I don't really know why I'm writing this. It's not like a million people e-mailed me and asked me to tell them about myself. In fact, not a single person has. So maybe it's a little bit pretentious to think anyone actually cares, but, hey. If you don't, then I guess you wouldn't have decided to visit. So. Let's go. I'm not going to share my name with you. I will tell you it means "born of the east", and I actually prefer people to call me "~p." That's pronounced like the letter. P. Yeah. I was born under the water sign of Aquarius one week before Valentine's Day, 1980. I actually hate Valentine's Day. And not because I'm bitter or anything. It's just the whole commercialization of love thing that really gets to me. I'd rather tell people that I love them, randomly. www.bluemountain.com. Visit it. They have this area where you can compose your own messages/poems for people. One of my best friends wrote me this little poem…I guess that's what it was. It was the sweetest thing I've ever gotten. I loved it because it was just HER, in this silly little verse.
Which is as good a segue as any into my stories. Something I asked myself when I was writing was "Why would Hanson even matter in this? Why am I using them as characters?" And the only real answer I came up with…the only one that really pleased ME…was that they are people that readers already feel connected to. And I, as a "writer" feel like they matter in my life, so they matter in my character's lives…by extension, I guess. Thalya is more than a few words on a page to me. She is the product of the mere fact that I am alive, and I have known people like her for as long as I've been breathing. I guess it's some sort of tribute to them, to the people who I never reached out to because I was too scared. I'll leave that at that.
Hrmm…what else is there to say about me? I guess despite the image that I see on this page…that of a "writer", I'm totally not. In fact…I really have no desire to be published for anything besides scientific research. I'm currently a Biology and French double major, and pre-med, with the intention of applying for a graduate program in genetics research. Oncology or Alzheimer's Disease, specifically. What good is the French major in all of this? I really don't know, unless I end up at the Pasteur Institute or something. Chances are I won't. But the fact that I love the language is good enough for me. I could go on and on about the research I'm doing now…but I'm willing to bet that you don't care. If you are one of those people who really appreciates Cary Mullis, Nancy Jax, PCR, restriction enzymes, agarose gels…and all that other amazing stuff in a lab, e-mail me. I'm so serious. Yeah, I'm a geek. I do scientific research because it's fun and relaxing. And, yes, I do have a tattoo that says "total freak" on my forehead.
Speaking of Nancy Jax…if you haven't read The Hot Zone, go check it out RIGHT NOW! That book is so good, even if you're not really into scary things like deadly viruses. I love to recommend books to people. Off the top of my head… Einstein's Dreams, The Robber Bride, The Handmaid's Tale, Surfacing, Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Jacob Have I Loved, Class Pictures, Life After God, Shampoo Planet, any- and everything by e e cummings, Sylvia Plath, and Dr. Suess, A Room of One's Own, To The Lighthouse, Mrs. Dalloway, Madame Bovary, Lord of the Flies, The Great Gatsby, Hamlet, and A History of the Modern World by RR Palmer (which honestly changed my entire view on European history…maybe even humanity as I perceive it).
While I'm more than happy to spout off…"font" as my room mate would say…about books (and movies! Contact, The Truth About Cats and Dogs, Philadelphia, Apollo 13, Romeo and Juliet, The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, The Sound of Music, Empire Records, Return to Oz, Little Women, Outbreak, Au Revoir Les Enfants, Rouge, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Armageddon, Ever After, Cinderella, The Shawshank Redemption, The Rock…movies where the people win, basically…which also leads me to liking some really bad stuff…like Volcano) and which ones I think are good (and the ones I think are bad, just as equally), I'm a little bit more reserved about music. I guess maybe it's a little bit more personal, because everyone has "mood music", the stuff that they can play for a myriad reasons, and just feel something inside of themselves. So I honestly will not say anything is bad. But I'll tell you what I think is good…these are the CDs I cannot begin to think about living without. Sarah McLachlan…Surfacing, FTE, B-Sides. Hanson…MON, SI, 3CG, Boomerang, MMMBop, the IWCTY maxi single, and the live version of "Madeline". Counting Crows…August and Everything After. Billie Myers…Growing, Pains. Bryan Adams…So Far So Good. The Cranberries…Everyone Else Is Doing It So Why Can't We? Edwin McCain…Misguided Roses. Imogen Heap…imegaphone. Chantal Kreviazuk…Under These Rocks and Stones. Lisa Loeb…Firecracker. Jonny Lang…Lie to Me. Fiona Apple…Tidal. Gin Blossoms…New Miserable Experience. Empire Records, the Soundtrack. Alana Davis…Blame It On Me. Tori Amos: Under the Pink, Boys for Pele. The Thing Called Love Soundtrack. Natalie Imbruglia…Left of the Middle. 3EB. Loreena McKinnit…The Book of Secrets. Bryan White…Between Now and Forever. Garth Brooks…The Hits. Clay Walker…If I Could Make a Living. Ty Herndon…What Mattered Most. Avail…4 AM Friday. Savage Garden. Deana Carter..Did I Shave My Legs for This? The Wallflowers…Bringing Down the Horse. Mindy Mcready…Ten Thousand Angels. And I love Vintage Vinyl because they have this $5 CD bin where they put overstocks. I am always in there.
Notice a trend? It's all less than 5 years old. That's because the first CD I ever bought was, like, 5 years ago. And, incidentally, 5 years ago was pretty much when I realized what kind of music I liked. And I didn't need to buy old things on CD because we have a really good oldies/mix/adult contemporary station at home. On the topic of home…I love the Orioles (on the topic of sports, I play soccer and I figure skate), Mike Mussina, the Inner Harbor, and Washington DC. I'm working on loving here. I like it okay, I guess. Where is here, you might be wondering? St. Louis, MO. I'm a freshman at Washington University in St. Louis. We moved up a spot in US News and World Reports, so now we're #16, if you care about that sort of thing. Woah! My roommate hung a slinky from the ceiling of our room. It is so cool. And I already talked about my majors, so let's move on.
You know what I love about music (okay, so we're actually backtracking…)? That every song I've ever heard has some sort of emotion and smell attached to it. Just as one of a bazillion examples…whenever I hear "Thinking of You", I'm transported back to May 9, 1997. And I can smell the edgy summer in the air, and the sense of relief in being done with AP exams, and see myself standing totally still, mesmerized by Zac's drumroll, wondering why I had randomly bought this CD after seeing these kids on Rosie 4 days before. And really glad that I did. Not only has the music come to mean a lot to me, but I've met some really wonderful people because of them. Like Amanda.
So why did I give Amanda my stories? Easy. She's amazingly talented, and even the smallest word of encouragement from the best fanfic author on the internet would have been enough to send me flying. But I went totally giddy crazy when she asked for them, and encouraged me, as a friend, and as a peer. Haha. As someone I'd eventually like to maybe think about being a quasi-peer. Amanda, you rule. Tell F. Pedro hi for me J Hey, that's so cool! MS Word automatically made that into a smiley!
Amanda has stuffed llamas (she's so weird). I have a teddy bear named Clarke Bear. That is his full name. He's a few months younger than I am, and very very very loved. He's falling apart, actually. Oh, well. I'm feeling the need to free-associate right now (Yeah, I took a Psych class in high school. If the whole research thing falls apart, look for me in Med School, studying to be a psychiatrist). Clarke Bear is white. Grayish (I can say that in French!) now, actually. My favorite color is green. Just like Thalya, oh wow. She was really a total reflection of me as far as music goes, you know. I do not have a favorite song, but right now, October 25, 1998, I'm addicted to "Anna Begins" and "Slide" and that new Hootie song and "River" is always in my head. Next week, it'll be something different, whatever sounds like windchimes. I like stars. And the ocean. And winter. And fire. Those things feature prominently in my poetry. ::shrug::
I really really like words. I'm enjoying writing this, and even if all of 2 people read it, I won't feel bad. I like journals. I'm not going to post one, but I do keep one. I haven't written in it in months. I like emotions and sensations. I prefer a brief hug to a long kiss. There are only, like, 7 people in the world that I will let hug me.
And, in the tradition of hugs, closing yourself in someone else's arms and feeling totally removed from the world, I'll stop here, and let you return to the fantasy of fanfic.
|thalya2780@hotmail.com|to do home|