25 things about me! Me?! Who wants to know about me? el_gardner does...
1. I went to college for one year, Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia USA. It was all I ever wanted when I was growing up, to get out of where I was (and where I still am today) and make a life for myself as an artist. I did well while I was there and I loved it. I couldn't go back due to money issues. I was so devastated by the loss of that dream I haven't really made art for myself since. I miss it terribly and can't figure out how to start again. I'm afraid to start and then lose it again. (I did end up taking online classes and receiving a certificate of Graphic Design, but I did that for my job, and for some reason to me that doesn't count. Which is silly, it is art after all. But see #2...)
2. I am an idealist. And all that has ever really given me is a constant state of disappointment. I dream my little dreams and if real life doesn't measure up, than it's just not good enough. When I do realize that's what I'm doing, idealizing something, I can usually make myself stop. But I wish I could just let that part of myself go.
3. I can't sing at all. But I love to sing in the car when I'm by myself. Windows down, hair flying, singing at the top of my lungs and pretending I'm a rock star.
4. I'm a Gemini. I DO actually have two people inside me and instead of being good twins, they are almost polar opposites and constantly disagreeing with each other. It makes it hard to get anything done.
5. There are two things that consistently make me happy, packing for a trip and helping other people achieve their goals. And I'm good at both!
6. I truly believe that the world is a beautiful, magical, amazing place and that we as humans do not try hard enough to make it the best world or life that we can. For ourselves or for each other. Being kind, polite, intelligent, sensitive and all the other "soft" things that someone can be, is NOT a weakness but strength. And anyone who manages to carry their good soft heart and child like enthusiasm with them throughout their lives is a hero to me. (Noel Fielding - bless your sweet, brave, crazy little heart)
7. I'm only ticklish in one really weird spot - no, I'm not telling you where either. lol
8. I have huge feet for a girl.
9. I once danced, drunk, on the side of the road, at 2am, with a friend of mine. Car doors open, music loud, on a country road. I never dance. But we did and we laughed a lot. Later I found out that he considers that moment one of the perfect moments of his life. Yeah...
10. You know that physical joke you see in movies a lot, someone will be bowling and swing their arm back with the ball and the ball goes flying backwards out of their hand, bouncing along. That actually happened to me! In gym class in high school, I was very embarrassed. Now I would laugh myself silly.
11. I don't like having to get up and go to work. I feel deep down this whole idea of a "proper" job is something that's fundamentally wrong with our society. Our lives should be much freer. Work in and of itself isn't the problem it's the way we are forced to go about it that's wrong. WRONG! It's nothing but slavery in another form. But "they" make it real hard to live outside of the way "they" want you to. I haven't yet figured out how to fix it for everyone. When I do I'll let you know.
12. I am one of those people that will actually stop and smell flowers and look at a sunset or up to the moon and stars. (I was looking at storm clouds this morning, they looked like bubble wrap) I like being alive and I like our place here. Even though it's a hard thing, being alive.
13. I could listen for hours to most people talk about themselves. People fascinate and terrify me equally. How you do normal everyday things. How you grew up. Where you work. In what order you do the dishes and why. Where you've been, where you want to go. Artist's studios, writer's letters. Journals, notebooks, doodles. It's all endlessly fascinating to me. (You're not the only one Emma! :)
14. My favorite time of the day is the middle of the night, when the whole world is quiet and you feel like you are the only one awake in the world. When all the noise is gone and you can hear yourself thinking, breathing, waiting. There is peace to be found in that quiet darkness or madness.
15. I love chocolate, potato chips (crisps for you English folks), cheese(s) on crackers and pizza. Sadly these four things and Diet Coke pretty much make up my diet. I have never eaten anything that ends with "mite". I feel thankful for this. LOL
16. I am finding that coming up with 25 things about me that anyone would be interested to know - is really fucking hard. Oh well there - I swear. I think the best swear word in the english language is Cocksucker. I save it for special occasions.
17. I like to find out other peoples favorite things, books, movies, songs and stuff and then go and try them for myself. Other people can bring a lot knowledge and inspiration and just general cool things into your life. I try to be open to other people's passions.
18. I will NEVER understand why it is that seemingly every person in power thinks that it's a good idea that everyone conform. (I know, I know cause as a group we are easier to control that way. I hate people who think they can or try to control me.) Individuals and people brave enough to be that way are the best things in the world. From 7 foot tall transvestites in pink Lycra mini dresses to Albert Einstein. I thank you.
19. I miss receiving actual letters, written on paper by hand, in the mail. I like email don't get me wrong. I just miss the letters too. I used to draw on the envelopes, make them little pieces of mail art.
20. I like poetry and think it's a shame that it's not a more celebrated form of writing. Rilke is my favorite poet.
21. I once took a dream vacation (somewhere I had wanted to go for a long time) to the Outer Banks a series of small islands off the coast of North Carolina. Four of us rented a beach house on the ocean side. I was down sick from the day we got there with a horrible cold and spent the first four days of my vacation miserable, watching the Weather Channel and hurricane Floyd head straight for us. The day I started to feel better we had to evacuate. It was the largest peace time evacuation of the coastal US ever. We drove through rainstorms all the way up the coast after deciding to head to Ohio to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since we still had several days left to kill. I was trapped in the car with a girl who would ask questions like - will the hotel have showers? and are all the hall of fames in Ohio? The hall of fame was awsome but it was the worst vacation I ever had.
22. One of the coolest things I got to do as a kid was a couple of times we went to the drag races and my father would take me down into the pit where you got to stand next to the cars getting ready to race. The engines were SO loud you could almost feel the sound like a touch. It would make my tiny heart stutter. All that power was beautiful to me.
23. I have never gone on a roller coaster that goes upside-down. I am convinced I would be the one person who would fall out.
24. I love looking a everyday life kind of pictures but rarely take any.
25. I have a tattoo of a butterfly on my left upper arm. I had always wanted a tattoo and was real happy to finally get one. When I was little I would stare at the biker guys, who were the only people really who had tattoos then. I always wanted to touch them. Little artist me thinking how cool it was to put art right on yourself that doesn't come off. I still draw on myself. Usually a little tiny heart right above where my veins meet in a V on the inside of my left wrist. When I'm having a bad day or I'm scared, I do it to remind myself that there is still love and good and beautiful things in the world and to believe in that.
That was fun. I'm dying now to see if I got this LJ cut thing to work on my first try. Here goes nothing.