Saturday, October 25, 2008

Six Random Things about Me

I got tagged for a meme by PeppyLady and since I haven't done one in a long time and since it seemed like it might be a way to stop obsessing about politics for a wee while, I thought I'd go with it.

Here are the rules (I'm ignoring #s 4 & 5):

1. Link to the person or persons who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Yikes... Now I have to think of something to say. Hmmmm... Ok... This is hard....

Random Thing # 1: I love rocks. When I still lived in NYC and when I was still able to leave the house, my therapist's office was right across the street from a place called Astro Minerals. They had a back room where you could get some pretty cool rocks for almost no money. And because I visited them every week and often talked other people into buying stuff, they were very fond of me and gave me really good deals. Best deal ever. My amythyst geode which I got at cost. I have dragged its gorgeous tonnage from New York to Arizona to Lake Huntington, NY to Narrowsburg, NY (up a flight of stairs) to Callicoon and now to its and my own (I hope) final resting place here in Hancock. I made a collage of some of my rocks. It didn't come out very good but it did take me almost all day. Agh. It's huge. If you click on it, you can see it in all it's enormosity. (I know enormosity is not a word, but I think it ought to be.)


Random Thing #2: I have a half written children's book that I'd really like to finish. It's called AMANDA AND THE COOKIE WITCH and is aimed at pre-teen girls. I also have a couple of books for younger children that star Charlie and Sadie, my Cindy's dogs and their magic hole. So far they have visited China and Hawaii. I have a visit to Africa half finished and about two sentences of a visit to Australia. I need inspiration. I need ambition. I need an agent. If anyone has a daughter that age or is just a glutton for punishment, I'd love some thoughts on whether I'm on target for that age group.


Random Thing #3: I love books, but I recently decided to give away a great many of my books to the local school library. So far, Mrs. Law, the delightful librarian from the school, has taken about six boxes. I gave her all my parents art and nature books, all my Hermann Hesse, the Ring trilogy and a host of other items. In the next round, I will probably give her my Harry Potter's, though my inner child is kind of pissed about that. I'm not likely to read most of my books again and I'm not physically able to care for them properly. It just seems right that they should be in available to the young (or old) and curious. It's interesting what books I can't let go of. Chaucer, PG Wodehouse, most of my poetry books and much (but not all) of the more esoteric things. I was really thrilled that Mrs. Law was open to pretty much everything I had to offer. Cool.


Random Thing #4: My really, really kind friends, Nate and Dan are going to give me some new furniture. Nate's sister is giving them furniture so they are giving their furniture to me. My current decor is a not very comfortable sofa that I found on the porch when I moved into my apartment in Callicoon, an oversized end table that somebody else didn't want and an oversized chair (that I still love) from my old days in NYC. I desperately want a new TV. Even if I shouldn't, if I can possibly swing it, I REALLY want a flat-screen TV. I'm going to put it into my center bookshelf. I had a 22 year old TV which needed 30 minutes to warm up before the picture came on and flickered oddly and wasn't very good. Nate and Dan again came to my rescue with something the neighbors were getting rid of. It's old too but not as old and more importantly, it works. So I'm very lucky. Still, I REALLY want a digital, flat screen TV.... and maybe to move up from 20 inches to 26. Wouldn't that be awesome! We will see. I'm hoping that the prices will go down significantly in January or February. Of course the economy may kill my dream, but maybe not. I'll just keep dreaming it.


Random Thing #5: I was a music major when I started college. Major on the clarinet, minor on the piano. I flunked out of music in part because I was too shy to have anyone hear me play (some musician). What I did get out of my time as a music major was discovering that I'm not a tenor but a soprano. I sang with the New York Choral Society at one time... lasted through the concert with Peter Paul and Mary at Carnegie Hall before my self doubt again conquered the joy of being part of something so delightful. I was lucky enough to have a piano for most of my life until I moved to Arizona. Now I am without one. I miss it.


Random Thing #6: Six of my favorite movies (probably) are Babette's Feast, A Passage to India, The Shawshank Redemption, Dead Poet's Society, The Majestic, and Sense and Sensibility. And bunch of my favorite books are: Harry Potter Series, PG Wodehouse's Jeeves books, A Hundred Years of Solitude, Mother Night (well all of Vonnegut), Jane Austin's books, Cry the Beloved Country, Herman Hesse's books, Chopra, Louise Haye, Immanuel's Book, ok... it's a long, long list... that's more than enough.


So... this is way more than anybody needs or wants to know, but I figured if I was going to share, I might as well share for real and not tell you six things you have probably already figured out about me. So that's my meme entry and I'm not looking back. (eeek.) I'm refuse to tag anyone, but if anyone feels like tagging yourself, please let me know so I can visit and read. Which reminds me of a seventh random thing about me. I'm an awful visitor. It's not because I don't care. I'm just not very well organized so there are two or three people whose blogs I have set up in my side-bar and my head and I visit them all the time and others whose blogs are wonderful who I don't. It's not because I don't care. I'm just badly organized and easily distracted.

8 comments:

sgreerpitt said...

Thank you for sharing. I always enjoy your posts.

Anonymous said...

Great share! And I love your crystals - I'm a real rock hound, too. I have crystals and lots of river rocks as well. I brought a big crate of them with me from Alberta to Ontario. My friends thought I was nuts to do that, when I was paying the movers by the pound, but I don't go anywhere with them!

Linda Murphy said...

WOW-I did NOT know you were a clarinet major in college. That was me too. I was also incredibly shy to actually perform-I leave that to my hubby now. It's always fun to read something new about you!

I am still working on A Hundred Years of Solitude. Just picked up the new Best Short Stories, so that is taking precedence for now. Great book though!

Carletta said...

Well, where do I begin!
We have so many similar interests -makes me glad.
Amythyst - yep, my birthstone. I think I've told you I love gemstones. I remember growing up and all the gift shops had stone and rocks. I think it's the earthiness of them.
Books - I have so many stashed I haven't read that I have to stay away from bookstores and the book isle in Wal-mart. I'm still working on Life of Solitude - should be reading more, blogging less. You gave up the Ring trilogy - NO! :)
You write so well - FINISH those books. I KNOW they are good. They WOULD sell - you could get a flat screen TV - :)

Nate and Dan sound like wonderful friends. I'm glad you have them.

Thanks for your comments on my Smokey post today - I appreciate your friendship.

Shelly said...

Hey Raven, this was really great. I haven't been around lately, sure am glad I stopped by today...like you I get distracted easily.
The rock collage is fabulous, totally coveting the amethyst.. I'm impressed, I want to figure out how to do collages....hmmm, there is that distraction problem ;) Sure wish I lived closer, I'm a pretty good hunter-gatherer (for cheap) and I'll bet I could find you the stuff you need to make your place more cozy.

peppylady (Dora) said...

Thanks for sharing this.

Coffee is on.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the depth of your sharing. I was at a gathering of friends. We get together every 2 months or so. Every time we do, we peel back another layer of our lives because we feel safer and we know that it will ultimately bring us closer. The heart of the onion is the sweetest.

Quiet Paths said...

I really enjoyed reading this. Esp. about the library books. Awesome. I can't believe I actually know someone who is crazy about Babette's feast too.