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Author Topic: My First Landmark Post Thread
Ophelia
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This weekend was full of firsts for me. Yesterday I took the LSAT for the first time, and for the first time I went to Ann Arbor for visiting purposes without seeing my best friend from high school (The silly thing was taking a nap when I called.). Today I went to a baby shower for the first time, in honor of the first cousin I will have on my mother's side of the family. And this is also the first landmark post thread I have started, having reached 1000 mere weeks before Papa Moose started the biographical tradition that now runs rampant here. I suppose this is my first time ever getting 2000 posts on an internet forum as well. Anyway, on with the boring biography:

Nearly twenty years ago, I was born a conehead: my tiny ears and bald little head pointed boldly toward the sky. Eventually, my right ear and my head completely lost their points (No, they didn’t become pointless!), but my left ear retains its point. My mother told me that this proved that I was really an elf, but while I longed to believe this, I never quite did, especially after she told me that my name was Endora Smellyfoot. Endora sounded elven enough, but I just couldn’t imagine an elf named Smellyfoot. Furthermore, she told my brothers that they were named Rumplestilskin Gnarlybones and Merlin Magic, and I knew that she was their real mother because I had been there throughout her pregnancy, so she was definitely lying to them, and probably lying to me. I decided that, unfortunately, Lindsay was my real name after all.

It had actually taken a long time for me to realize that Lindsay was my name. Before she called me Endora, my mother would call me her “baby doll.” So when people would ask me my name, I would smile and say “Baby Doll.” Eventually I changed it to “Inzy Doll,” then eventually just “Inzy.” But finally I could both recognize and pronounce my name. Who would have thought it would be that difficult?! In the unlikely event that I ever have children, I will make sure that they are certain of their own names before I give them nicknames, and those names will not begin with L or R.

I had a fairly typical upperish-middle-class upbringing. My father is an automotive engineer, my mother a psychiatric nurse who became a housewife when I was born. I am the oldest of three children, my brothers having been born when I was two. I was always a bit jealous of their twinship; several of my childhood fantasies involved me having a twin of my own. Really, though, their twinship worked to my advantage: whenever we went on family trips, I got to bring a friend. The boys, on the other hand, were expected to always be each others’ friends. They are good friends to each other, but it also takes very little to get them to fight. Thus, if I’m mad at one of them, I can always get the other one to take my side.

I grew up, avid reader, excellent student, gymnast from age six to thirteen (I used a minor injury as an excuse to quit because I had evil coaches.), swimmer from age eight to seventeen (I quit because I didn’t want to swim in college, although I could have at many of the places I was looking.), actress and techie from age thirteen on. In elementary school I was in the popular circle with three other little blonde girls from my subdivision whose names, like mine, all ended with the syllable “i” (Jackie, Carrie, and Ceci). In middle school I recognized them for the mini-bitches they were, but not before one convinced me to ditch my best friend Greg, who moved to Ohio before I ever had a chance to apologize. I was completely miserable at this point, even though I had other friends. I became very quiet and withdrawn. The only bright spots I can remember from my sixth-grade year were my chance to meet and eat lunch with Gordon Korman, my favorite author at the time, and when I read Dune and its sequals, which got me interested in science fiction. By second semester seventh grade I was sick of everything. I asked my mother if there was any way I could get out of that school. She decided that my best option would be to go to high school a year early. She talked to my counselors, and BOOM! I was in eighth grade classes the next day. They were impressed with the SAT and ACT scores I had gotten when I took the tests through the Midwest talent search or whatever, and as I had very good grades, they saw no reason why not to let me skip a grade. They decided I should do it then rather than later so that I could make friends. I guess that was the right thing to do, because even though I was still quiet and shy, I got along very well with the girls in my new homeroom class, and to this day I am friends with most of them.

High school was a busy time. I was now swimming twice a day, as well as participating in the theater club, German club, and Key club. In the spring of my freshman year I was in my first community theater production, a delightful musical called “How to Eat Like a Child and Other Lessons in Not Being a Grown-Up.” I thought that theater would help me with my shyness, but it didn’t, really. It was easy for me to not be shy about pretending to be someone else, but I couldn't get over my shyness when playing myself. But the summer after my freshman year I took a three-week trip to Australia with People to People Student Ambassadors, and that did help me. There’s nothing like an loosely chaperoned trip halfway around the world to bring a girl out of her shell. A month-long school-sponsored trip to Germany the next summer helped further.

And yeah. . .that pretty much made me the girl I was when I first came to Hatrack at the start of my last semester of high school. Add two and a half mostly good years of college at Rice University in Houston and you get the girl I am today.

Now that you've read that boring story, I'm sure you have even more questions about my ever-so-exciting life. Ask away if you feel the need. Or if you just like asking questions.


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Black Fox
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I think you sound like a wonderful person Ophelia. I wish you much luck in the rest of your life. ::gives hug::
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Ethics Gradient
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Woo hoo for techies!

And for Australia bringing people out of their shell

Not boring at all, Ophelia


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Leonide
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Oh MY GOD...i haven't read the entire post but i promise i will right after i say this...MY left ear is pointed too!!! and my right one was when i was a baby but now it's only my left and i've never met ANYONE ELSE who has that and wow is this a run-on sentence but i was beyond excited when i reada that.

I will proceed to read your entire post now

edit: ok, done Congrats on 2000, you are a completely awesome person. AND you're lucky, because at least you got Fairy references for your ear disfigurement...my parents called *me* Yoda.

[This message has been edited by Leonide (edited February 10, 2003).]


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Leto II
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quote:
and when I read Dune and its sequals, which got me interested in science fiction.


Ophelia gets the Official Leto II Seal Of Approval for that. She even italicized Dune!

- CHEE!!

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T_Smith
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Cool beans Ophelia...

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Ophelia
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Leo, I can't believe this! We're like. . .elf-sisters or something! Awesome!
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Jon Boy
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Anyone who appreciates the linguistic term "clitic" is cool. It's good to have you around, Ophelia.
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Icarus
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Congratulations!!


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twinky
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You've met Gordon Korman?

Sweet.


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fugu13
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<-- forever envious of those privileged few who have met Gordon Korman, that god among writers for young geeks.
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Ophelia
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I sat next to him for an entire hour! Of course, I was far too shy to actually ask him any questions, but it was still really cool.
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Frisco
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How did Smellyfoot turn into a vampire??

You can have my blood anytime


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Ophelia
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That's a good question. . .I have been known to bite (and scratch--I fight dirty), but I don't think anyone ever called me a vampire for that. There is an excellent picture, however, of me jumping on my friend's back for some reason. My eyes are glowing red and the way I'm laughing it look like I'm about to sink my teeth into his neck. So some people started calling me a vampire after that picture. It's part of a rather infamous roll of film, the "Lindsay Kills People" roll, because in the next few shots I'm pretending to choke some other friends.
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ginette
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That was a nice-to-read post Ophelia, and congratulations!

I am very curious about what you want in the future. Another question I have is why you didn't mention Sam? I hope everything is OK with the two of you?

I damaged my sons left ear during delivery, still feel guilty about that, but thanks for giving me this elven hint


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enjeeo
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Nice one elf girl. I also started out with the popular kids and ditched them (though in high school because Australia doesn't have junior high)...often a smart move when it turns out they are who they are because they dis everyone else.

Congrats on the 2000!


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MyrddinFyre
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Yay!
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Bob_Scopatz
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Congratulations! It's a great post.


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katharina
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Great post.
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celia60
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Olivet
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I always thought anyone with the username Ophelia has to be cool. Now you've proved it!


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Ophelia
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*hugs everyone*

quote:
I am very curious about what you want in the future.

So am I, ginette. Right now I think that, after I graduate from college, I'd like to do the JET program for a year. That would involve teaching English in Japan. Then I think I'd like to go to law school, to study international law or copyright law.

As for Sam, I think you might have a mistaken idea about the two of us (That's okay; everyone does. They don't all believe that he is just one of my best friends. Even after they've met his girlfriend, another one of my best friends.). I didn't mention him because I didn't really mention any of my best friends from college. But as far as I know they are all doing well right now; I got an e-mail from Sam's girlfriend yesterday telling me that they had convinced enough of my friends to pitch in and buy me a plane ticket so that I can visit them all in March before I head on over to Europe. I love my friends!


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ginette
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Teaching English in Japan! Wow, that sounds great. Are you going to learn Japanese?

I really don't know where I got the idea that Sam was your boyfriend. Guess it's that photo of you and Sam.


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fugu13
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If you teach in Tokyo, I greatly recommend the Tama city area (often called Tama New City in english). Its fairly recent, well planned, beautifully landscaped, with many artistic resources, and isn't much of a ride from other areas of tokyo. I stayed there when I was an exchange student in high school, and I'm hoping to teach english sometime in the area.

The school I'm hoping to work for at some point is Mike's English School. Its always hiring new teachers because they try specifically for those just out of college who move on in a few years.


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Kyle Katarn
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Good Job, kid. I think you and I were the last ones to post 1000 post threads before Papa Moose's trendsetting post. I really need to get mine typed up...maybe later today!

--TheTick


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Ophelia
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Ginette: Well, you are definitely not the first to be confused on that point.

I'd like to learn Japanese next year, although I wouldn't have to have learned it in order to do the JET program, as I would be teaching the English classes pretty much entirely in English. We'll see what happens. I may end up going to law school straight out of college after all, or doing something completely different.

Fugu: Thanks for the info!

[This message has been edited by Ophelia (edited February 10, 2003).]


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Vána
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Best of luck to you, Ophelia! If you do end up doing the JET program, I'll want to hear all about it. I would have done it myself, if Daniel and I hadn't decided to get married in the middle of the school year. Oh well.

Also, if you take a Japanese course, I hope it's more vocabulary-intensive than mine was...I feel like I learned very little in my three semesters. It's really hard to remember all the grammar we learned when we don't have much vocabulary to use in making sentances!


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esl
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Yay Ophelia! Congratulations! Happy 2000th post.
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JaneX
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I really enjoyed reading your post, Ophelia. Happy 2000th!

~Jane~


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