getting to know me.
1. Name or preferred nickname: Kat, Katya, or Kitty. Whichever one is fine.
2. What's the story behind your username: I love Russia and learning about the Soviet era. I was like 10 or 11 when the Berlin Wall fell and it was the most awesome thing to watch on TV. I also always wanted a Soviet Red Army coat, so that's where the "red army" came from. As far as the "pariah" part, I always tend to feel like one.
3. Age and birth date: August 4th, 29 years old
4. Sign of the zodiac (sun, rising, and moon if you know them): Leo Sun, Leo Moon, and Scorpio Rising.
5. Location (as general or specific as you would like): Southeastern Indiana, on the Ohio River.
6. Where have you spent most of your life: since dad was in the Navy from before I was born til I was 16, I lived all over the US. I was born in Portsmouth VA, and have lived in Norfolk VA, Virginia Beach VA, Cairo GA, Charleston SC, Des Moines IA, Orlando FL, San Diego CA, Great Lakes North Chicago IL, Leonardo NJ, Lakehurst NJ, Norwich CT, Groton - New London CT, and Madison IN.
7. What was your childhood like: It was filled with traveling all over the US every 2 - 4 years, making first impressions at least 14 times, not attending the same school for more than 3 years. I was 1 of those introverted kids who was always drawing at their desk during “reading time” in elementary school. I broke boys’ noses when they picked on me. I played sports thru school, at the dismay of my parents, who wanted me to be more “girly” but the more they pushed, the more I resisted. I played hockey, baseball, football, soccer, lacrosse, and fencing. And I excelled at all 3. At one time I was “one of those jocks” that was popular, then I tore my achilles in 8th grade, and was on the sidelines. All-in-all, my childhood was somewhat normal, if there’s such a thing as a normal childhood.
8. At least 3 positive adjectives to describe yourself: creative, open-minded, devil’s advocate, honest, intelligent.
9. At least 3 negative adjectives to describe yourself: vain, arrogant, devil’s advocate, brutally honest and lack this thing called tact, aloof. And I have foot-in-mouth disease, where I put my foot in my mouth quite often.
10. What qualities you seek to develop in yourself: I’d love to be less vain. Oh my G-d, I pass by a mirror or a reflective surface, and I have to stop. I swear, if there was a zombie chasing me and we passed by a window, I’d stupidly stop to check my hair or my makeup. It’s sad. I’d also like to be less brutally honest with people. I can be downright mean-ly honest when it comes down to it.
11. What are you most passionate about, or what do you obsess / get-ridiculously-excited over: I love history. I was a history major, and yes, it was Chinese and Japanese history, but I mostly like the Tudor England, Nazi Germany / the Holocaust, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, Anne Boleyn, and the ancient histories like Rome, Greece, and Egypt. I also love spirituality and the occult. I love learning about other religions, past lives, reincarnation, UFOs, cryptozoology, etc.
12. Who inspires you or who is your role model? Which people have qualities that you especially admire and what are those qualities in each person: Claus vonStauffenberg is by far my biggest hero. Aside from being my grandma’s uncle, I love the man for what he had the guts to do. He headed the team that tried to kill Adolf Hitler. And he paid his life for it by way of execution. The man was great. Another is the Dalai Lama, who I’ve had the privilege to meet twice. He’s the most amazing, compassionate, wise man I’ve ever met.
13. What is your primary goal / purpose in life: I wanna learn as much as possible and experience as much as I can before my life ends.
14. How you identify politically, and issues you feel strongly about: I’m a registered Republican, but I never vote straight Republican, and I will vote for someone who isnt a Republican if I think theyre the right person for the job. Issues I feel strongly about are animal rights (PETA is not an animal rights organization, believe me), illegal immigration, pro-choice (but not as a substitute for a condom/pill), healthcare, minimum wage, taxes, sexual assault awareness are the biggest issues i care about.
15. How you identify spiritually (do you follow a religion, what do you think about soul/spirit, etc), and
in what way you exercise this: I was baptized Methodist, and basically converted to Judaism when I was 19, but didnt take the final step as I have “religious ADD” and find myself so interested in multiple religions that I cant choose just one to commit to. I’m more spiritual than religious. Tho I identify myself as a Jew, and celebrate Hanukkah, Rosh Hashanah, etc, I’m culturally Jewish (the majority of grandma’s family is German-Jew/German-Catholic). I celebrate Christmas, Halloween, May Day, and other holidays like that. I believe in a G-d type person/people, and a goddess-type person/people.
16. How you identify in matters of gender and sexuality: I’m a straight female.
17. In what ways you express yourself, or what sort of creative things do you like to do: I love to draw, and I’m trying to paint and knit. I’ve not been successful in the knitting endeavor I’ve taken on, but it’s fun. I love writing short stories as well.
18. What do you collect: graphic novels, manga, journals and notebooks (lol), pens (I see a pen I like, I have to have it...it’s a compulsion), handbags, Hello Kitty, Sanrio stuff.
19. Do you like to share yourself (thoughts, feelings) with others: yes. Isnt that why I have an LJ?
20. A subject or idea you could spend a lifetime studying/learning about: Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. It's just interesting. Especially the Nazi Doktors, and the psychology of it all. You know, trying to get into the Nazis' heads to figure out "why didnt you just not do it" instead of going along with orders.
21. How you feel about the statement, “Some human lives are worth more than others”: I used to believe in euthanasia, not of a particular race, but more of the people who were in asylums, and who just sit there, drooling and just existing, and not really serving a purpose in life, the ones whose families just stick them there and forget they exist. You know, a “life unworthy of life.” I don’t believe that now. I believe everyone’s life is worth just as much as everyone else’s. If, however, someone wants to be put to sleep if theyre in a permanent vegetative state, or Tay Sachs, I’d say use euthanasia, because it’s their choice.
22. If reincarnation exists, who or what you were in a past life: I think I was in a concentration camp (at least that’s the recurring highly realistic dream I’ve had since I was 5 years old). And I think I was at Versailles, doing something, as when I was 10 years old, I described “my room” to my teacher when we learned about Marie Antoinette, and I have never been to Versailles, but I know the layout of the place. So yah. There ya go.
23. Something that never ceases to amaze you: The cruelty of human beings. I see the news everyday and see that people kill others for no reason, I see genocide, I see animal cruelty. Humans can be some of the most cruel, evil animals on the face of the earth.
24. If your life was a movie, who would you chose to play the role of you, and why: I’d have to say Katherine Isabelle (from the movie Ginger Snaps), since I’ve been told numerous times I look like her.
25. Favorite color: royal purple, royal blue, black, and black with pale pink.
26. Favorite musical group: Everclear, SR-71, old school Good Charlotte, My Chemical Romance, Something Corporate, Rammstein, Weezer, Blue October, Franz Ferdinand, 30 Seconds to Mars, Lily Allen.
27. Favorite musical genre: Gregorian chant, glass harmonica, big band music, harpsichord, punk, pop-punk, emo, techno, trance.
28. Favorite non-pet animal: tigers, wolves, kangaroos, koalas, scorpions, vultures/buzzards
29. Favorite shows / movies:
shows - Law and Order SVU, Law and Order CI, Project Runway, The Tudors, The Simpsons, Friends, Roseanne, House MD, Sex and the City, Smallville, The Universe (on the History Channel), Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Death Note.
movies - Schindler's List, Boondock Saints, Welcome to the Dollhouse, Girl Interrupted, Chocolat, Marie Antoinette, Enchanted, Confessions of a Teenage Dramaqueen, Speak, Disney's Hercules, Superman Returns, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Star Wars Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith, The Sandlot.
30. As a child, what was something you wanted to be “when I grow up”: wow. I wanted to be a lawyer. But I also wanted to be in the French Foreign Legion. I also wanted to be Bruce Lee, Chinese, in the KGB, in Interpol, and a mafia hitman.
31. Ignoring all difficulty factors and money, what is your dream occupation: lol, I wanna be a lawyer, but law school is so expensive. I’d also just wanna travel all over the world and be a photojournalist. That’s the 1 thing I’d love to do, because I love photography, and I love travel.
32. The most private thing you are willing to admit: I admitted I was raped to my family and my fiancé. That was really hard, as I didnt really want to admit it to myself. I didnt really tell them, as much I wrote it down on a piece of paper and gave it to them.
2. What's the story behind your username: I love Russia and learning about the Soviet era. I was like 10 or 11 when the Berlin Wall fell and it was the most awesome thing to watch on TV. I also always wanted a Soviet Red Army coat, so that's where the "red army" came from. As far as the "pariah" part, I always tend to feel like one.
3. Age and birth date: August 4th, 29 years old
4. Sign of the zodiac (sun, rising, and moon if you know them): Leo Sun, Leo Moon, and Scorpio Rising.
5. Location (as general or specific as you would like): Southeastern Indiana, on the Ohio River.
6. Where have you spent most of your life: since dad was in the Navy from before I was born til I was 16, I lived all over the US. I was born in Portsmouth VA, and have lived in Norfolk VA, Virginia Beach VA, Cairo GA, Charleston SC, Des Moines IA, Orlando FL, San Diego CA, Great Lakes North Chicago IL, Leonardo NJ, Lakehurst NJ, Norwich CT, Groton - New London CT, and Madison IN.
7. What was your childhood like: It was filled with traveling all over the US every 2 - 4 years, making first impressions at least 14 times, not attending the same school for more than 3 years. I was 1 of those introverted kids who was always drawing at their desk during “reading time” in elementary school. I broke boys’ noses when they picked on me. I played sports thru school, at the dismay of my parents, who wanted me to be more “girly” but the more they pushed, the more I resisted. I played hockey, baseball, football, soccer, lacrosse, and fencing. And I excelled at all 3. At one time I was “one of those jocks” that was popular, then I tore my achilles in 8th grade, and was on the sidelines. All-in-all, my childhood was somewhat normal, if there’s such a thing as a normal childhood.
8. At least 3 positive adjectives to describe yourself: creative, open-minded, devil’s advocate, honest, intelligent.
9. At least 3 negative adjectives to describe yourself: vain, arrogant, devil’s advocate, brutally honest and lack this thing called tact, aloof. And I have foot-in-mouth disease, where I put my foot in my mouth quite often.
10. What qualities you seek to develop in yourself: I’d love to be less vain. Oh my G-d, I pass by a mirror or a reflective surface, and I have to stop. I swear, if there was a zombie chasing me and we passed by a window, I’d stupidly stop to check my hair or my makeup. It’s sad. I’d also like to be less brutally honest with people. I can be downright mean-ly honest when it comes down to it.
11. What are you most passionate about, or what do you obsess / get-ridiculously-excited over: I love history. I was a history major, and yes, it was Chinese and Japanese history, but I mostly like the Tudor England, Nazi Germany / the Holocaust, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, Anne Boleyn, and the ancient histories like Rome, Greece, and Egypt. I also love spirituality and the occult. I love learning about other religions, past lives, reincarnation, UFOs, cryptozoology, etc.
12. Who inspires you or who is your role model? Which people have qualities that you especially admire and what are those qualities in each person: Claus vonStauffenberg is by far my biggest hero. Aside from being my grandma’s uncle, I love the man for what he had the guts to do. He headed the team that tried to kill Adolf Hitler. And he paid his life for it by way of execution. The man was great. Another is the Dalai Lama, who I’ve had the privilege to meet twice. He’s the most amazing, compassionate, wise man I’ve ever met.
13. What is your primary goal / purpose in life: I wanna learn as much as possible and experience as much as I can before my life ends.
14. How you identify politically, and issues you feel strongly about: I’m a registered Republican, but I never vote straight Republican, and I will vote for someone who isnt a Republican if I think theyre the right person for the job. Issues I feel strongly about are animal rights (PETA is not an animal rights organization, believe me), illegal immigration, pro-choice (but not as a substitute for a condom/pill), healthcare, minimum wage, taxes, sexual assault awareness are the biggest issues i care about.
15. How you identify spiritually (do you follow a religion, what do you think about soul/spirit, etc), and
in what way you exercise this: I was baptized Methodist, and basically converted to Judaism when I was 19, but didnt take the final step as I have “religious ADD” and find myself so interested in multiple religions that I cant choose just one to commit to. I’m more spiritual than religious. Tho I identify myself as a Jew, and celebrate Hanukkah, Rosh Hashanah, etc, I’m culturally Jewish (the majority of grandma’s family is German-Jew/German-Catholic). I celebrate Christmas, Halloween, May Day, and other holidays like that. I believe in a G-d type person/people, and a goddess-type person/people.
16. How you identify in matters of gender and sexuality: I’m a straight female.
17. In what ways you express yourself, or what sort of creative things do you like to do: I love to draw, and I’m trying to paint and knit. I’ve not been successful in the knitting endeavor I’ve taken on, but it’s fun. I love writing short stories as well.
18. What do you collect: graphic novels, manga, journals and notebooks (lol), pens (I see a pen I like, I have to have it...it’s a compulsion), handbags, Hello Kitty, Sanrio stuff.
19. Do you like to share yourself (thoughts, feelings) with others: yes. Isnt that why I have an LJ?
20. A subject or idea you could spend a lifetime studying/learning about: Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. It's just interesting. Especially the Nazi Doktors, and the psychology of it all. You know, trying to get into the Nazis' heads to figure out "why didnt you just not do it" instead of going along with orders.
21. How you feel about the statement, “Some human lives are worth more than others”: I used to believe in euthanasia, not of a particular race, but more of the people who were in asylums, and who just sit there, drooling and just existing, and not really serving a purpose in life, the ones whose families just stick them there and forget they exist. You know, a “life unworthy of life.” I don’t believe that now. I believe everyone’s life is worth just as much as everyone else’s. If, however, someone wants to be put to sleep if theyre in a permanent vegetative state, or Tay Sachs, I’d say use euthanasia, because it’s their choice.
22. If reincarnation exists, who or what you were in a past life: I think I was in a concentration camp (at least that’s the recurring highly realistic dream I’ve had since I was 5 years old). And I think I was at Versailles, doing something, as when I was 10 years old, I described “my room” to my teacher when we learned about Marie Antoinette, and I have never been to Versailles, but I know the layout of the place. So yah. There ya go.
23. Something that never ceases to amaze you: The cruelty of human beings. I see the news everyday and see that people kill others for no reason, I see genocide, I see animal cruelty. Humans can be some of the most cruel, evil animals on the face of the earth.
24. If your life was a movie, who would you chose to play the role of you, and why: I’d have to say Katherine Isabelle (from the movie Ginger Snaps), since I’ve been told numerous times I look like her.
25. Favorite color: royal purple, royal blue, black, and black with pale pink.
26. Favorite musical group: Everclear, SR-71, old school Good Charlotte, My Chemical Romance, Something Corporate, Rammstein, Weezer, Blue October, Franz Ferdinand, 30 Seconds to Mars, Lily Allen.
27. Favorite musical genre: Gregorian chant, glass harmonica, big band music, harpsichord, punk, pop-punk, emo, techno, trance.
28. Favorite non-pet animal: tigers, wolves, kangaroos, koalas, scorpions, vultures/buzzards
29. Favorite shows / movies:
shows - Law and Order SVU, Law and Order CI, Project Runway, The Tudors, The Simpsons, Friends, Roseanne, House MD, Sex and the City, Smallville, The Universe (on the History Channel), Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Death Note.
movies - Schindler's List, Boondock Saints, Welcome to the Dollhouse, Girl Interrupted, Chocolat, Marie Antoinette, Enchanted, Confessions of a Teenage Dramaqueen, Speak, Disney's Hercules, Superman Returns, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Star Wars Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith, The Sandlot.
30. As a child, what was something you wanted to be “when I grow up”: wow. I wanted to be a lawyer. But I also wanted to be in the French Foreign Legion. I also wanted to be Bruce Lee, Chinese, in the KGB, in Interpol, and a mafia hitman.
31. Ignoring all difficulty factors and money, what is your dream occupation: lol, I wanna be a lawyer, but law school is so expensive. I’d also just wanna travel all over the world and be a photojournalist. That’s the 1 thing I’d love to do, because I love photography, and I love travel.
32. The most private thing you are willing to admit: I admitted I was raped to my family and my fiancé. That was really hard, as I didnt really want to admit it to myself. I didnt really tell them, as much I wrote it down on a piece of paper and gave it to them.