I'm no longer an outgoing person online. I used to have a dozen or more online friends at once--mostly during my college years. Then we all moved on and started our lives. I hear from some of them once in a while, but mostly not.
So, I come to forums. I started out on a Buffy forum, since I'm a big fan. Now the shows are over, though, and I don't have much more to say about them. I'll still visit, however. I had visited the hatrack site for almost as long as I've been on the Internet--or at least it feels that way. But I never ventured into the forums until a few months ago. I finally decided to get an account because I wanted to view and participate in the discussions about Card's articles. I figured that some of them would certainly raise some hackles. I was right.
So, that is why I came here. But I still typically only post about "topics." I generally don't get involved in the "friendly" topics. After all, I'm pretty new and I know how close-knit groups can be.
Nevertheless, I think it would be nice to get to know others here, so I thought a new kind of introductions thread would be nice.
Anyone--newbies and regulars alike--can post in this thread to introduce themselves to the new people like me, but also to share a little extra with those people who already know you.
It's important that the regulars participate, but I understand that some regulars have problems with newbies. I won't bother to suppose the reasoning, I'm sure some of it is valid... so if you don't want to participate and are offended by the very idea, try your best to ignore the thread, please.
So, I propose that anyone who wants to share 3 things about themselves here. No need to get extra personal. For you regulars, perhaps you can think of 3 things most people here don't know. After sharing, feel free to commence general conversation. If your three things sparks conversation, even better.
This is my attempt to become more social online. We shall see what becomes of it.
Three Things About Me
1. I married my husband approximately 2 weeks after meeting him. This month we celebrate our 1-year anniversary.
2. I'm an English graduate student, but I'm not always happy with having chosen English. I would like to do something else--just not sure exactly what.
3. I taught high school for 2 years. It is not something I wish to do again, but might if money matters force the issue.
-Katarain
Posted by Allegra (Member # 6773) on :
1.I play the String Bass
2.I am a senior in high school
3.I have a lot of drive to do something with my life, but I can't figure out what
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
1) I think this thread is a great idea.
2) I have three kids, ages almost-5 to 10.
3) I teach high school science, and on good days, I enjoy it.
Posted by Katarain (Member # 6659) on :
Allegra, A little advice... please don't fall into a career. Take a couple of years in college to really examine your options--take electives you think would be interesting and see what is available!!
I fell into teaching. If I had waited a little while or hadn't thought some careers were too far out of my reach, I could have ended up as an archeologist... or a linguist... or a photographer.. or anything. All of those things appeal to me. Maybe even an oceanographer. Who knows!
Of course, I wouldn't want to steer anyone away from teaching, but you have to make sure you have a CALLING.... a desire... to do it.
-Katarain
Posted by Katarain (Member # 6659) on :
rivka, Thanks. I'm glad you enjoy teaching. Sometimes I enjoyed it, too--but not enough. I just don't think it was right for me. I don't know, though. Sometimes I think that if I had been a little more organized... if I could have handled the problems better, I would have liked it more.
I'm considering changing to another degree--I just don't know what or how.
-Katarain
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
1. I like to talk about myself
2. I aspire to be the artist that breaks us out of postmodernism, but don't see myself doing it with any of the silly styles and theories I have now.
3. I like food so much that I talk about it at least once a day. I cook a lot and I eat out too often and if I eat something I like, I'll tell people about it for months.
Posted by Hobbes (Member # 433) on :
1) I Love Annie
...
We need three things you say?
Hobbes
[ September 13, 2004, 12:34 AM: Message edited by: Hobbes ]
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
Hello I am obessed with music. Totally, absolutely, utterly in love and obessed with it.
I want to be a writer, to finish learning Japanese and German and I want to learn to sing and play an instrument.
I am single and rather tired of being single... especially since I am getting old! Posted by Allegra (Member # 6773) on :
Thanks for the advice. I need all of it I can get.
I am trying out music, but I don't know if it is what I want. I am planning on taking a career exploration course in college to help me weigh my other options.
Posted by Katarain (Member # 6659) on :
Annie,
Wonderful about #2! PLEASE do it SOON! Postmodernism is so frustrating. They make it impossible to argue against it. If you disagree, then you're just a product of the system they're talking about.
-Katarain
P.S. I feel like I'm posting too much, but I have responses to everything!! Posted by Anti-Chris (Member # 4452) on :
1. I'm wearing orange pants. 2. I like Panda Express. 3. I have not blown up the moon. Yet.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
Yuck. I don't even know what postmodernism is completely Someone said it meant that there is nothing new under the sun or something... Whatever it is, if it means more soup cans hanging from the ceiling I am not interested... But, My whole apartment is an abstract piece of art.
Posted by Katarain (Member # 6659) on :
Synesthesia, About being single, shouldn't Sara Sasse be taking care of that? I just read some of the matchmaking thread that got bumped up. Interesting stuff. In fact, it was part of the inspiration for THIS thread... see, I'm happily attached, but I'd still like to get to know people rather than just argue with them.
-Katarain
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
1. I'd be more interested in Panda Express if I actually got to eat panda there. 2. My wife is much more popular here than I am. 3. I was born a cranky old man.
Posted by Katarain (Member # 6659) on :
Speaking of being obsessed with music...
I'm listening to Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli's "Time to Say Goodbye." It has to be one of the most beautiful songs EVER. I just wish my husband thought so. I think the opera-esqueness gets to him...
-Katarain
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
WOOO HOO. An excuse to talk about Dmitri Hvorostovsky again... You have got to hear him. He has the best baritone EVER. Oh, he is so good...
I get fixated on music alot and will want to talk about nothing but whatever music i happen to be in to at the moment...
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Dang. Is there anything about myself I haven't shared on this forum?
1) I am very, very afraid of heights.
2) Despite 1), I am intensely, desperately fascinated with flying!
3) I HATE cleaning and organizing. Thus my house is usually in chaos.
Edit: MPH, are you sure about that?
Edit2: Number 2, I mean. You were definitely born a cranky old man.
[ September 13, 2004, 12:49 AM: Message edited by: beverly ]
Posted by Katarain (Member # 6659) on :
Don't know him. Don't know much about that music, in fact... I also like Josh Groban...but I got kinda tired of him.
Pearl Jam is also in my playlist. Yellow Ledbetter right now.
Good stuff.
-Katarain
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Yeah, I'm pretty sure.
Posted by Katarain (Member # 6659) on :
Call me ignorant if you must... but...
MPH's wife is...?
If I had to guess, I'd guess Beverly, since she asked if he was sure... Maybe not?
-Katarain
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Yeah, we are most definitely married.
Porter (MPH) Me
Posted by Katarain (Member # 6659) on :
Aaaw:) Ya'll make me wish my hubby posted here. Alas, he's not much for the forum environment and I've only gotten him to read one OSC book so far. He's much more the IRC/Mux type guy.
Maybe someday.
-Katarain
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I loved Pearl Jam in High school... Now I am obessed with DIR EN GREY And now... Hvorostovsky... what a voice. Like dark chocolate... mmm!
I too hate heights, but I want to go hang gliding.
Posted by fiazko (Member # 5812) on :
1. When I die I want my ashes to be released into space.
2. Two of my lifelong dreams are to perform at Radio City Music Hall and carry the Olympic Torch (since I will never actually be able to participate in a sport).
3. I am in love with my living room.
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Katarin, one can always hope. Posted by Katarain (Member # 6659) on :
fiazko,
what is it about your living room?
-Katarain
Posted by fiazko (Member # 5812) on :
It's like it was made specifically for my bachelorette pad stuff. Plus, I have been on this huge kick of mounting and framing just about anything I can get my hands on, and my latest project involved a small RotK calendar which turned out phenomenally. The room is not quite finished, but I can just sit and look and be perfectly content. When it's done, I will very likely take pictures and post them because I love it so much.
Posted by Katarain (Member # 6659) on :
That's cool.
I enjoy just looking at pretty things... like I got a dozen roses "just because" from my honey the other day. I'll just burst out with "my roses are so pretty!" at odd times..
Not really the same thing, but I felt like sharing.
-Katarain
Posted by Geomancer (Member # 6299) on :
1. I am in the eleventh grade and want to be a musician, historian, or perhaps a geologist.
2. My talents are playing the piano, writing sheet music and lyrics/poetry, sometimes drawing, acting, singing, and sometimes dancing.
3. If I didn't tell some people my age over the internet, they would begin to think that I am in my mid-twenties.
Posted by Allegra (Member # 6773) on :
Ages are generally hard to guess on the internet. Not to say that you don't act like a 20 something, but most guesses about age are based more on appearance then anything.
Posted by Geomancer (Member # 6299) on :
Yeah, but also I guess I am influenced by the people I speak with. If I am speaking with a bunch of typical people of my age I tend to be very stupid and immature. It's sort of my curse. But I try.
Posted by Allegra (Member # 6773) on :
I defiantly act more mature with adults then people my age, and act more my age with people my age. I think it is natural.
Posted by Geomancer (Member # 6299) on :
Yeah, it is. For the most part, I find myself more at home with older or more intelligent and mature people. Although people who are so intelligent that they have to correct everything that I say, or people so mature that they can't even take a joke, that is just irritating. They are almost more childlike than other people.
Posted by Allegra (Member # 6773) on :
I don't think not telling jokes is a sign of maturity. It is a sign of being overly serious.
Posted by Geomancer (Member # 6299) on :
Well, yeah. Little miswording. Posted by Allegra (Member # 6773) on :
Since we seem to be the only ones posting on this at the moment do you want to just IM me?
Posted by Geomancer (Member # 6299) on :
Well, good night all. It's time to start on Speaker for the Dead and head off to sleep.
Posted by Geomancer (Member # 6299) on :
How about just IM me whenever you see me on. Probably not too much during the schoolweek, though. Goodnight. Posted by Geomancer (Member # 6299) on :
X the River Styx
Posted by Mr.Funny (Member # 4467) on :
1. People here, for some reason, commonly think that I am someone other than the teenage guy that I am, such as a middle aged southern woman or a 30 year old man.
2. I play way too many video games.
3. I avoid serious threads because they scare me. Sort of.
Posted by Allegra (Member # 6773) on :
They scare me a little too. I am afraid someone will totally disprove what I say.
Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :
Say what you believe and their approval doesn't matter.
Although you might have the opportunity for some invaluable introspection.
-Trevor
Posted by Allegra (Member # 6773) on :
I am more afriad of saying something that is wrong factually, and being called out on it.
Posted by Katarain (Member # 6659) on :
I do that all the time... I think...
I see it as an opportunity to make others feel good about themselves when they correct me.
Sometimes I just do it to get a response... like Peter and Valentine do when they're first starting out on the nets. Deliberately inflammatory so they could get responses and get better. Although others are much better at THAT than me.
-Katarain
Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :
There is nothing wrong with being factually incorrect - an opportunity to learn is a valuable thing.
-Trevor
Edit: For an embarassing typo
[ September 13, 2004, 02:24 AM: Message edited by: TMedina ]
Posted by Ralphie (Member # 1565) on :
There are those people that will bring up all of your errors in future arguments to invalidate anything you'll ever say again.
It's best to just never say anything, except for the occassional smiley.
But not too many of them, either. Posted by Allegra (Member # 6773) on :
Not to scare newbies or anything
Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :
It all depends on the poster and the manner in which you are proven wrong.
If you are graceful in defeat, odds are you won't have it dredged up time and time again.
If tend to post in a cocky or arrogant fashion, you're more likely to be the victim of deflating.
It does help if you're open to the possibility of being proven wrong.
-Trevor
Posted by Ralphie (Member # 1565) on :
quote: Not to scare newbies or anything
But they're always whining and stuff.
edit: And because I'm such a nice guy, I'll say that my sarcastic post beforehand was merely a very adept stab at humor (it made me chuckle while posting it, therefore it was adept) and not intended to be taken as a valid suggestion or "tip" at all.
[ September 13, 2004, 02:55 AM: Message edited by: Ralphie ]
Posted by Katarain (Member # 6659) on :
ummmmm..... certain people haven't shared their 3 things!! *best teacher scolding face*
Now now! Play by the rules, kiddies.
(My teacher face was always good.)
-Katarain
Posted by Katarain (Member # 6659) on :
That was my 100th post!!
Woo Woo!
-Katarain
Posted by Ralphie (Member # 1565) on :
1. I look killer in a bodice.
I think I'll wear my ren faire outfit to work tomorrow.
Posted by Telperion the Silver (Member # 6074) on :
1) Gay 27 year old... single... stunningly handsome... intelligent
2) Musician and actor... sing First Tenor.
3) Tolkien nut... erm.. scholar. Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Wow, the bank you work in must have a very different dress code than the one I bank at!
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
1) I'm Jewish (and not religious orthodox, contrary to what people think, since I'm prone to wearing long skirts all the time, but there's no connection between the two).
2) I was born in Jerusalem, but haven't lived here since last month, when I came for a year to study at the Hebrew U.
3) I love to sing, I sing in various choirs, take private voice lessons, perform in as many shows as I can find to take part in, and am looking to possibly go to a music school next year when I go to college.
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
1) I was named 'Most Fearsome New Villain' in Devils, Demons, and Demagogues, 2005
2) I have almost completed construction on the Implacable Engine of Ultimate Destruction. Califonians, beware!
3) My daughter, Junebug, started first grade last week!
[ September 13, 2004, 09:16 AM: Message edited by: Scott R ]
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
1) I used to wear the Billy Bob suit at a Birmingham, Alababama, Chuck-E-Cheese.
2) My house has been decorated with a really cool piece of cat furniture that's almost as tall as I am.
3) I prefer mustard on my fries.
(Hi, Katarain! )
[ September 13, 2004, 09:38 AM: Message edited by: Sara Sasse ]
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
1. I can become mediocre at anything I set my mind to.
2. I started working at fourteen so that I could buy food. My first job was a pin-setter at the German Country Club in Savannah, GA.
3. I torture myself by staring at the dog adoption websites (ie Humane Society) and wondering which will be the next to be put to sleep. I torture my husband by begging him to let us save just one.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
quote:2. Two of my lifelong dreams are to perform at Radio City Music Hall and carry the Olympic Torch (since I will never actually be able to participate in a sport).
I didn't know this about you, fiazko! Perform WHAT at radio city music hall? Do you play an instrument or sing?
Farmgirl (still thinking of what 3 things she wants to use)
Posted by Eduardo_Sauron (Member # 5827) on :
Hmmm... let's see...
1) Although I'm Brazilian and live in sunny Rio de Janeiro, I don't go much to the beach, and people call me "Casper, the friendly ghost", sometimes.
2) If I don't tell my age (28) and profession (Teacher), people sometimes think I'm a teenager, when I go online.
3) I love very diverse musical styles: Loreena Mckennitt, Enya, Blackmore's Night, Bossa Nova (Tom Jobim, João Gilberto), Heavy Metal (Blind Guardian, Rhapsody, Nightwish, TEN...)
Well...that's it, for now. Hey, I thought this thread was a great Idea! It's nice to know more about fellow hatrackers!
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Scott: Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
quote:1. I can become mediocre at anything I set my mind to.
Hey! Me too! And actually one of my life's goals is to open the Museum of Mediocre Art.
Ack! That's postmodern too!
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
I was serious about that, Annie. My years of being the best at anything apparently ended in middle school.
I can now speak a little bit of Spanish and Japanese, but would be utterly lost in a country with either as their national language. I can sort of sew something that I could probably wear if I really had to, but I can never, ever wash it. Most of the diapers I throw end up in the trash can, but some end up behind the computer desk. I make one or two really tasty things and burn everything else. I can play enough guitar to keep a rhythm up, but I am not good enough to hold my own. I can change my own flats and fluids, but I wouldn't have a clue what to do if my car had an electrical problem. Oh, and with a couple of days of practice I could probably paint a picture that would kinda essentially look like whatever I was painting.
I'm mediocre at almost everything.
[ September 13, 2004, 10:52 AM: Message edited by: PSI Teleport ]
Posted by delicate flower (Member # 6260) on :
1. In the beginning of July I moved from the small Western/Upstate New York town where I spent most of my life to Long Island for my job. I’ve spent most of the summer wondering if I was crazy to do it. 2. None of my family or friends are willing to buy books for me for Christmas and/or birthdays unless I give them a very specific list. They say it’s too hard to know what I’ve already bought for myself. I can understand were they are coming from, even I have a hard time remember what books I already have, but it’s not as special to get a gift certificate or a book as a present if I’ve specifically asked for it by name. I like gifts that show someone stood in a store and thought, “I’d bet Rachel would like that.” 3. At least half of the people I think of when I refer to “my family” are not related to me by blood or marriage.
Also, I have a theory that America love mediocrity, hence the popularity of Kenau Reeves and Kevin Costner. So, PSI, you are in the right place.
Posted by ? (Member # 2319) on :
1. I have dreams of being a singer/songwriter, but am finding the songwriting more difficult then I first thought.
2. I'm 21, but could easily pass for 16 or 17. Not on the internet.
3. My odd pet peeve is extension chords. No matter how I roll them up they always get tangled up when I unroll them.
?
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Kevin Costner hasn't been popular for about a decade.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I want to learn more Japanese. I feel like a novice at everything, a master of nothing.
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
quote: 3. At least half of the people I think of when I refer to “my family” are not related to me by blood or marriage.
Ditto.
Posted by delicate flower (Member # 6260) on :
quote:Kevin Costner hasn't been popular for about a decade.
And thank God for it.
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
I'm trying not to groan at being compared to those two. Posted by cyruseh (Member # 1120) on :
1. I have been a full time skateboarder for more than 10 years. Full time meaning, almost every day I'll grab my board and go skating, and on the weekends I'll usually skate the whole day.
2. After getting an associates degree and working full time at a 'professional' office, I plan to quit at the end of the year so that I can go back to school full-time (not sure what I want to study yet). I guess I'll be a sophomore at age 23.
3. I dated a girl for 4 years, and now that we have been broken up for about a year and a half, I think I am finally able to move on...
Posted by Brinestone (Member # 5755) on :
1. I want to know why you didn't like teaching, 'cause I'll be doing my student teaching next semester in English. I'm simultaneously excited because I think I will be good at it and will really enjoy it, and terrified that I will hate it and find myself unqualified for anything else after five years of school.
2. I'm married to the late, great Jon Boy, who is currently taking a sabbatical from Hatrack but has his own forum. We met because of Hatrack.
3. I'm struggling to write an epic fantasy novel.
Posted by Katarain (Member # 6659) on :
Well, the last thing I would want to do is turn someone away from teaching. We need teachers. We need good teachers. And there is not enough support for teachers. It's shameful, really.
Whether or not you'll like teaching has a lot to do with your attitude and your drive for the job. I had a bad first year--I was virtually supportless. I had a mentor, another teacher, who was too busy to care... policies that were never explained to me (I missed orientation because I was out of state, and even though I asked, no one thought to tell me what I needed to know)... and poorly behaved students.
That last one was pretty much my fault, though. I didn't know how I should start the year. That's one of the problems with most education systems--they don't teach you enough about classroom management, and when they try, usually the teachers teaching it haven't been in the high school classroom in years--if ever!
There are a lot of problems with the system.
This doesn't, however, mean that you aren't meant to teach! A LOT of teachers thrive in the environment! It means a lot to them to guide students... to teach them... to make a difference for just one student. Even I did that a little. I did care about the students (most of them). There were days I absolutely loved... I felt they were actually getting it. But I didn't have enough of those days. With practice, I got better. My second year was much better than my first, and I'm sure my third would have been even better--but by the end of my second year I already knew it wasn't for me. I knew I COULD excel, but I didn't want to. I didn't want to end up 10 years down the road still a teacher.. still in the same place. (Although I have considered college professor... totally different ballgame.)
This is just a summary... despite its length. I'm typing quickly because I need to go pick up my husband... more later.. if I think of anything...
-Katarain
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
my father says I should be a teacher. But I am too shy.
Posted by Space Opera (Member # 6504) on :
1. I am a book whore.
2. I'm at a really weird place in my life where I can't decide what I want to do.
3. My dog is one of my best friends.
space opera
[ September 13, 2004, 01:35 PM: Message edited by: Space Opera ]
Posted by amira tharani (Member # 182) on :
Wow, learning lots of new things about people today.
1. I had my first day of teacher training today - observing in a primary school, though I'm actually training to teach Religious Studies at secondary level. *deep breath* I think I can do this...
2. I was born in London to Tanzanian Asian parents (who both spent their younger days in Dar Es Salaam but met and married here) and have lived in London all my life but for a four-year spell at university in Oxford. My parents, however, moved to Uganda when I was eleven and still live there. Thus the answer to "where are you from?" is a tricky one... especially as I don't look Indian.
3. I cannot walk into a bookshop without buying a book. I also can't walk into a lending library without taking a book out.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I can't go into library without taking out books either!
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
I can't walk into a library without taking out a couple other thugs.
Yo.
Posted by delicate flower (Member # 6260) on :
quote:I cannot walk into a bookshop without buying a book.
I love the word "bookshop" I would much rather buy something at a "shop" than a "store". I think I'll start using that term more.
Posted by Da_Goat (Member # 5529) on :
1. My last name has no 'w'. 2. I have two cats. One named Puff, the other Skittles. 3. Despite any green fruit that may say to the contrary, Dr. Pepper is not disgusting.
And because 3 really wasn't about myself, I'll do a 4th.
4. I...um...don't think Dr. Pepper is disgusting.
[ September 13, 2004, 03:07 PM: Message edited by: Da_Goat ]
Posted by WishfulWiggin (Member # 6823) on :
this is fun!
1) I am in my second year of college in Ithaca, NY, majoring in Mechanical Engineering.
2)I enjoy the martial arts, I am a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.
3) I am the oldest of three in my family, just 2 and a half minutes older then my twin brother.
Posted by romanylass (Member # 6306) on :
1)I am an amateur chocolatier. I make truffles, tortes, peanut butter eggs, turtles, coconut haystacks... I am willing to try my hand at anything chocolate.
2)I love Ren Faires and Filk.
3)I am very crunchy (ie; organic all natural type).
Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
1) I'm hot
2) All men want me and Ralphie wants to kill me
3) I'm deadly afraid of insects and water
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
uh.. doesn't that fear of water make Smigus Dyngus a little difficult for you, Kama?
Wish I had known about that fear of insects -- I could have had a lot of fun with that knowledge back at KamaCon.......
FG
Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
The worst possible day. I remember, maybe three years ago, i got so mad at this kid who was trying to get me wet, I started chasing him all over the place. Plus, it was on my way to church, cause I still went to church at the time. Needless to say, I didn't get there that day.
Posted by delicate flower (Member # 6260) on :
quote: I am in my second year of college in Ithaca, NY, majoring in Mechanical Engineering
Is that Ithaca College or Cornell? I went to SUNY Binghamton, which was basically filled with people who couldn't get into and/or afford Ithaca and Cornell. So, I'm filled with envy.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
(I'm trying to think of the most obscure facts about me that most don't know yet)....
1) I used to play in a jazz band in high school (keyboard)
2) I have a tattoo (and no one asked to see it at KamaCon!)
3) I once took belly dance lessons....
Farmgirl Posted by Little_Doctor (Member # 6635) on :
1. I am a citizen of both the U.S. and Cuba (even thoguh i don't speak spanish fluently) 2. I lived in Japan for two years when I was seven and eight. 3. When I was eleven, my uncle and I succesfully built our own computer out of spare parts. I still use it today, althoguh I have to upgrade it all the time.
[ September 13, 2004, 05:46 PM: Message edited by: Little_Doctor ]
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
quote: 3) I once took belly dance lessons....
Oooo... sounds like fun! Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
1. I'm a grad student in music theory at IU...in fact, I'm almost done with my coursework!
2. I am, for the most part, a lurker. I will probably always be a lurker to some extent.
3. I'm originally from Atlanta, Georgia.
Posted by delicate flower (Member # 6260) on :
quote:3) I once took belly dance lessons...
My sister-in-law takes belly dancing lessons. She loves it. She used to be this impossibly thin women, but she wasn’t able to lose all the weight after her kids were born, so now she has a bit of a belly. She says, “I like to eat, so I won’t diet, I hate to sweat , so I won’t go to the gym. So I take belly dancing lesson so I can learn to love my body.”
I love this attitude. And my brother likes the belly dancing, but I don’t like to think about that.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
What's the tattoo of? I want a tattoo... but first, I got to publish.
Posted by Allegra (Member # 6773) on :
Megan What made you choose music theory?
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
1. I ran the mile in 6 minutes in eighth grade. 2. I played ice hockey. 3. I am still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
Allegra, I started college as a cello performance major, but realized after a year and a half of rather painful lessons and several total technique overhauls that I really didn't want the life of a performer after all. Ideally, I would've loved to have played chamber music all the time (string quartets, piano trios, etc.), but that's a VERY specific niche, and people who do that usually have to live by free-lancing...NOT a life I wanted for myself. It's highly unstable, and I just don't think I could handle it. Not only that, but this was about the time that it occured to me that I was doing my theory homework with FAR more enthusiasm than I was practicing (practicing, by the end of my sophomore year in college, had become a painful exercise in failure, rather than the joyful thing that it was for me in high school).
I liked the puzzling, deciphering aspect of musical analysis, and really enjoyed dissecting pieces of music. I've always loved to learn, and been a nerd of all types, and finding music theory was sort of like...finding a place where the musician and the nerd could become one. I really, really love to talk about music, and I love trying to explain what's going on and why it's going on. And, as it turns out, I'm not that bad at it. So, here I am, in another niche-specific profession, a profession that's self-perpetuating in a way that people outside of music (and some people inside of music) often don't get or won't accept. One of my older cousins-in-law, for example, after trying to figure out exactly what one does with a Ph.D. in music theory, said to me a couple Christmases ago, "So...your field...isn't really GOOD for anything, is it?" (Yeah, not the most tactful person on earth!)
Well, a Ph.D. in theory is good for becoming a professor of music theory, and that suits me just fine. Half of the job is teaching (which I truly love), and the other half is writing (with which I have a love/hate relationship...when it's flowing, it's the most wonderful thing on earth...when it's not, I just want to cry), so I'll have lots of professional activities to keep me busy. I like the academic world (well...sort of. That's something else I have a love/hate relationship with). And, if it's not the most significant occupation in the grand scheme of things (as opposed to, say, being a psychological researcher like my brother, or a K-8 science teacher like my sister), I'm ok with that.
Whew. Long-winded post. Hope it wasn't too much...but thank you for asking! Posted by Allegra (Member # 6773) on :
I was happy to hear the details. I am going into college next year as a Double Bass performance major. I don't know what I want quite yet, or where it will take me. I just wanted to hear about someone else's experience to get me thinking.
Posted by Ralphie (Member # 1565) on :
quote: 1) I'm hot
2) All men want me and Ralphie wants to kill me
But if I kill you, how will I know where all the men are at?
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
Allegra, I see from the A/S/L thread that you're in Bloomington. Are you coming to IU?
Also, I should say that I know plenty of happy performance majors--people who didn't have the rough experience that I did. My experience is not necessarily the norm. You should know, though, that college, especially in a university setting, is pretty intense for music majors of any stripe; they just require us to do sooo much more than most people. It's worth it, though, as long as you go into it with open eyes. Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Ralphie, Use her for bait, of course.
Posted by Jess N (Member # 6744) on :
I'm still fairly unknown here, so my facts will hopefully be helpful.
1. I used to post on this forum as Valentine and I also posted in Hatrack 1830s for several years but took a two year sabbatical. (Hi, Amira!)
2. I am a graduate student at Kennesaw State University in Georgia where I am studying Professional Writing (instead of doing professional writing-haha).
3. I am a developmental English instructor at a local tech school.
and
4. I'm rather small so I often get mistaken for someone my daughter's age (10). This would be cool except that I'm over 30 and have greying hair.
Posted by Allegra (Member # 6773) on :
I think I might come to IU but I don't know. I might get away for a few years. I know majoring in performance can be tough. I have been part of the pre-college program at IU for the past 3.5 years, and I go to the intensive string academy camp every summer. I have spent a lot of time around IU music majors and I think I have an idea of what they have to do. It is a bit daunting, but generally if I want something I figure out how to get it. I just need to figure out what I want
Posted by Ralphie (Member # 1565) on :
quote:Ralphie, Use her for bait, of course.
But if she's dead, she won't do the jiggle that the menfolk like so much.
Oh, wait! I could tie her to the end of a stick and shake it! Duh.
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
heehee....oh, you're one of the STRING ACADEMY people! *runs away*
Just kidding Well, if you end up coming to IU, I'm sure I'll see you here. (In fact, I've probably already seen you here!) Good luck on deciding what you're going to do Let me know if there's anything else you want to know!
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Ralphie, she likes ducks, and feeds them in the pouring rain. (So you have something to work with here)
Posted by Allegra (Member # 6773) on :
Why is the sring academy bad? Besides monopolizing the practice rooms and occasionally being rude.
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
1. I am shamefully addicted to glossy magazines and junk tv.
2. I procrastinate. A lot.
3. I'm getting married in mid-January and plan to buy my dress in the January sales.
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
Ya hit the nail on the head there Not that I care much about the practice rooms, mind you. Actually, now that they've denied all the twelve-year-old boys access to the computer labs (and subsequently their porn supply), I don't have much of a beef with string academy. I work in the computer labs, and my first summer there I was CONSTANTLY throwing string academy kids off the computers for looking at porn. Aside from being occasionally loud, though, I don't think string academy students are that bad. Posted by Allegra (Member # 6773) on :
The year round students who go to the string academy tend to be more polite and respectful. We roll our eyes at some of the people that come here too.
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
Yeah, I know you're not all bad Most of the year-round folks pretty much blend in with the students, unless they're REALLY young. As I said, I've probably seen you around--I'm starting my fifth year here.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
1. I'm an introverted extrovert, meaning I never shut up around my friends, and I never talk around strangers. I'm learning that this is not necessarily the best way to make friends when you don't know anybody.
2. I love fluffy books, they're my therapy. I'm so much more relaxed when I can take a break and read a book that requires absolutly no thought.
3. I'm stuck on the word absolutly. I can never remember how to spell it, so I alternate spelling it with and without the e.
Katarain, I'd love to hear the story of your and your husbands' courtship if you'd like to tell it.
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
See, blacwolve, I make good pals with people like you. I crave shy people. I just talk and talk until they talk just to get me to shut up for a while.
Your silence would not bother me. : )
Posted by punwit (Member # 6388) on :
If I'm supposed to list 3 things that aren't already known about me I'm gonna hafta dig a bit.
1. I was a national competitor in judo as a child. 2. I'm secretly spiritual. 3. Besides OSC I've also been told I resemble Russel Crowe.
Obviously I had to dig really deep.
Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
quote: Ralphie, she likes ducks, and feeds them in the pouring rain. (So you have something to work with here)
Myr made me do it.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Hmm, true. Ralphie, you had better capture Myr as well.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Myr can be no more captured than the tide upon the sand.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
Russell Crowe? Really, punwit? I think that may be stretching it a bit.....
FG
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
1. Things I used to like but don't anymore: pets, listening to music, Television, print media, fiction, oogling cars, the first names my husband picked for my children. It's not that I dislike them, they are just "there". Fortunately, their middle names all have a special meaning for me.
2. I've studied a truckload of languages that I am not fluent in. Arabic, German, Spanish, Russian, French, Chinese, and I'm now dabbling in Biblical Hebrew. I am a linguist and get hung up on the mechanics, it's hard for me to get into the music and shapes of a language.
3. When I was 28, I learned that I am an analytical, detail oriented person. Since I had always thought of myself as more of a free-spirited artist, this was very weird for me. But I am a Gemini so I guess I can be both. When society dissolves, I plan to make my way through my bread baking skills. I also like to sing.
Okay, so I squished a lot more than 3 things in there.
[ September 14, 2004, 11:03 AM: Message edited by: pooka ]
Posted by Katarain (Member # 6659) on :
Okay, I saw the request from Blacwolve to share my courtship story last night, but didn't have any time to reply. And today I just got back from a job interview.
A little side note, do you think it is unwise to tell your interviewers that you think you're the best person for the job? I really do believe that. I'm very qualified and I know I would be EXCELLENT at this position. I just hope it went well. I NEED this job so badly.
Okay... like I said in my first post in this thread, my husband and I got married about 2 weeks after we met. The story starts before that, however. We actually knew each other online for several years before we met. We had a few conversations now and then "real-time" and over email. We weren't really close, though. We were more like friendly acquaintances. When we did talk, often we would end up in some discussion about religion or politics (two topics my husband is VERY passionate about).
A little background on him... he used to be a hardcore atheist, and about 5 years ago he read the Gospels and had a conversion experience. Where he used to spend his time passionately arguing against religion and for atheism (when he wasn't talking about politics), he now shared his conversion and love of Christ with everybody. I remember being so amazed at the change in him. He was just as passionate as ever about his views, but they had changed.
I've been a Christian all my life, so doing what God wants me to do is important to me, although I fail at this often. And after his conversion, it was important to him as well.
So, that's enough background, I think. One day I was sitting at home and decided to log onto a mux that I go to occasionally. (It's basically an online "text" world where people go to talk real time.. you can create rooms, and objects, and your character... some people use them for roleplay.) It was a whim, the muxes I go to were frequented a lot more when I was in college, but the regulars still go there and I have friends among the regulars. Little did I know that SB (his online nickname) had just cried out to God for a wife. He had been lonely for a long time, but was waiting for a Christian woman who shared his values and morals. He had, almost jokingly, asked God to just stop the waiting and have a wife appear to him out of thin air. That was the exact moment that I logged in.
Okay... that's definitely not enough to go on, but it was pretty cool. He's not the type of person not to follow up on such a lead, however, and we started talking. And we didn't stop talking. We spent the weekend (which happened to be a weekend that I was going to DragonCon in Atlanta) talking online and on the phone. We went over everything! It was a whirlwind.. quite dizzying. After prayer and seeking counsel and a sureness that this was right, we decided to get married. (No, you didn't miss a step... we had not met yet. I hadn't even seen his picture.) It wasn't long afterwards that he took the 5-6 hour drive to my place and we finally met. About 2 weeks later, we were "officially" married.
Unfortunately, that time is not exactly a happy memory for me. My mother took it VERY badly and so I remember it as a time of great stress and trauma. I suppose if I had to do it over again, I would have taken things a little more slowly, but I wouldn't give up my husband for anything. I'm glad we've spent this last year together as a married couple.
I still hope to have a real wedding (it was supposed to have taken place by this month), but money has been tight... very tight. It's disappointing, but I still am holding out hope, however slim.
Okay, this has gotten really depressing. The point is, we got together unconventionally and we're still together and more in love than ever. We both don't believe in divorce (with the exception of abuse and adultery), so we work out our problems head-on. We're stronger for it and happy.
So, I guess that's my story... Any questions??
-Katarain
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
1) I'm obsessed with planning, I have pages of lists for things months away. I go over and over in my head how any conversation could go.
2) My main goal right now is to get my ba(bs) in education, and become an elementary teacher, but that could change.
3) I haven't read any of OSC's books (I promise I will read Ender's Game before the campout!) but decided to come here because I couldn't understand lunch conversations untill I did. I think now all but two or three of my closest friends are registered at hatrack.
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
quote: Besides OSC I've also been told I resemble Russel Crowe.
*whew*
I'm glad it's not just me. I saw pics of Kamacon and said to myself, "Whaaa? OSC attended?" then realized it was punwit. ^_^
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Katarin, you said that 2 weeks later you were "officially" married, but then said that you aren't actually married yet. Can you explain?
I am amused at the story of him crying out for a wife and you showing up. It actually reminds me a bit of me.
For those of you who read the "he said she said" landmark that Porter and I put together, you will know the background a bit more. But towards the end of my church mission, I realized that I was ready for marriage. I also realized I was terrified of dealing with the "dating scene". So I got down on my knees and asked my Heavenly Father to please send me a good husband quickly. I didn't think I could bear to face the dating scene after all I had been through.
I had returned home and been in my college town 3 days when Porter told me he intended to marry me. We are married now. The rest of the story you know.
Of course, he wouldn't have told me that he intended to marry me if it weren't for the other guy who intended to marry me and whom I intended to marry....
Be careful what you ask for in faith, you just might get it. Double dose even.
[ September 14, 2004, 01:36 PM: Message edited by: beverly ]
Posted by Katarain (Member # 6659) on :
Hmm... we are officially married. Oh, do you mean the wedding?? We went to the courthouse to get married... just me and him in our jeans before the judge. It sucked. He was living with me and while we considered ourselves married already (didn't see anything special with the state sanctioning it), we decided to get married right away to quiet any concerns family, the church, and others might have had.
Soooo, I haven't had my real "Wedding." you know... white dress.. walking down the aisle... big party reception.. that kind of thing.
And yeah.. he didn't want to do the dating thing either. I wasn't as specific in my requests to God. I had dated two guys before, but they were both primarily internet relationships... so I never got to "date," exactly... So, since I missed that, I tell him he has to make it up to me and take me out on dates. We already spend nearly 24/7 together already.
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I just read some of the matchmaking thread that got bumped up. Interesting stuff. ![[Confused]](confused.gif)
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Me
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