Interests: I have roughly 47 million, so it's a little hard making the time to do them all! They range from animals to history to minerals/crystals to quantum physics and beyond. I'm really open to just about anything, so try me.
Things I'd Like To Learn: Snowboarding, guitar, kick boxing, muy thai or judo or something, yoga and pilates, paintball, massage therapy, rock climbing, sign language, the list goes on..
Hobbies: Scrapbooking, making collages, crosswords, bowling, photography, being a dork
Stuff I Like: Music, candles, dancing, ice cream, cuddling, movies, pineapple, good people, walks, lakes, Firefox, Gmail, jet skis, motorcycles, making people laugh, root beer/floats, helping others, piercings, tattoos (though I don't have any), Happy Bunny, Soul Calibur, animals (esp. dogs!), pretty much anything involving peanut butter and chocolate (Reese's), and silly things, like this:
Stuff I DISlike: Close-mindedness, black licorice and anything flavored like it, popcorn jelly beans, superficiality, ppl that stop while attempting to merge (gah!), ppl that pass you when you pull over for an emergency vehicle (assholes!), typos in important things, coleslaw, cottage cheese, and noisy chewers (ulgh). I can't stand lobster, shrimp, or prawns either, but that's prolly because I'm allergic to them (shocking!)
Family: I've got nothing to complain about! My 'rents take great care of me, my 2 sisters are amazing, their hubbys are like my brothers, and their kids are incredible. I have 2 nieces (ages 8 and 4), and two nephews (ages 7 and 2). I LOVE being an Aunt. I get really depressed sometimes, and they make me feel loved and needed and put a smile on my face without even trying.
Ben and Jess
Joey and Ali
Yupper
Emma Jane
I'd like to meet:
I try to have love for everyone, even if they've hurt me or someone I care about. I read an analogy once that said that the people you encounter in life are like actors in a play: some are good, some are bad, but in the end they're all necessary for the plot to unfold as it should. I try VERY hard not to judge anyone and to never be jealous or unkind (which is extremely hard at times!) but I figure the only way to truly be happy in life is to treat others with compassion and respect. I believe whole-heartedly in honesty and openness: the truth is gonna come out in the end anyway so you might as well get it out the way from the start.
Having said that, I'm down with anyone who's easy-going, open-minded, genuine, has a good sense of humor, doesn't lie, and is mature enough to accept responsibility for his or her actions or inactions. As a general rule, if you're too afraid to assess your strengths and weaknesses and make a continuous effort to better yourself, then you’re really not my type. Otherwise I'd say that even though I'm happy with the friends that I have, there's always room for more.. so if you feel like talking to me, then go on ahead!
Music:
I "heart" music, sincerely. The feeling you get when you find a song that rocks your world keeps life worth living for me. I'm open to anything, so if you tell me something you're into, I'll check it out. I grew up on "oldies" and classic rock, I used to be a little ska/punk rat, and after that I was somewhat of a raver who listened to nothing but trance and jungle for a few years. I'd like to listen to more reggae, get into jazz, and find more good trip-hop, so if you've got recommendations, throw 'em at me! Here are some of my fav artists/groups in a few different styles. For the record, it’s not all-inclusive, and it’s in no particular order:
Classic Rock: Fleetwood Mac, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, and I'll say Billy Joel, and Simon & Garfunkel for lack of a better category to put them in
Alt./Hard/Rap/Prog-Rock: Coheed & Cambria, Shinedown, Evanescence, Breaking Benjamin, Linkin Park, Cypress Hill, Silverchair, Stone Sour, Chevelle, Slipknot, Metallica, The Mars Volta, Seether, System of a Down, Gorillaz, A Perfect Circle, Tool, My Chemical Romance
"Save us from sleep
and what we are"
-Co&Ca.
Country: Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, Toby Keith, Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood
Emo/Indie/Punk/Ska: Catch 22, Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, Houston Calls, All, Blink 182, Less Than Jake, No Doubt, Face to Face, Save Ferris
"Don't wait for me
I've got a lot to do,
Got a lot to be, yeah
But in the end,
Maybe I'll see you there"
-Catch 22.
Reggae: Bob Marley, Beenie Man, Sean Paul, Seeed, Barrington Levy, The Gentlemen
"Good friends we've had
Oh, good friends we've lost
Along the way, hey
...
But my feet is my only carriage
So I've got to push on through"
-Bob Marley.
Reggae-Rock: 311, Sublime, Long Beach Dub Allstars, Slightly Stoopid, Pepper, Authority Zero, Skindred, and my friends The Dub Soulectors
Main-Stream Hip-Hop/Rap: Eminem, 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, 2 Pac, Angie Martinez, Fugees, Mobb Deep, OutKast, Nappy Roots, Twista, Wyclef, RedMan, Method Man
Underground Hip-Hop: Aesop Rock, J5, Common, BEP, Mos Def, Pharoahe Monch, Talib Kweli, Gang Starr, Atmosphere, K-OS, Jedi Mind Tricks, Unknown Prophets, A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, and my boy Jive the Universal
"The grass is greener where you water it"
-Jive Dig.
Pop: Christina Aguilera, Shakira, Nelly Furtado, Anastacia, Dido, Garrison Star, Stacy Orrico
"Thought I would forget
but I remember;
Thanks for making me a figher"
-Xtina.
You get what you give away,
So give love
-Sarah B.
Punk Rock: The Offspring, Pennywise, Green Day
R&B: Craig David, Mya, Monica, Jon B, Alicia Keys, Joss Stone, Marques Houston, Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke
Aalyiah ~R.I.P.~
Rock: Dave Matthews Band, 3 Doors Down, Dispatch, Guster, Sim Redmond Band, Maroon 5, Barenaked Ladies ("If I had a million dollars, I'd buy you a monkey"), David Grey, Incubus, Lifehouse, Tantric, Nickelback, Vertical Horizon, The Cranberries, Third Eye Blind, RHCP, Daughtry
"Dark clouds may hang over me sometimes,
but I'll work it out"
-DMB.
Singer-Songwriter: Fiona Apple, Norah Jones, Sarah Bareilles, James Blunt, Jack Johnson, John Mayer
"Don't let your dreams be dreams"
-JJ.
Electronica: ATB, BT, Sasha, DJ Dara, Kosheen, Frankie Bones, AK1200, DJ Aphrodite, Datcyde, Darude, Fragma, DJ Odi
Trip Hop: Portishead, Lamb, Diplo, Zero 7
Movies:
I watch all types of movies (except horror, actually), but it seems like the only ones I ever buy are either really depressing and messed up.. or they're cartoons. Go figure. Here are some favs (and in alphabetical order too!):
40 Year Old Virgin, 300, Aladdin, American History X, Big Lebowski, Boiler Room, Boondock Saints, Bourne Identity/Supremecy, Butterfly Effect, Casablanca, Crazy/Beautiful, The Crow, The Departed, The Fast and the Furious (listen, I KNOW it's corny), Fight Club, Friday, Garden State, Girl Interrupted, Gladiator, The Godfather(s), Harry Potter(s), Hitch, How High, Ice Age, The Island, The Italian Job, Lilo & Stich, Lion King, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Office Space, Old School, Original Kings of Comedy, Pirates of the Caribbean, Pulp Fiction ("It's the one that says 'Bad Motherf*cker' on it"), Rain Man, Requiem for a Dream, Rounders, Scarface, The Score, Shrek(s), Se7en, Star Wars, Super Troopers, Traffic, Training Day, Transformers (big dork!) X-Men(s)
Television:
I really don't watch much TV, and when I do, it's usually MTV, VH1, or BET. I like music videos, what can I say. Shout outs to the National Geographic Channel (Dog Whisperer!) and Animal Planet and honorable mentions to Fox (American Idol, ha), HBO (movies and comedy specials), Bravo (for Top Chef) and whatever channel LOST is on. Also a fan of Family Guy, Southpark, Chapelle's Show, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force, which are all hilarious.
Books:
I used to read ALL the time. I couldn't sit down and not be reading and I'd ask for books as presents. Yeah, it sounds lame but it made me smart, so there! I had a hard-cover collection of Jack London's works, like White Fang (I was fascinated with wolves), and I read a lot of educational mags. So basically I knew all sorts of useless trivia, and I had the vocab of a grad student at the age of 10. Then one day, I just stopped. It was prolly because of Honors English, but regardless, I gave up. Probably not the best tactic, in retrospect, but c'est la vie.
Summer '03 I finally started to read recreationally again. I started with Girl, Interrupted (which the movie was based on), and then later I read The Da Vinci Code, (couldn't put it down) and also Ash Wednesday by Ethan Hawke, which was a pleasant surprise.
I have the first 6 Harry Potter books and I would really like to read the Lord of the Rings trilogy too, but I haven't started either yet. For some reason I tend to prefer non-fiction so I read those first.
Most recently I've read 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, Into the Bermuda Triangle, and both of Cesar Milan's books: Cesar's Way and Be the Pack Leader.
Heroes:
As in, sandwiches? Just kidding. I don't have any "heroes" in a conventional sense, and I don't really idolize famous people or bands like I see others do. It's not a new phenomenon; I could never come up with anyone when I was younger either. I specifically remember a time in middle school when we were supposed to do a report on our hero or role-model, and while everyone else did theirs on Michael Jordan, I wound up picking Mary Antoinette out of an encyclopedia. Some hero!
I look up to Angelina Jolie in a way, because I identify with her and I admire how she is raising awareness for important issues (plus she's gorgeous!) and to others like her, like Wyclef, who use their fame and influence to better the world (Yele Haiti). Movie stars and rock stars are regular people who are pros at what they do. I don't think they are any more or less talented than any other professional (e.g. doctor, professor, therapist, etc.) ..our culture just glamorizes them because we apparently have nothing better to do.
I guess my heroes are just everyday people who make it through extraordinary situations and still have a smile on their face. (Aww!)
Deepak Chopra says that "every decision you make is a choice between a grievance and a miracle," and I believe that. Your perspective changes everything, and little, insignificant you are interwoven with everyone and everything else on this planet ..so "do the right thing," every time.
PS: Stop by www.forbetterlife.org and look around sometime. It's excellent.
COMPASSION.
INTEGRITY. RESPECT.
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
The one who has flung herself out of the grass,
The one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
Who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
Who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
Into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
How to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
Which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?
"The Summer Day"
By Mary Oliver
New and Selected Poems
Beacon Press, Boston, MA
