I’m sorry to say I’m just getting around to responding to Cari’s post in which she tagged me. Herewith are 10–nay, 12–random things about me.
Ten Random Things About Me
- I was born in Huntsville, Alabama, known as the “Rocket City.” Growing up, I heard rockets being tested nearly every day.
- I sang alto for years, until I took voice lessons. Now I’m a mezzosoprano.
- When I was 3 years old, I amazed my pediatrician by telling him about igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. My mom thought all kids did that.
- At about age 8, I cataloged any book around the house I could get my hands on, making check-out cards for them in little pockets in the back and labels on the spine. (Remember: olden days, before computerized libraries.) Yeah, becoming a catalog librarian was kinda inevitable.
- I was a charter member of the Star Trek club (“ASTRA”–Area Star Trek Readers Association) organized in my high school. Um, yeah, I had a command uniform with the little skirt, made for me by my grandmother from the official pattern. Dang difficult to make, too! And I wrote a script for a Star Trek movie, with me as the Vulcan captain. Not sure if we filmed any of it.
- I own two real swords (a hand-and-a-half longsword and a basket-hilt rapier) and one decorative one. I would own more if they weren’t so expensive. I adore medieval weaponry, and would have an archery range in my backyard if my husband and friends didn’t insist I’d put someone’s eye out.
- I got accepted into the creative writing class in high school with a truly awful murder mystery short story that hinged on verde being Spanish for green. I’m not sure I wrote much worthwhile in that class, except for a poem called Solitaire that my brother set to music and peformed on guitar.
- One of my all-time favorite TV shows is Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Look it up, it’s way awesome, and heavily influenced other horror TV, notably X-Files. Darren McGavin was more than just the (marvelous) dad in A Christmas Story.
- My favorite outdoor activity is visiting cemeteries, the older, the better.
- I’ve played the following pen-and-paper roleplaying games, roughly in order, during two periods of my life: 1977-1986: Dungeons & Dragons (1st edition & Advanced), Metamorphosis: Alpha, Gamma World, Traveller, Call of Cthulhu (still my favorite), Middle Earth Roleplaying Game (MERP), Rolemaster, Gangbusters, Empire of the Petal Throne, Pendragon; 2002-present: Dungeons & Dragons (3rd edition, 3.5, 4th edition), d20 Modern, Space:1889, GURPS, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mutants & Masterminds, Unknown Armies, Pendragon, d20 Call of Cthulhu, Conan the RPG, Pathfinder. I’m pretty sure I forgot some.
- I have a comics pull list at a comic book store in Cahaba Heights.
- My first computer was a Kaypro II. I paid about $1500 for it in 1984.
Well, I think my geek cred is pretty well established by that list. I did go a little over, but those last two seemed to round it out nicely.
Thanks for doing this, Cari!
Donna, this is so excellent & I’m incredibly happy you enjoyed playing ‘tag’ with me. Not to mention the bonus of twelve random tidbits instead of just the ‘required’ ten. You go above & beyond in so many ways, which is why it’s such an honor & privilege to get to know you, my friend. I adore all of your ‘geek cred’, by the way, so apparently I’m a pretty big geek myself. *giggles* Great minds & all that jazz, right? This geek is certainly going to have to check out that Kolchak; The Night Stalker you mentioned as I, too, am an X-Files ‘I want to believe’ kind of woman. 😉
How neat that you actually have two real swords. That’s on my list of ‘someday’ things to collect. As you said, they are expensive–especially quality ones–& I have an insane appetite for pommels & hilts with animal (mythical or real) embellishments. For now, my collection is limited to a few different knives & daggers that I thought were beautiful. I’d show pictures, but they’re safely stowed away right now from the curiosity of the CritterKidz until we build a proper display case.
I would’ve loved growing up hearing the rockets being tested. I grew up, & still live quite close to & in the flight pattern of Detroit Metropolitan Airport. I love watching & hearing the planes take off & land so I can only imagine how fascinated I would’ve been if I’d grown up watching & hearing rockets launch instead.
I had to smile at #3. Between your obvious fascination with geology & mine with paleontology, we would have made quite the pair as little kids. To this day, I still have a fascination with different types of fossils, stones, & crystal formations. You should see me in a cave gift shop. Yikes! The wallet runs screaming for the hills & budgets fly out the window. 😀
This was incredibly interesting to read, Donna. I’m sincerely grateful & hope you enjoyed participating as much as I enjoyed reading this. You & Aisling truly are blessings. 🙂
Oh, you are so sweet, Cari! Thanks for asking me to participate. I still do love fossils, rocks and caves, although I don’t actively pursue it these days.
So much fun doing this!