95 Things about Me -- for the Most Part

1. I was born in Nacogdoches.
2. That's in East Texas, not far from the border.
3. I like to slip song lyrics into everyday conversations.
4. That's why this blog is called "Spanish Weeks in My Disco Casino".
5. Music is a big part of my life and who I am.
6. I am a classically-trained coloratura soprano.
7. That's the rarest of the soprano family.
8. I started taking piano lessons when I was nine.
9. I stopped when I was ten.
10. I have a pretty good Casio keyboard, and sometimes I still like to play.
11. I'm not very good, but I don't care.
12. I also own a guitar which I've been known to play on occasion.
13. I'm better at the piano.
14. In addition to this, I was a band geek and have played the oboe (for 7 years), the alto saxophone (for 4 years), the English horn (for 2 years), and my sister's clarinet (when she wasn't around).
15. I'm pretty sure my sister didn't know about that.
16. She probably does now.
17. My sister writes a book blog called "Well-Mannered Frivolity" (wellmanneredfrivolity.blogspot.com).
18. You should check it out; it's pretty good.
19. She's the kindest, best person in the world.
20. I'm a little biased when it comes to my family.
21. My parents are my heroes.
22. I've never seen the show "Heroes".
23. I don't watch a lot of network TV; I'm more of an HBO kinda gal.
24. My current favorite network TV show (one of the few I'll admit to watching) is "Glee".
25. I'm a total Gleek!
26. I've never sung in a choir of any kind, but I'd like to.
27. I am not a morning person.
28. I have to turn the alarm on my alarm clock off and on exactly five times before I go to bed, or else I can't sleep.
29. Sometimes I dream in Spanish.
30. Once, I had a Spanish dream with ancient Greek subtitles.
31. Amazingly, I understood everything, even though I only took one year of ancient Greek.
32. It was like my own personal Rosetta Stone in dream form.
33. I love languages, too.
34. I've studied Spanish, Latin, and ancient Greek.
35. I'd still like to learn French.
36. I always cry at that scene in "Casablanca" when everyone sings "La Marseillaise".
37. And then, I laugh when Claude Rains takes his winnings from the roulette table immediately after ordering the Rick's Cafe closed for gambling.
38. You know what other Claude Rains film I always cry at? "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"
39. What can I say? I cry easily and Claude Rains was a great and prolific actor.
40. You know who else was a great actor? There are enough to fill up the rest of this list and then some.
41. I may start just listing actors names if I can't think of random facts to share.
42. Ye be forewarned.
43. I like pirates. Specifically, I like reading about the history of pirates. I condone neither the modern day pirates cruising the east African coast, nor people who illegally copy and sell music or movies.
44. I can't swim.
45. When I was a kid, after bathing I would dry off by running through the house with nothing on but my special rainbow belt. As I recall, this had something to do with "Ewoks: Battle for Endor", but I couldn't tell you what the connection is now.
46. I firmly believe that "Star Wars" episodes I-III and "Star Wars" episodes IV-VI should be viewed as separate series.
47. The first films are usually the best: "Rocky", "The Godfather", "Jaws", etc.
48. However, the second best films in a series are not always chronologically the second films: "Rocky IV", "The Godfather II", "Jaws 3D", etc.
49. I've given this a lot of thought.
50. When a film or TV show is based on a book, the book is almost always better.
51. I am addicted to reruns of "Murder, She Wrote". I like to watch for the end of each episode where they freeze the picture when Angela Lansbury has a good laugh and throws her head back. (I know it's weird, but it makes me happy.)
52. I love to laugh. Laughing's my favorite.
53. I'm a big fan of British comedy.
54. I own every bit of Monty Python - from "Monty Python's Flying Circus" through "The Meaning of Life" and beyond - that a person could ever want.
55. Meryl Streep.
56. I am addicted to the smell of old books.
57. Old cookbooks are the best.
58. I've been known to buy books at Half Price Books just for their smell.
59. At least I'm not judging them by their covers.
60. I collect different translations of the Aeneid.
61. Or really, anything by Virgil.
62. I love my job.
63. I am a librarian.
64. Specifically, I'm a readers' advisory librarian.
65. That means I get to suggest books to readers.
66. It's neat, and I read a lot of books I wouldn't read otherwise.
67. If you're looking for your next great book, let me know!
68. I like mustard if and only if it is on a Chicago-style hotdog. Otherwise, I refuse to eat it.
69. I've never been to Chicago, but I'm planning my trip for some undetermined day in the distant future when I can afford it.
70. I'm told October is the best time to go.
71. I love to cook adventurously, but I always have to double the prep time of any recipe.
72. I'm a bit of a perfectionist.
73. Not that there are degrees of perfection; I'm just not that way about everything.
74. Like cleaning my house, for example.
75. Or gardening.
76. My plant specialty is succulents; I don't overwater.
77. I am at least 1/16th and at most 1/8th Chickasaw. I will probably never know exactly.
78. When I was taking a Minority Studies class, I read an article that said the average American is at least 1/16th African American.
79. That leaves me 13-14/16ths for other ethnicities, so in other words, I'm all American. :-)
80. I love math.
81. And I love Web design/development.
82. My favorite color is #FF0000.
83. That's red.
84. Robert DeNiro.
85. My favorite books are The Handmaid's Tale and The Dubliners.
86. I read them both in the summer of 2001.
87. Over that summer, I also read Shrub by Molly Ivins, and submitted it as a staff recommendation at the bookstore where I was working at that time.
88. After September 11th, the bookstore manager was forced to remove my recommendation from the shelf because of customer complaints that either it or I was "unpatriotic".
89. Incidentally, I love America, and I'm proud to be an American.
90. I hate that effing song, though, and I'm not so blindly ethnocentric to think that life in America is 100% perfect.
91. I am 100% anti-censorship and 100% pro-free speech. I may not agree with you, but I support your right to express your opinion.
92. One of the great things about working as a librarian: I fit right in.
93. I love baseball.
94. I like other sports as friends, though. :-)
95. Christopher Walken. I dare you to name one bad movie he's been in!