Achtung, Baby!

Here it is! My first bout of international press in a German newspaper. I've been ooohing and aaahing over it all day. I gave my Google translator page a workout to understand what they said but I assume it's laudatory. It's weird to see my picture posted on a foreign Web site, but it's really quite a thrill. My Mom told me that she is proud of it. Awwww. If you can't understand German, here is the interview we did, in English:

Could you tell me, how shmitten kitten started?

Well, I thought of the name first. I bolted upright at 3am with the idea to start the site and registered the domain name. Then, the next day over coffee, I told my best friend Shannon that I wanted to start a site called Shmitten Kitten, but I wasn't sure what it should be about. She suggested that we use it to recount our crazy dating stories. I told her that no one would want to read about it, but she insisted that it would be a hit. I relented and Shmitten Kitten was born.

After about a month, she came up with the idea to draw the dudes we'd see around the city. From there, it really took off!

Do you have one main topic or does it evolve naturally?

We don't have one main topic. Lately, it's evolved into more general observations about what we like or don't like about guys' behavior. I try to be flexible and only write when I'm really excited about a topic. And, I try to make every post special. And funny. It must be funny!

One big part of the website are the drawings of types of guys you meet on the streets of your hometown. But you really find those guys in every city around the world. How do you decide, which of these guys you are going to portray?

It's pretty organic. Almost everything I write is to make Shannon laugh. We will be hanging out somewhere and we'll just try to bust each other up with our ideas of who we should lampoon or honor next. Some of the dudes we've drawn are based on the kinds of dudes we date. Sometimes, it's just about guys we see around town. Really, whatever tickles our funny bone makes the cut.

And did some of them ever recognise themselves and write you back?

Oh yes! *tugs collar*

Almost all of them have been good sports about it. Except one. He was pretty pissed at us because he felt personally attacked. But, as time went on, I think he accepted his sketch as a badge of honor.

How do these drawings evolve?

It's all observational. These are guys we see at the park, at the cafe, on the street, at bars; really everywhere! I think that they are pretty accurate, for the most part.

Reading your blog, I feel like you have a very sweet yet sassy approach to all dating-related things. Can you express your attitude towards the topic?

We really try to empathize with women out there. Dating is tough! It's draining. It's a crapshoot. And, we really make an effort to not take ourselves too seriously. Most women's magazines seem to take the tone of talking down to their audience. They pretend that they are an authority on the subject. We make no bones about being completely clueless when it comes to dating. We are terrible at it! I think that's why we have such loyal readers; they see themselves in us. I could be wrong on that.

Shmitten Kitten seems to be the voice of this nice and cool girlfriend everyone wants to have. What do you want to accomplish with your blog? And who are your readers?

Good question! My first goal is to be well-written and funny. I guess that's two goals. I want to make my friends laugh. As a secondary goal, I want to make an impact and be seen as a reliable, original, smart site about navigating the dating waters. We aren't set up like a typical blog; I'd like to think that we operate as an online magazine. I've always wanted to edit my own magazine, and I feel like our site operates in a nebulous area between blog and publication. I really like that.

My readers seem to be rad girls and rad guys. I'm surprised at how many guys read our site! They tell me it's like eavesdropping on the girls' locker room. They get access to our thoughts about them. They really love it!

Another big thing on your site are the boner-killer and Tip Our Hats. What characteristic qualifies as a boner killer? And what lets you tip your hat?

A bonerkiller is anything that makes us reconsider our attraction to a guy. Really, it could be anything: a smelly car, a thumb ring, anything acquired in a pierce tent at Lollapolooza. Really, anything.

We really try to make both of our bonerkillers and hat tips extremely specific and funny. We want to illuminate the extremes of the spectrum.

What is your personal biggest boner killer?

Mine? Poor personal hygiene. BIG TIME!

And what is the biggest boner – ahem – grower?

Nice manners. Hands down!

How much time do you spend blogging and do you feel responsible to upload something every other day?

I wish I could crank out several posts a day, but it doesn't usually end up that way. I only post when inspiration hits, which can vary depending on how life settles down. I feel guilty if I don't post something at least every three days. Blogging guilt is the worst!

What kind of city is Philadelphia? Would you recommend our readers to move there?

Philadelphia rules! I'm very happy here, for the most part. It's like any city; it's as amazing as you make it. Yes, come to Philly. It's my adopted home.

And what are the guys like there? Any good?

Eh, that depends. It's like anything; you can find crummy guys and you can find amazing ones. We usually dump the amazing ones because the crummier guys are more interesting. And, they usually have better jeans! Funny how that works, right?

So, there you have it!

AND, I had my interview at KYW radio today as part of their "Hear Philly" series. It went really well. I had a blast. The lady who conducted the interview asked me some great questions that I was happy to answer. She said that I was the funniest interview she had yet. Nice! I'll post up the mp3 when I get the link.

AND AND, my hyacinths are blooming and my room smells amazing. What a great day.