Thursday, May 29, 2008

Crazy 8's




I feel incredibly flattered right now. Marni and Claudia have tagged me for a Meme. I love this stuff. SO much fun. Even though I don't really know what a Meme is or even how to pronounce it, I can throw myself whole-heartedly into this.

Eight Things for Which I Have a Passion:
This is, frankly, a life-long pursuit. I'm not sure I have a passion for eight things, but I'll wrack my brains and present you with the results.

1) I have a passion for being joyfully alive. I know that sounds incredibly generic and cop-outish, but it's true. I love the feeling of a deep breath, how I take the air in until my lungs sting from the stretch, and how the smell of the air always makes my heart feel a little fuller than it was a moment ago. I love how the feel of the wind on my skin and the sun on my head makes me grin like a drooling idiot. I love the sounds of traffic and kids screaming in their yards and parents laughing together and the smell of dinners cooking makes me feel. The energy of life is incredibly buoyant. Sometimes the joy of it makes me feel like I'm about to levitate.

2) I adore stories. In their myriad forms, I crave them. Movies, books, music, people; they're all just stories waiting for someone to love them. And I do.

3) I have a passion for learning. Most of the things I aspire to do directly involve learning. Languages, musical instruments, singing, dancing, cultures, painting, sculpture, business, travel; I just want to know EVERYTHING.

4) I passionately adore language, most particularly English. I have mentioned once or twice that talking is my favorite past time, and the fact that I will do it even when no one else is around. You think I'm kidding, but I'm not. I talk to myself all the time. I love the process of finding out and saying exactly what I mean. I highly recommend this process to everyone. You don't know what something sounds like until you've said it out loud. Then you may find yourself thinking, "Hm. That's not exactly right. What's a better word for that?" It's an amazing thing to find out exactly what you mean by finding the exact right words to say it.

5) Food. But not just eating it. I like to play with it. I like to cook, bake, saute, fry and fricassee. I'll eat almost any kind of food with my hands (with the obvious liquid exceptions). The smells, the tastes, the textures, even the sounds associated with food prep makes me a little giddy.

6) My faith. I don't really think of myself as zealous or freakishly devoted, but my religion is the foundation of who I am. I love understanding the nature of God, and my place in the the grand (and not so grand) scheme of things. I love that the questions of who I am, where I came from, why I'm here, where I'm going and how to get there are all answered. I love that everything is my choice. I love that it doesn't conflict with logic or science, and that I'm expected to be thoughtful and active in both mind and body. I love knowing that my children will be mine long after we've all passed the portals of death, and that I will be a part of my family for all eternity. I love knowing how loved I am, that I will never be really alone, and that, no matter how small I am compared to the universe, I am completely unique and irreplaceable.

7) Music!! Music is such a power. It doesn't even need words. Words are a power in themselves, but they are only enhanced by music. It's like a direct line into emotion. So far, in my humble opinion, the power of music has been vastly untapped.

8) I am developing a passion for looking good. All the hair and make-up stuff that I refused to compete with my sister over lo, those many years ago, I am now taking an interest in. I don't think I'll ever be haute couture, but I see no reason why I shouldn't work up to my hotness factor. I'm hoping I'll know when I've reached it.


Eight Things I'd Like to do Before I Die:
I'm not sure I can restrict myself to a mere eight, but I shall endeavor--

1) I want to see the world. Travelling is a big dream of mine. If you want to know details, I will direct you to a previous post(go directly to the D answer) entry in which I spelled out, ad infinitum, the things I want to do.

2) I want to be un-fat. Not necessarily skinny, but just not fat. I want to not sit in my own lap. I want my arms to look like arms, not something that belongs on a meat hook in a butcher's freezer. I want to be able to buy Ann Taylor off the rack. Is that too much to ask?

3) Whale watching and swimming with the dolphins. I hear both can be life-changing experiences.

4) Become a Master gardener. I would love to have the know-how to create a verdant wonderland. *sigh* With my own raspberry bushes and peach trees.

5) See what my kids decide to be when they grow up. Seriously, I'm terribly excited to see what they do with themselves.

6) Hang-gliding. I think this is a much better sense of flight than skydiving. I don't like adrenaline. I like the more peaceful sensations.

7) Sail around the world. But only if they come up with a permanent cure for motion sickness, and the captain of the luxury yacht is hot.

8) Find my inner Warren Buffet and get stinking rich.


Eight Things I Say a Lot:
1) Cool
2) Right on
3) Who knew?
4) It's true, LeFou!
5) Apparently...
6) Curses!
7) Nuh-uh!
8) Who is this LeFou person you keep referring to?


Eight Books I Have Read Recently:
In the interests of interest, I'm going to just say some of my favorite books, because pretty much all I've read lately are textbooks, and I don't want people falling asleep on their keyboards. Trust me, it's hard to get the drool out from between the keys.
1) Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand. Fascinating premise, fantastic philosophies.
2) Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen. Who doesn't love this story?
3) Anthem, Ayn Rand. What? She's really good!
4) The Hungry Girl Cookbook. So many yummy recipes!
5) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I love the innocence and magic of that first story.
6) The Charlie Bone series, Jennie Nimmo. It's a lot like Harry Potter, but enough different to keep things entertaining.
7) Eragon, Eldest and Brsinger, Christopher Paolini. These are awesome books, and the movie SO didn't do it justice.
8) The Leven Thumps books, Obert Skye and Ben Sowards. If you haven't read these, you must. I am anxiously awaiting the paperback release of The Eyes of Want. Squee!


Eight Movies I Have Seen Eight Times:
*snort* If you know me at all, you're going to realize how hard this is to narrow down. I watch movies A LOT.

1) Charley's Aunt (1932)
2) Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
3) Pride and Prejudice (BBC)
4) On a Clear Day
5) Encino Man
6) Jupiter's Darling
7) The Great Race
8) Sleeping Beauty


Eight People Who Should, but are in no way obligated, Do This Meme:

1) Melain
2) Melissa
3) Beth
4) Jihan
5) This is where it becomes
6) Abundantly clear that
7) I don't have enough
8) Friends in the blogging world.

11 comments:

Melain said...

"Who is this "LeFou" person you keep referring to?"

BWAAAHAAAHAHAHAHAAA! An 'in' joke gone public! LOL!

You should have added "mmmmnn...Europe...mmmmnn."

And your movie choices surprise me. Except for the first one of course. But ENCINO MAN? REALLY? On A Clear Day? Hm.

If anything will get you more friends in the blogging world, THIS POST will. Loved reading it. :)

Shirley said...

I enjoyed reading your Meme. I had never heard of a Meme before until Claudia's post, but it seems very much like the emails where you tell about yourself (that have been making the rounds in recent years) ... more fun to read than to do for one's self I think.

I have read Atlas Shrugged probably 5 times. It is my all-time favorite book. Another reading would be good as I have not read it in a very long time. When I was given my own hardbound copy by a friend many years ago (after reading a borrowed copy the first time around), I squealed with joy. I have purged many books over the years because I knew I would not reread them, but certainly not that one. Who is John Galt? ;-)

I love all your passions, especially #1. A life fully lived is what I try to make happen every day! When I find myself holding back, I remember other sayings that I love, like "leap and the net shall appear!"

Swimming with dolphins is a beautiful thing.

I, too, want to be un-fat. I am on day 3 of listening to a mediation CD called Perfect Weight. I bought it as a lark after seeing it on Amazon and I think it's pretty incredible. It seems to be working already. I will keep you posted on my transformation. ;-)

Travel, travel, and more travel. Sailing (LOL on your comments)--we've chartered crewed yachts three times in the BVIs and it's wonderful. Seeing what my son becomes when he grows up. I so agree with all those.

Thanks for sharing!

C. said...

:) Rock on sistah! BTW, I am totally in awe of your faith. It's wonderful to hear someone admit and be proud of their convictions and to hear how happy and well rounded and content they are with their lot because of it. I am not a religious soul, I like to consider myself spiritual though, if that makes sense, and what your God does for you is what Nature does for me, but the hardest thing, I think, is having faith in myself, that's an ongoing struggle, but I'm getting there. :)

Thank you for doing the MeMe (pronounced like dream and are considered the basic building blocks of our minds and culture, in the same way that genes are the basic building blocks of biological life.) you're a good sport, Shirley is right, while being tagged can be flattering, sometimes it's a pain in the ass, too. :)

♥ you!

Marni's Organized Mess said...

Wonderful. I so wish I remembered to put the dolphin's thing. I WILL swim with dolphins before I die. I will.

:)

BBC said...

Out of curiosity, how much shorter should my posts be, and what books would you recommend?

I know that it's hard to write short posts but busy folks don't have time to read long ones so I keep mine as short as I can. Not easy I know, sometimes we just have a lot to say.

But maybe it doesn't make any difference, all we are doing is messing around anyway looking for approval and attention.

As for books, I'm not into fiction, it's just an escape, or it misleads you and gets you believing stupid stuff, may as well read a bible if you want to believe stupid stuff.

I study things like love and other insanities. And great men like Einstein, and ponder on what he would believe today.

BBC said...

How eactly does one go about studying love?

You (I) study love by reading many books on the subject, and by observing and having many experiences with women. Or the members of THE INSANE CHICKS SOCIETY (TICS) as I refer to them. :-)

I have some old books on the subject that are better than the new crap that is out. John Grey is pretty good, Chopra is an idiot. I really liked Richard Bach until he became an idiot and him and Leslie got divorced, she is a really good woman.

Blah, blah, blah.

Unknown said...

We have quite a lot in common ... and I did do this meme. Cool! I haven't read Brsinger yet, but I'm looking forward to getting around to it.

BBC said...

No need to call me BBC, my name in this body is Billy.

BBC said...

How do you recognize it?

Love? Or lust? Ah, that is where it starts getting tricky. But too deep to address here.

BBC said...

Are you looking for a definition, or do you have one from which you are already operating?

I'm almost 65 years old, been there, seen that, did that, of course I have a definition.

C. said...

Blog slacker. :( Get to work on a new post or I'll tag your ass again, woman!!