If you could choose any place in the world to live, where would it be?
I think I would want to go back to France and live in Lyons. The summer
I lived there was one of the happiest of my life. There is this great
park that I used to cut through to get to the most amazing open air
farmers market. I think about it a lot actually.
When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I think that like most people it changed frequently. For a long time I
just wanted to be a boy when I grew up, because they didn't have to sit
and act like a nice young lady and wear crinolines. But later I settled
on being a lawyer.
Your occupation now?
I am currently enjoying a successful career as an unemployed, poverty
stricken, psychology graduate student. I write papers and do research
that I don't get credit for, and my cat and I live on ramen noodles. But
it is only temporary. This summer I am hoping to become a struggling,
debt ridden, under-employed research assistant for the interim until I
can be an utterly desperate, totally crazy, law student. Yeah, my
parents are proud...
What are some of your interests and hobbies?
Well, there is sleep, of which I never seem to get enough. But, beyond
that I am a totally book junkie. I will read absolutely anything these
days. I also play the guitar, violin, and piano. I have a horse back
at my parents place; I love to go out for a ride whenever I am there to
visit. When I have time in between rounds of exam-mania I like to get
people together and cook dinner. Otherwise, I am pretty content to sit
in my chair writing in my live journal and talk to my cat Othello.
What would you say are your character strengths?
I think that I am very strong willed in general. Someone telling me that
I will never be able to accomplish something just makes me do it better
and faster. I mean I have a learning disability and probably should
have, according to the odds, never made it to grad school- but here I
am. I am also dedicated to a fault. My friends are an extension of
myself in that their successes and troubles are just as much a part of
me as my own. I don't think I could ever deny them a request if it was
in my power to fulfill it. I am serious, but not too serious. I take
what I do very seriously, but always manage to laugh at myself.
Weaknesses?
My biggest character weakness I probably my temper. It really is quite
awful. I tend to bottle things up when someone does something that
bothers me. I hold it in until one day they do that one little thing
that pushed it too far... then I explode. It is scary for a minute or two.
Then I am fine again. But then on the other hand, little things get me
really bent sometimes. I also tend to be a bit too sarcastic for some
people. I mean I give fair warning- I never promise to be nice- most of
my friends love my sarcasm, and can't imagine me ever being anything but
the cynic of the group. However, it tends to make newcomers a little
nervous.
Do you have any quirks you think are strange or amusing?
Oh god, where to begin. I have this habit of doing a funny little dance
when something is cool- only my boyfriend has ever seen it. It is way
too embarrassing for public consumption. I also make faces about
things all the time. What else? I have a lot of odd speech quirks- that
make people just kinda look at me funny. I've been known to "moo" while
in a crowd as well. However, I think my most common quirks involve
dancing. I am a really bad dancer mind you, but this doesn't stop me
from closing the door to my little office and dancing like an idiot when
I have had enough work. I don't need music- I can make it up as I go.
Some say it is absurd- I say "meh" to then for that. Oh alright, I
will admit it. I eat mustard sandwiches- just mustard, sometimes
lettuce, on white bread with no crust.
Who is/was the most influential person/role model in your life?
It sounds trite, but definitely my mother. She came from a very large,
very poor family. There was never much importance placed on her doing
well in school, because as the oldest daughter it was her responsibility
to come home from class, work the veggie patch so the had food, and help
take care of the house and the other kids. So, needless to say she
didn't ever even consider going to college- she barely got through high
school. When I was about 12 years old she decided to go to college.
Every morning she would take me to school, go to class, and be home in
time to meet me at the door. She worked so hard, and graduated with a
3.9 average. My father and I were so proud of her, but most
importantly, she was proud of herself. I think that seeing her do that,
especially at the age I was, when many girls were playing dumb to get a
boy to like them, probably altered my life more than I could ever
realize. Furthermore, I think it gives me something to put things in
perspective when I am complaining about how much I have to get done.
What are your achievements/accomplishments that you are the most proud of?
Honestly, I am pretty damn proud of the fact that I survived adolescence
relatively unscathed... No, really- I am. Other than that I think I am
obviously proud of getting through college and into a master's program.
Are you currently single, involved, or married?
I'm involved, happily (most of the time). My boyfriend is another
struggling member of Academics Anonymous. We've been together for
almost two and a half years. It is tough sometimes right now because he
had to move back in with his parents in NJ and I am here in NYC, which
seems close enough until you factor in that those 40 miles= 2 hours and
the dreaded Tunnel. I am grateful of his understanding that there are
weeks that go by where communication amounts to a nightly phone convo
that goes something like this:
Me: "oh god I am tired, I never thought I would escape the journal
stacks"
Him: "aw, poor baby... so guess what I did today?"
Me: "zzzzzzz... huh? Whaaa? "
Him: "oh I guess you need to go to sleep I love you baby"
Me: " I yah too...zzzzz"
What qualities do you find the most attractive in other people?
I find the desire to learn new things extremely attractive in others. I
am an education junkie, learning something new everyday is a goal of
mine (cheesy as it may sound). Equally attractive to me is the ability
to tell me something I never knew before.
I also think a sharp wit is important. Aristotle found it to be a good
virtue and I agree. It is important to be witty, and a good
conversationalist without doing so at the full expense of yourself-
there by making you look like a fool, or others- being cruel beyond
necessity. Not that I would say either is out of the question, just
that you have more tricks in the bag than those two.
I think being adaptable is important too. That someone can be just as
fine in conversation with the powers that be at a stuffy department
Christmas party as they are laughing it up with my friends at home is
something I greatly admire.
What is one thing you would change about the world?
I only get to pick one? That is simple- the world should declare me its
philosopher queen already. Nah. I think that I would probably want to
change the way we deal with historical artifacts. I know that it is
cheesy in comparison to like "world peace" or whatever, but seriously.
Most of the things we see in museums are there courtesy of bigger
countries or richer people going and raping and pillaging the poorly
defended nations because they can. Penthouses in America and England
are filled with statuary that was essentially broken away and stolen
from Greek temples. The history of so many countries has been so
thoroughly plundered that they can not even pull together an exhibit of
their own culture.
I think that this sort of thing is a prime example of even larger
problems- namely the lack of mutual cultural respect in modern society.
If we can't even have the respect to not go and dig up the ancestors of
the natives of Greenland to stick them in a museum, how can we ever
claim that we want to accept and engage in dialogue about the importance
of respecting other cultures?
What is your favorite food?
Oh god, soooooo very hard to decide. But probably my grandma's
Thanksgiving and Christmas noodles. I mean they are noodles, but they
are so so very much more. She makes them in the broth from the turkey
so they have this mushy texture that just feels so down home. I can
remember eating them ever since I was little. There were years where
that was all I would eat. When I had mono and first got out of the
hospital she came and made them for me, because it was the first solid
food that I was allowed to eat.
If you could meet anyone, dead or alive, who would you choose?
Easy. Dorothy Parker. She was so bold and had such a fabulous sense of
humor. She never wrote about the typical things at the time- no poor
me, husband is away at war stories, no tea party tales... She was loved
and feared all at once for her mighty pen and her wicked tongue.
If you won the lottery tomorrow, what would you do with the money?
If I won the lottery tomorrow I think I would immediately pay off all my
school loans. Then perhaps my rent for the next year- I really hate
having to remember to write that check every month. Then I would put
the money aside to go to law school. After I had done all that I would
give my mom the money to finally get to take the cruise to Alaska she
has always wanted, and get my gram an air conditioner and a dishwasher-
she lives in this old house my grandpa built and so it has none of those
things. Oh and I would buy another Lab for my dad, because the one at my
'rents house really needs a friend. If there is anything left after that
I want to buy myself a little place down in the Florida Keys- we used to
go down there all the time when I lived in Miami- there are entire
islands where nobody lives and I would love a place of my own where
Bobby and I could hide from the world for a few days at a time. Oh god,
and one of those big tree scratching post sculpture jobbies for
Thel-cat. He would have a blast.
Do you consider yourself a spiritual person?
I think I am definitely spiritual, although not necessarily religious.
Is there any particular historical era that you feel drawn to?
4th century Athens- no doubt. There is no other time in history where
you had so many great minds alive and interacting in one place. It was
the birth of medicine, psychology, science, theatre, democracy, and
philosophy. Granted, to be able to enjoy it to the fullest usually one
had to be a man, however there was one famous woman who ran freely among
the men... so why not two?
What are your favorite books and authors?
In no particular order: The Bell Jar- Sylvia Plath, everything written
by Andrei Codrescu ( esp. The Blood Countess, An Involuntary Genius, and
Cuba Va), The Short Stories of Dorothy Parker, Generation of Swine-
Hunter S Thompson, all the mysteries from the Alex Delaware series, and
the Alex Cooper series (they are great on the metro commute), The
Nichomachean Ethics- Aristotle, The 4 Loves- CS Lewis, Witness to My
Life- Simone de Beauvoir and Jean Paul Sartre (they are their letters),
Leaves of Grass- Walt Whitman, and so much more. I read way too much
for my own good and most of my collection is not in my apartment.
What are your favorite movies?
The Red Violin, Gone with the Wind, The Godfather II, Stealing Beauty,
Roman Holiday, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, some other ones I
adore and can't think of...
What is your most prized possession?
My violin and favorite bow. The label on the inside of it shows it was
completed on my birthday (October 21st) just not the same year. My
mother gave it to me- it was the best gift I could ever imagine.
What is your favorite color?
Dark Emerald Green, it is one of those colors that no matter how bad a
day I am having, whether I am pale pale white, or sunburned something
fierce something about that color makes it look all better. Needless to
say I have at least one piece of every type of clothing in that color.
What are your favorite television shows?
ER, CSI, Will and Grace, Sex
and the City.
What are some of your pet peeves?
Lateness, above all that has to big the big one- I hate it, hate it,
hate it! Also people who insist on making private matters quite public-
I live by the "we will discuss it when we get home" rule. Extreme PDAs
too. I really don't find it necessary for a person to molest their
significant other in public. Finally- "prostitots" you know who I am
talking about- the 14 year old girls walking around looking like
hookers.
What are some of the issues that you are passionate about?
I am
passionate about the importance in participating in the political
process. I firmly believe that if you didn't go out and vote you
shouldn't get to piss and moan about the current gov't. I also think
that anyone who wants an education should be able to get one- regardless
of their economic situation. I believe that our gov't needs to quit
demanding that other nations conform to its ideals- ones that often
aren't even supported by the popular majority- in order to receive the
assistance they may need. Nobody should have to compromise their ethics
so much to merely survive.
Do you have any tattoos or piercings?
A few, but I am not about to give it all away that easy!
What is something you've always wanted to do/try but haven't yet?
As silly as it may be I want to try living on the west coast. I've
always lived on the east coast- except for when I lived in France. It
seems like a whole other world over there.
Where do you see yourself ten years (what are your goals)?
Hopefully by then I will be out of school with my law degree and my PhD.
I hope I will have gotten back to Europe and maybe settled down into a
home- maybe a small family- I just hope I am not the freaky cat lady by
then!
What is your favorite quote?
"Je me suis déchiré éloigné du confort sžr de certitudes par mon amour
pour la vérité - et la vérité m'a recompense" (I tore myself away from
the safe comfort of certainties through my love for truth - and truth
rewarded me). ~Simone de Beauvoir
