10,000 things
Friday, Aug. 23, 2002 @ 10:36 a.m.
Okay, I have been meaning to do this for a while but since it is kind of lengthy I have been putting it off. I want to put here a list* of various odd factlets about yours truly, because I am arrogant and like to talk about myself.* a note about the title: “10,000 things” is a term from Chinese literature; the number is not meant to be literal but rather a poetic substitute for “a whole lot”. Of course, I could have just counted how many there are, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I will be adding to this list.
I have had the same hairstyle since high school, more or less. Sometimes I play with it, but I always go back: medium-length bob with bangs, just like Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction, except my hair is red. Sometimes I wear it a bit shorter in classic 1920’s style.
I have kept journals since I was about 8 years old, and I still have all of them in storage. In addition to this journal (I prefer the term “journal” to “diary”), I am also keeping a photographic journal (I take the pictures with an i-zone camera and write captions for them), a dream journal (though I usually mention my dreams here, I go into more detail and attempt to interpret them in that journal), and a journal that I think of as my “pillow book”. The original pillow book was written by Sei Shonagon, a lady-in-waiting to an 11th-century Japanese empress. I always carry a notebook with me to jot down random thoughts that I want to write about in depth in one of my journals. If I don’t write them down as soon as I think of them, I will forget all about them.
I have never wanted to have children, and at 27 I don’t think I am likely to change my mind. Partly because if you are not 100% committed to having a family then you shouldn’t have one. I like to say I am not against children, I am against bad parents. My father never really wanted children, he just had them because society told him that was what he should want, and he was a terrible parent as a result. Also, the kind of lifestyle I lead would not accommodate children very well, and I am not willing to change.
I think that once you stop learning, you stop living. Almost everything I read (and I read pretty much every day) is partly for entertainment and partly to educate myself. I hardly ever read “pop” novels; almost everything I read is either non-fiction (I devour history and biographies), poetry, or classical literature. I try to alternate fiction with non-fiction, and I am always reading some kind of poetry at the same time. That’s not to say I am above reading the occasional Stephen King or Anne Rivers Siddons book, and I freely admit to enjoying the Harry Potter novels.
I am pro-choice, but sometimes I think women have too many abortions. I don’t approve of the way that some women seem to use it as a form of birth control; it should be used only as a last resort or when pregnancy is the result of rape. But then again I was raised to exercise control over my own body and was taught that avoiding pregnancy is easy, so it’s probably just me.
Unlike a lot of other women my age, I have a very good relationship with my mother. That’s not too say we didn’t go through the typical bad period when I was a teen-ager, but once I grew up I realized she really did know everything! She has never pressured me to get married or provide her with grandchildren; she’s always told me I should live the life that makes me happy. And I really enjoy visiting her and my step-father. She has taken care of herself and her family since she 15 years old and is one of my biggest role models.
Even though her family is from Louisiana, my mother grew up in Southeast Texas. She went to high school with Janis Joplin, and she has the yearbook to prove it. Okay, that’s really about her, not me; but it’s still interesting.
I can tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue and I am absurdly proud of that fact.
If they are serving refreshments in heaven, they must surely be fresh, hot café au lait made with chicory coffee and whole milk, and beignets fresh out of the oil with a dusting of powdered sugar.
Like most Americans, I am a mixture of different ethnic groups. My father’s family is Scots-Irish from Mississippi, my maternal grandfather is Irish from the hill country of Virginia, and my maternal grandmother is Cajun from (of course) Louisiana. The Cajun part is how I have always identified myself and the family and ethnic history I know the most about.
I have a passionate love of cosmetics and skin care products. I have literally drawers full of make-up and am always playing with and changing my “look”. I think women who refuse to wear make-up out of some kind of gender pride are really missing out on one of the most fun parts of being a woman. Wearing make-up lets me be an artist, every day. I can’t help but wince when I see women who are wearing horribly applied make-up. My favorite brands are L’Oreal and Burt’s Bees.
I am also fond of incense and candles. I have about $100 of incense in the house right now (including the stuff I have ordered but hasn’t arrived yet), because I need to have variety. Most of it is koh, the small Japanese sticks that have no wood in them. I prefer Japanese incense because it has been an art form in their culture for so long that no one is better at it than them. Their incense smells best and also makes less smoke while having a strong fragrance. Incense that smokes too much hurts my eyes. I like the floral scents best, especially jasmine. There are candles on every surface in the shack and I am always re-arranging them to make room for more.
I have an admiration and interest in Asian culture, especially Indian and Japanese. Growing up, my best friend was Japanese and my parents had a lot of Indian friends, so that might have something to do with it. I especially like the literature of Heian Japan, ukiyo-e woodblock prints, and Japanese architecture. Tea ceremony has always interested me, as well; and I enjoy reading about the history of the geisha. I like Indian textiles and food, Hindu art and cosmology, and am probably the only caucasian you will ever meet who both owns a sari and knows the proper way to put it on. I also collect bhindis and currently have about 500 of them.
My dish pattern is imperial carp.
I am an atheist but have studied religion since I was a teenager. I know a lot about most major world faiths and some about faiths most people have never heard of. Many of my own personal convictions are in accord with Christ’s teachings (especially the Sermon on the Mount), Hinduism, Hinayana Buddhism, Taoism, and Shinto, which I have recently become interested in. I also do astrological charts for friends as a hobby (just for fun, I don't believe in astrology). I also collect Virgin Mary religious stuff, especially the Virgin of Guadaloupe. I’m not sure why, I just like her.
I am often told by people I need to smile more, which really chaps my hide. I am just not the sort of person who walks around grinning for no apparent reason. It’s not that I am a humorless person--quite the opposite. It’s just that smiling is not something that comes naturally to me, it needs to be caused by something. It has been a source of irritation to me for my whole life when people tell me to smile. My friends and family never do it because they know what I am like, it’s always people I barely know, which I think is incredibly rude.
I am physically one of the laziest people in the world. I hate exercise and consider working out to be time I could have spent reading or doing something more constructive, and the only time I like to sweat is during really great sex. I make myself go for walks in the evening so I can lose a little weight, and I bought a pair of rollerskates which I will, someday soon, actually use.
I have no idea what my IQ is, but once, just for the heck of it, I took Mensa’s entrance test and they invited me to join. I declined because my name on the envelope was horribly misspelled.
I have a powerful phobia of bees. I’m pretty sure this is the result of some bad childhood stings. Once I stepped on a bee barefoot and it stung me between the toes, and another time one flew into my soda can and I almost swallowed it. I could feel it flying around in my mouth (one of the most disgusting things I ever experienced) and I spat it out, but not before it stung my tongue, which then swelled up to the size of a baby’s arm. Since then I have run screaming from anything that flies and stings like bees, hornets, and wasps.
I have never had any credit cards and I hate to write checks. I almost always use money orders to pay bills, and my debit card to buy things in stores when I don’t have enough cash on me. I am not very good at handling money and I’m pretty sure I would run up a hefty debt. Consequently, I may not have much money, but at least I don’t have any debt.
I am distantly related to Robert E. Lee through my maternal grandmother. Her maternal grandmother was married to his younger brother, Peter. I guess he came to Louisiana after the Civil War. That used to make me ashamed, but once I started learning more about the Civil War then we were taught in school, it made me proud. Robert E. Lee is one of American history’s most misunderstood and wrongly vilified characters. One of my favorite anecdotes about him is when he and his troops were riding through Maryland and a young woman who saw him said “Oh, I wish he were ours!”
I hate the feel of stubble on my legs and shave them every day.
I have suffered Restless Legs Syndrome since I was a teenager and it frequently causes me insomnia. In the last couple of years I have learned to just live with it and catch up sleep on the weekends. I try to use the time when I can’t sleep to do something constructive.
I do think appearances are important. Not in a shallow way, like dating somebody good-looking who is really stupid, but I think people should take pride in the way they present themselves to the world. When I meet someone who is poorly groomed I usually think there is probably something wrong with their self-esteem. But I also get annoyed at people who put on a full face of make-up just to pick some milk up at the store.
I am a vain person, I admit it. I am especially proud of my red hair, my light brown eyes and long eyelashes, and my pale but warm-toned skin. I also think I have very nice teeth (and I ought to--I had braces for 7 years!), a good smile and laugh, and dimples.
I sometimes wonder about the reaction of the first person who looked down into Yosemite Valley. He must have thought he had found heaven on earth.
I like elephants. I don’t collect them or anything, but if I have a choice between something with an elephant on it and any other animal, I will pick the elephant. I prefer it when their trunks point up.
My heroes are Joseph Campbell, Carl Sagan, Anais Nin, Kevyn Aucoin, Ansel Adams, and Frida Kahlo.
I have been to nearly every state in the country, but have never been outside of it.
Unless I am really tired, I need to be doing something with my hands when I am watching television. I do a lot of needlework, especially cross-stitch, and make things with beads. I give away most of the stuff I do to friends and family.
I have excellent night vision and need very little light to see. People are always saying the light in my room is too dim and I'm going to ruin my eyes, but it always looks perfectly bright to me.
I never wear a watch because they feel uncomfortable and never keep time properly. Something about my pulse must fuck them up. Even a locket watch I had once wouldn't reliably keep the proper time.