feel infinite. I posted a really detailed review of the experience on my blog, if anyone wants more info HERE. I’d recommend skydiving for everyone, regardless of fear of heights or falling. One of the people I went with actually has a debilitating fear of heights, but he loved the experience. But, then again, I really recommend facing all fears: for instance, I’m afraid of bridges and things that fly at my face. So I walked across the Goldren Gate Bridge and try to have people throw things at me as frequently as possible.
DD: What types of blogs do you enjoy reading? Can you provide a list of your five favorite blogs? Why do you like these five?
Andrea: I like all kinds of blogs. My absolute favorites are usually personal blogs or related to food or fashion. Some of the best: Wishcake — she’s my blogging BFF! Such a funny, clever chick. And a total sweetheart, too. SO@24 — I can totally relate to him! I “started over” at 23 and I sometimes feel like I’m barely getting back in the game. What I Wore — A new addition: a completely cute and fashionable chic in New York, posting her day-to-day outfits. I *Heart* You — a little bit of fashion, a little bit of craftiness, a little bit of pop culture a dash of humor. Marta — a blog that makes you appreciate all the wonders of life, often with beautiful photos and quotes!
DD: What are your favorite “non-blogging” activities?
Andrea: Roaming around museums, cooking and eating good food, taking lots of photos, shopping (my biggest vice,) reading, especially with a steamy beverage, laying in the sunshine, driving my car alone with the music turned up as high as it will go.
DD: What is the secret to happiness?
Andrea: The secret to happiness is letting yourself be happy. Don’t sweat the small stuff and don’t stress out. Find the joy in life. It’s really not that hard to find. Don’t be mad or bitter all the time. Don’t hate everything. Find the things you love and stick to them.
DD: What is your favorite quote?
Andrea: I love quotes, but my all time favorite is “Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you” — Ralph Waldo Emerson.
DD: What’s it like living with a bunch of guy roommates? Pros and cons?
Andrea: I currently live with two male roommates, but, since most of our mutual friends are guys, there is often a small litter of boys in my apartment. It’s actually not bad at all. Luckily, my roommates are pretty clean in the common area and really considerate. It’s nice that, if I want to talk, they’re there and, if I don’t, they’re not in my face. It doesn’t hurt that I’m almost never home. And it’s nice to split bills three ways. If I have to live with roommates, I’d pick the ones I have. Ideally, though, I’d prefer to live alone.
DD: You once lived in Sugarpine, CA. Where is it and what was it like?
Andrea: Sugarpine, CA is a teeny weeny little town way out in the sticks. It’s tucked in the forests of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, near Yosemite national park. It’s a beautiful place. I lived there when I was 3 and 4 years old, before I moved to Los Angeles. It’s really lovely, but it’s not a place I’d ever live again. I’m way too much of an urban girl now. Although, I’d love to be there maybe for a week or so of seclusion, in the Winter, so I could play in the three feet of snow that often covered our redwood deck.
DD: What, so far, has been the happiness moment of your life?
Andrea: This is a hard question for me, because I haven’t been married or had a child which is what most people would say. For me, the happiest times aren’t milestones or moments of accomplishment. They’re not joyous or jubilant. Usually, they’re quiet and peaceful. Like driving extra early in the morning and seeing a beautiful sunrise or, most recently, a flight home from Seattle and flying over San Francisco at sunset and a sense of intense calm and happiness, like all was finally right in my world.
DD: What has been your biggest regret?
Andrea: I’m the most patient person I know, and, from time to time, that means I have a tendency to be a bit complacent. I regret all the times in the past couple years when I stuck with things that were so so wrong for me and that made me so unhappy. Hopefully, I’ve learned a few things since then.
DD: Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Andrea: I’m not really sure if I intend to get married, so I don’t think things will be that much different. Hopefully I’ll have moved up to at least a director position at work, or I’ll have found another place that I might love as much as where I work now in San Francisco. Oh, and I’ll have my own apartment – no roommates! – and a dog. I love dogs. … This IS adulthood.
DD: Do you monitor your blog stats?
Andrea: I think everyone does, to some extent. I have a Google Analytics account that I don’t really know how to use and check very infrequently.
DD: What are your favorite places in the world?
Andrea: My favorite places in the world are: San Francisco, New York City, my bed, any coffee house that will let me sit there for 2 hours with a large latte and a good book, Disneyland, and my parents’ house, but only for short periods of time. 
DD: What are five things you want to do before you die?
Andrea: 1. Own a home. 2. Go to Spain (and the rest of western Europe, while I’m there.) 3. Climb Half Dome. 4. Raise a puppy. 5. Shave my legs without cutting myself. Just once!!
DD: Tell us something most people don’t know about you.
Andrea: Although it was never diagnosed, I’m *pretty sure* that I was clinically depressed for almost a year of my life. (Desk chair psychology from a certified Psychology major.) And then, eventually, I got tired of being depressed. So I quit. Quitting stuff is my family’s genetic strongsuit.
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Also: Don’t miss the entire series of Daddy Dan Interviews
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Tags: Interviews
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#1 by Tim on September 3rd, 2008
Great interview!
#2 by Jan Nilssoj on October 8th, 2008
Hi…as a fellow Mimbo pro user with a connection to Spain I am compelled to invite Andera to southern Spain, Beautiful indeed!