Prior Incantato.
Survey
1. Name: Sarah
2. Age (no one under 13, please): 22
3. Location: Pittsburgh, PA, where it is currently dreary and raining.
4a. Three positive adjectives to describe yourself: creative, enthusiastic, faithful
4b. Three negative adjectives to describe yourself: obsessive, indecisive, prone to gossiping
5. If you could live anywhere in the world for one year, where would you go, and why?:
I'm pretty certain I would want to live somewhere in the British countryside, where I could live in an old stone castle with so many rooms I would get lost. I'd want stables and horses and possibly servents as well, so I could immerse myself in the fantasy of living in Regency England. (My guilty pleasure is reading Regency England romance novels.)
6. Explain the significance/meaning/origin of your username: Well, when I created my livejournal, I was planning on using ljp, which was my name at ujournal and my pen name at FA and ff.net, however it was sadly taken. That being said, I chose my current name for the reason that I am in love, complete and utter love, with William Shakespeare. The kat comes from Katharine, the shrew in Taming of the Shrew.
7. What's your favourite holiday, and why?:
Christmas because I love giving and receiving. I love seeing the look on a friend or relative's face when I've found them what I dub the "perfect present." Also, I love the religious connotations of the holiday, of the Nativity. One of my favorite things is attending a midnight candlelight service at church.
8. Favourite three books (besides Harry Potter):
a. Flabbergasted, by Ray Blackston, which is about a young man who moves to North Carolina and finds himself drawn to a young woman just returning from mission work in South America. It's a book for singles hoping to find someone one day, and it's funny and touching all over.
b. The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton, which is the quintessential turn-of-the-century in New York City novel. I fell in love with Lily, the heroine, and rooted for her to win and make a decision about the men in her lives.
c. Catch-22, by Joseph Heller, which I love because I'm jealous he could invent a phrase, a scenario, that's stuck in our vocabulary ever since.
9. What is or was your favourite and/or best subject in school?
In high school, math was my best, though I hated it. I'm a fan of reading and writing, so I'll say English is my favorite, though I must make an important distinction. If I am to be analyzing works of literature, I want to do it from a writer's viewpoint rather than a critic's, as I am crap at critical evaluations and have never done well in my undergraduate literature classes. My fiction workshops, on the other hand -- I'm good at that.
10. If you could ask JKR one question, what would it be?
Why did Sirius Black have to die right as we began getting to really know him?
11. Which of the Harry Potter books thus far was your favourite, and why?:
Prisoner of Azkaban, for the reason that I am a Marauder fangirl at heart. Maybe it's because she doesn't offer us enough information, or she gives us just a bit to hold the mystery, but I want to know what happened during those 7 years at Hogwarts and then also during the First War. PoA is the first book in which we get that glimpse into Harry's parents' pasts.
12. If you could have the power to perform one spell, and only one spell, absolutely flawlessly for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
The Summoning Charm because I am honestly really lazy. I'd love to be able to summon something from across the room with just a quick Accio so I wouldn't have to move. Goodness, you can tell I grew up in this "everything is so easy" age.
13. What House do you honestly think you’d end up in, and why?:
Gryffindor. If you would have asked me a few months ago, I'd have said Slytherin probably because that's where I wish I could be. However, I've learned a few things about myself lately mostly through sorting communities, and that is I'm a true Gryffindor at heart. I'm passionate, enthusiastic, a bit mad, friendly, loyal -- not to mention when I saw a lion at the zoo on Sunday I just about squealed.
14. Are you willing to accept cross-gendered votes/stamps?: I most certainly am! Have at it!
15. Anything else we should know?: Not that I know of. Really, I'm very interested in who I might be as I've recently had a conversation with my best friend regarding our inner-Harry Potter characters. So be honest and give me your best!
16. Please post at least three clear pictures of yourself:
