It's odd that I haven't thought to explain the website title at all on here yet....  Here goes.  About 10-11 years ago when I lived in Philadelphia, I was driving around near the convention center with my current boyfriend and his best friend.  We were preparing to make a trip to Rome at the time and I had a rental car to get around in.  Traffic was bad and I was flying through the back alleys and side streets, exclaiming how easy it was to bypass the traffic by zipping here and there through the alleys.  This guy's best friend, who incidentally hated me and I think was jealous in some way, all of a sudden says, "woah, settle down there Zipnstein".  I know he didn't mean it as a compliment, but in any event, I liked the name...it had a certain ring. 
     I've never been one to fit in with the mainstream exactly right, even though part of me wanted to do so.  I guess you could even say I've been through life's back alleys, traveling different routes, sometimes at full out speed.  No matter how you label it, it's been my way, my route and I've followed it because I felt it to be right for me.   
     What I've come to understand is that I'd rather be truly myself than wear a mask of what I think others find acceptable or what they'd "prefer" that I'd do.  So...insult or not, I consider the label "Zipnstein" to be a badge of honor.  I figure it's better to take the trip through life with joy, allowing myself to do what I consider to be best, all along the way, than try to conform to some idea (which incidentally only occurs in my own head anyway) of what I think others expect from me.  After all, when the road ends for any of us, it's you who were really driving the whole time, not some "backseat driver" who was only along for part of the ride.