An Interview Meme

[kenjari]

Swiped from epilimnion.

This is the problem with LJ: we all think we are so close, but in actuality we know nothing about each other. I'm going to rectify it. I want you to ask me something you think you should know about me. Something that should be obvious, but you have no idea about. Ask away.

Then post this in your LJ and find out what people don't know about you.

Comments

you beat me to the punch line!

[pantsie.livejournal.com]

This meme is spreading like wildfire.

A question for you:
How did you first get into musical composition?

Re: you beat me to the punch line!

[kenjari.livejournal.com]

It was in high school, through electronic music. My school, for some inexplicable reason, had a little electronic music studio, with a 4-track tape machine, mixer, microphones, and some synthesizers. My sister and I managed to work out an independent study with the band director, leanred how to use the equipment, and then started coming up with our own projects. I continued with the electronic music in college, and then got into composing for instruments and voices.

Re: you beat me to the punch line!

[pantsie.livejournal.com]

How cool is that? What a great opportunity for you and your sister!

I had a great education as a musical performer in high school, but we had no resources available for composition and recording. That's so cool that your school would offer that to you.

[signsoflife.livejournal.com]

Where do the names "kenjari" and "the other kenjari" come from?

[kenjari.livejournal.com]

"Kenjari" comes from a D&D campaign that my husband Matthew ran long ago (well before he started dating me, and possibly even before he met me). It's the name for a theocratic, Japanese-flavored culture he came up with for the campaign. Later on, when we first started dating, we ran a Quest game based on a portion of that D&D game. The word kenjari has the advantages of being relatively easy to spell and say while being unique, so it's made a good user name. It's also part of my e-mail address.
Other Kenjari is the way our friend hca started referring to Matthew on LJ, and it stuck.

[epilimnion.livejournal.com]

Hee hee. MAybe we can start referring to you guys as "Lord High Priest of the great Carol" Kenjari and "Lady of all and Other" Kenjari.

Woo, too much caffeine today! ;)

[digitalemur.livejournal.com]

Are you more of a cat person or a dog person or a bird person or a fish person or...?

I think I've just forgotten the answer to this, but so be it.

[kenjari.livejournal.com]

I am very, very much a cat person. Especially orange kitties. I tend to actually dislike dogs, although there have been a few that I've liked quite a bit.
I am more or less indifferent to other kinds of pets.

[zfarcher.livejournal.com]

What is your favorite game?

And what ensemble do you enjoy composing for the most?

[kenjari.livejournal.com]

My favorite computer game would be anything put out by SpiderWeb Software. They make great RPGs that are also really affordable.
Non-computer game is harder to say. I have a soft spot for Monopoly, but I like it more for the process of it than anything else. I've gotten quite fond of Settlers of Cataan lately.
Favorite ensemble is also extremely hard to say. I have not yet had a ton of experience with any one ensemble - the only ones I've written more than one piece for are string quartet and voice with piano accompaniment. I generally tend to prefer ensmebles that have instruments from more than one family, because I really like having more timbral possibilities.

[mmeubiquitous.livejournal.com]

Vague, hand-wavey question, but what's it like being a twin?

[kenjari.livejournal.com]

I have gotten this question countless times over the years, and I still haven't come up with a good way of answering it. I have nothing to compare it to, after all. Imagine trying to tell me what it's like not being a twin. But I'll give it another shot. I don't know if this is the way it is for all twins, but it's the way it is for me.
Mostly, it's that while most people take years to find and establish a best friend, I was born with mine. I think that my relationship with my sister is the most fundamental relationship I have. Moreso than my relationship with my mother, even.
Try to imagine that there is someone you are closer with than anyone else, even your husband, parents. etc. Someone that you know everything about - everything. Not only do you tell each other just about everything (even the most intimate details), but you also have an enormous amount of shared history and experience. And remember, it's always been this way, as long as you can remember, as long as you've been alive. And this other person looks like and sounds like you, too.

And there are the little things, too.
For the longest time, even into adulthood, I had a difficult time playing board games with more than one other person.
I know that there is always a bigger half. Always. I don't care how carefully or scientifically the division was made.
I have hardly any memories of my parents playing with me. I played with my sister, not Mom or Dad.
Some parts of movies are funnier to me than to anyone else (Return of the Jedi and Coffee and Cigarettes come to mind).

There are less positive aspects, though. Finding an independent identity can be a bumpy road, particularly if you live in a smaller town and go to a smaller school. You run into people (e.g., teachers at school) who are too lazy to even try to distinguish between the two of you and thus always get your name wrong. Jealousy and sibling rivalry can be much more complex for twins. I still wouldn't want to not be a twin, however. After all, I will never be alone.

Got One:

[duskydawn.livejournal.com]

What do you dream of doing after you're done with your doctorate?

Re: Got One:

[kenjari.livejournal.com]

I want to teach at the university level. I want to be the inspiring professor who can make even non-musicians excited about music. I'd also be interested in teaching privately. And of course, there's being a composer. Hopefully, I will find some success with composing so that I will also be involved with performances and recordings of my music.