When comes the wind that billows our words' sails?

This 25 Random Things About Me meme's been going around Facebook. I thought I'd post it here, too.


1. I have never been able to properly snap my fingers. I just can't manage to produce the right sound. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong, but most of the time I don't care enough to work on it.

2. I don't have perfect pitch. I meet a lot of people who seem to think it goes hand-in-hand with being a composer. It really doesn't, though - I know plenty of composers who don't have it.

3. I went to the nerdiest summer camp of all time (yes, there is something nerdier than band camp): organ camp. It was a summer program for high school age organists, at Westminster Choir college in NJ. I ended up having a really great time, though. Not only was it a great musical experience, but I discovered that outside of the harshly cliquish and conformist climate of my school, I could in fact be well-liked by a group of my peers.

4. I love dumplings of all kinds: potstickers, gyoza, shumai, pierogi, ravioli, etc. Wrap dough around some kind of tasty filling, and I will want to eat it.

5. My favorite snack is Annie's Bunny Grahams. They are so yummy - I can easily eat a half a box in one sitting.

6. I have a massive movie-star crush on Viggo Mortensen. Mmmmmmm.

7. I have a slight phobia of vomiting (emetophobia). Luckily, I haven't done so in about 8 years.

8. I also have a weird phobia of wasps. They scare me beyond a reasonable aversion to being stung. I find them creepy and repulsive.

9. I'm one of the few people I know to have read all six of Frank Herbert's Dune novels. The first 4 are pretty interesting, but I think Herbert kind of dropped the ball with the last two.

10. I look significantly younger than I am. Lots of people think I'm in my 20s. I'm kind of hoping this trend continues. ;)

11. I like being in school or taking classes. I enjoy the whole process, and even like studying. At this point I prefer writing papers to taking tests, though.

12. I look remarkably like my maternal grandmother. Sometimes looking at pictures of her can be a little weird, because I'll run across photos that are like looking at myself.

13. I have extremely vivid dreams. Many of them are like movies, with involved plots and fully fledged characters. I get full sensory perception, too. In addition to seeing and hearing, I can taste the food, perceive scents, and feel physical sensations.

14. My dreaming subconscious has also created its own city to serve as a setting for several of my dreams. It's cobbled together from parts of the various places I've lived or spent a lot of time in over my life.

15. I am not much of a fan of Broadway musicals, except for Sondheim. The genre and it's stylistic conventions just don't do it for me.

16. I'm a really good cook. It's a skill that runs in my family, but I personally think that I might be the best cook in the family.

17. I am currently completely hooked on Janelle Monae's album Metropolis: The Chase Suite. it's not even my usual sort of thing, but I just can't get enough of this.

18. I find advanced astronomy incredibly fascinating. Theoretical physics, too.

19. All of the sports I've ever been interested in taking up or have really enjoyed doing involve deadly force of some kind: fencing, archery, various forms of sword-fighting, martial arts.

20. I only recently started liking cooked fish and other seafood. Growing up, I couldn't stand the stuff, no matter how well-prepared it was.

21. I love my piano almost as if it were a person.

22. I still have all my wisdom teeth. They came in fine, and I've never had any problems with them, so they've stayed put.

23. I've never broken a bone. I may have fractured a toe once, but I've never had a full break.

24. I'm really good at picking up accents. When travelling in Britain, I have to be careful and listen to myself so as not to seem liking I'm making fun of people. I'm also pretty good with learning foreign phrases just from watching subtitled movies.

25. I love looking at modern art and listening to contemporary music because I find I can have a much more immediate reaction to it. There's no weight of accumulated cultural assessment to mediate the experience.

Clearly I am pursuing the proper field and education.
( Read more... )

This is a good exercise for today, since I am currently rather displeased with my body, although for mechanical rather than aesthetic reasons.

We’re conditioned, particularly as women, to be self-deprecating, to not take up space, to not revel in our bodies and ourselves. We can get 150 comments in a thread about when we realized that we were aware our bodies weren’t up to snuff; let’s see how many we can generate praising ourselves.

Your mission: list at least five things you love about your body and yourself. Five is the floor; you can always do more. And no self-deprecation! No offsetting a compliment with a dig.

1. My hair has the best texture ever. When it's freshly washed and brushed, it feels like silk.

2. My upper arms are looking good these days. Moving up to the heavier weights has really paid off.

3. I love my hands. They're really strong and solid and muscular - I'd even go so far as to say they're buff. They look like the skilled piano hands they are.

4. I have nice breasts.

5. I have good teeth. I'm 32 years old and have never, ever had a cavity.

6. My eyes are a lovely shade somewhere between blue and grey.

7. I've got shapely calves and nice delicate ankles.

6 weird/quirky things or habits:

1. I never wear high heels, even for formal occasions, and even though I am short. I am in general extremely practical about my footwear. Sure, I like good-looking shoes, but they also have to be comfortable and sturdy enough so that I can run in them, at least briefly (as one might do to catch the T, for instance).

2. I drink hot tea all year round. Even during August heat waves in an apartment without air conditioning.

3. I don't own a cell phone, and I have no interest in owning one yet.

4. I have never owned a car or had regular access to one. So even though I've had my license for years, I'm still a rather inexperienced driver. It's been a couple of years since I've driven.

5. I hate Billy Joel. This doesn't seem at all strange to me, but a lot of folks seem to find it surprising, because I am a pianist and composer and general music nerd.

6. I can't stand the sound of a running vacuum cleaner. It sets my nerves on edge. Luckily, my husband is willing to do all the vacuuming in our apartment.

Mal: If someone tries to kill you, you just try and kill 'em right back!
*****

Mal: You've only got to scare him.
Jayne: Pain is scary.
*****

Zoë: Captain'll come up with a plan.
Kaylee: Well, that's good... right?
Zoë: Possibly you're not recalling some of his previous plans.
*****

This past weekend the Coolidge Corner theater ran a Firefly marathon as it's Saturday midnight movie. All fourteen episodes on the big screen. Other Kenjari and I couldn't resist, especially since the Coolidge is a convenient walk from our apartment. We only stayed to 5am (about six episodes) because I had to catch a train early Sunday afternoon, but we definitely got our money's worth. There was a pretty good turnout, and the audience was pretty enthusiastic. People (myself included) sang along with the theme song, and the favorite lines and scenes got applause. Some folks even came dressed up - there were several people sporting knit hats like the one Jayne's mother made for him, there was one person dressed up as River, two guys in dark suits and blue latex gloves, and me in my brown duster. At around 2:30am we were provided with a Chinese food buffet free of charge - and it was good.
Oh yes, and I have to put in a plug for the Coolidge Corner theater in general. The staff there is extra great. At around four I went out to the lobby for some tea, but all they had was flavored tea, and I wanted something a bit more plain. So the manager went in the back and got me some very good oolong from his private stash.

Tagged by sen_no_ongaku.

List 10 things (in no particular order) that bring you a moment of joy and tag 5 friends to do the same.

The feeling of warm sunshine and a light breeze.

Those times when I'm playing a favorite piece on the piano, and everything is just right.

A Red Sox win.

Eating really good chocolate.

Looking at pictures from my honeymoon in Wales.

Either beginning or completing a composition.

Reading an amazingly good book.

There are many, many pieces of music that bring me joy to listen to. So I will lump them all together into one collective item.

Trying a new recipe and finding it to be scrumptious.

Getting unexpected compliments.

I'll tag oelker, ivan23, zfarcher, stolen_tea, and hca

1. Reply with your name and I will write something random about you.
2. I will then tell you what song/movie reminds me of you.
3. I will pick a flavor of jello to wrestle with you.
4. I will say something that only makes sense to you and me.
5. I will give you a nickname.
6. I will tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I'll then ask you something that I've always wondered about you.
8. Put this in your journal (this step is, of course, absolutely optional)