What is this site all about anyway?!?
Hi! My name is Rhonda, and I am a Duran Duran fan.
I’ve been a fan of this band for over 40 years now, which yes – makes me incredibly wise. 🙂 Up until late 2021, I was an owner and operator of Daily Duranie, which was at one time the most-widely read online Duran Duran fan blog. I am very proud of what my blood, sweat and tears helped to create.
Here’s the personal stuff: I live on a ranchette (small ranch) along the Central Coast of California. I have three children – two of which are adults, and the youngest is in high school. I’ve been married to my husband Walt for almost three decades. Some of those years have been even been great! I raise chickens (22), we are working on setting up an area to raise goats and sheep, and my best buddy is my Malshi Gizmo. I love wine (I live near Paso Robles) – my favorite kinds of wine include Carbonic Grenache, Gamay, and Petite Syrah. My husband and I have planted over 100 cider apple trees on our property with 100 more to come later this year for our “retirement project”, named Owlman Cider. I have played the clarinet since I was eight years old, and I’m currently in the Atascadero Community Band, which is a fantastic concert band in my area. I think that’s it for now! *whew*
Burn-out after eleven years of almost daily blogging shouldn’t have been too much of a shock for anyone. I took time away, moved my mom into a home near my own, became her caregiver, and enjoyed some rest. In the meantime, I’ve missed Duran Duran. I’ve missed writing about being a Duran Duran fan. Like anyone reading this, I bought Future Past. I listened several times. Then I put the album away. That was it. Something was missing, and it had little to do with the music.
The one thing I didn’t consider when I left the other blog was how much more dimension it brought to fandom. MY fandom. I hate saying that listening to the music isn’t enough, but I’m here to tell you that for me, it isn’t enough. So here I am.
I feel a little silly starting over. I can’t tell you how many times in the past two days alone I’ve thought to myself, “What in the hell am I trying to do? Why am I even starting this again? Is it even worth it?” The answer is, I don’t know.
I guess I’m trying it again because I miss being involved. I’m not sure if it will work, or if anyone will even read. Time is a little bit of a problem this time – I don’t have much of it. The blogging won’t be daily, that is for sure. It also might not be as funny, because it is just me here. It cannot be the same as before, because this is Plastic Paradise. I suppose that’s the whole point. This isn’t me doing it “again”, because this blog is brand new. I don’t know what it is going to be yet, only that it exists.
So, what is this all about? I have no idea, but I’m looking forward to figuring it out.
Cheers! -R
