Once upon a time, many years ago, there was a posting board called The Bronze. It was the official message board for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in the days when Buffy was still on The WB (which doesn't even exist anymore, so that was a really long time ago!). I started posting there at the end of season 2 (spring of 1998), using the name Iphigenia, a name I'd used on the dead-and-gone Prodigy. But in those days, I wasn't one to stay interested for long, so I strayed for a few months. When I came back in season 3, I was rereading the David Eddings Belgariad/Mallorean series, so I chose a new name—Polgara, the beautiful, talented and generally superior-minded sorceress of those books. This time around I became quite addicted to the Bronze, so Polgara pretty much stuck from there on.

Polgara has been mine for so long now that it will always be a second name for me—I answer to it as naturally as I answer to my given name. It's the name of my website, it's on my license plate, it's pretty much part of who I am.

So, let's move on to Frequently Asked Questions.

Why did you dye your hair blue?
To be fair, it's not all blue, although if it weren't for the roots being such a problem, I'd dye my whole head in a heartbeat. I was in New Orleans for Memorial Day weekend 2005 with some Bronzer friends. I'd been wanting blue streaks in my hair for a long time, but never had the guts to actually do something so crazy, but while in New Orleans, I was having a hell of a time sleeping—the humidity was a killer! After three days of no sleep, my sister and my friend Jane took advantage of my weakened state and convinced me to allow them to bleach and dye blue streaks into my hair. They did a fabulous job, and I loved it so much I've been maintaining it ever since.

Why did you abandon your family and move to California?
I did not abandon my family, I struck out on my own, dammit! Ahem. Moving to California was something I'd dreamed about since I was in college, but again, never had the guts to do. Thanks to the Buffy community, I finally visited Los Angeles for the first time in February of 1999 and fell in love with the city-but-not-a-ciy, and the dream was renewed. However, I still didn't have the guts to make the big move until August of 2000 (after three more visits to L.A.), when my dear friend Stevie decided to leave the poor job prospects in Boston for San Francisco. Coincidentally, I had reached a peak of miserableness at my job of six and a half years, so it was perfect timing to pull up stakes and make the big trek. I've been here ever since, and yes, I'm still very happy here.

You're not really older than Little Sister (aka pawswithclaws, aka Nancy), are you?
*sigh* Yes, I am. Sure, Little Sister is more mature than I am, and more responsible, but hey, just because I can find the fun faster than she can, doesn't make me the baby. There are 13 months between us, and yes, I came first. So shush.

What came first, Polgara the Bronzer or the Polgara Demon?
No lie, I've actually been asked this fairly frequently. In season 4 of Buffy, David Fury was blanking on a name for a demon in his episode, The I in Team; he remembered my name from the Bronze, and voila! The Polgara Demon was born, making me semi-famous in the Bronze community, if not the Buffy community in general. This bit of trivia has appeared in The Monster Book by Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoski, and The Watcher's Guide 2 by Nancy Holder and Jeff Marriotte. And yes, it still makes me giggle sometimes.

That's about the it for now. Feel free to poke around all you like.

~Polgara

Just the Facts

Birthday: August (Virgo)
Hair: Brown with blue
Eyes: Hazel/Green, depending on my mood
Home: West Hollywood, California
Hometown(s): Medford/Malden, Massachusetts
Siblings: One sister, two half-brothers, two step-brothers, two step-sisters
Occupation: Web programmer
Favorite color: Right now, orange--it changes a lot
Favorite nail polish color: Dark Blue
Last movie (theater): Superbad
Favorite TV Shows (past): Buffy, Angel, The West Wing, Gilmore Girls, La Femme Nikita
Favorite TV Shows (present): Heroes, Bones, Dirty Sexy Money, Supernatural, Grey's Anatomy
Favorite Sports Team: RED SOX! WOOT!
Favorite Snack: mixed salted nuts from Trader Joe's
Hobbies: Knitting and crochet; photography; Scrabulous; buying yarn, books and dvds