Joanna tagged me to do the Eleven Random things meme that has been going around the interwebs. While I always feel a little bit weird about doing these things, I decided to participate since I enjoy reading them so much because I get to learn things about the bloggers I read that I might not otherwise.
The rules are:
1. Post these rules
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer
5. Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them
6. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag people! (Like Joanna, I'm downgrading the tagging. I'll tag 6 people.)
Eleven random things about me....
1. Even though I love shoes, I go barefoot as much as possible. I have an aversion to socks and will really only wear them when I need to with shoes. The idea of sleeping in socks makes me cringe.
2. I sing in the shower and have a tendency to rock out in the car. It's best, though, that I do this when other people aren't around because I'm more or less tone deaf, like my father before me.
3. When I was a kid, I'd put a sheet over the dining room table and read in my improvised tent for hours on end.
4. Although I have been told by some that you cannot be both a fan of Star Trek and Star Wars, I grew up loving them both. My favorite Star Trek series is Deep Space Nine, and I have no shame in admitting that I have a huge crush on Jadzia Dax. M. sometimes wonders if I love her more than I love him.
5. My favorite museum is the Prado in Madrid. When I lived in Madrid, I'd go once every few weeks and spend a couple of hours exploring a part of it.
6. I prefer salty over sweet when it comes to snacks. I'd almost always rather have a handful of chips or crackers than a cookie or candy.
7. Ever since I was a teenager, I have changed my hairstyle frequently. I've been a blonde, a brunette, a redhead. I've had short pixies, long hair, angular bobs, spiral permanents, body waves, and crew cuts. So far I've never had a mullet.
8. I hated running hills before I moved to the town where I currently live. I had to learn to accept them if not quite to love them.
9. I despise the Twilight series and rarely miss an opportunity to mock it. Neither does my hero George Takei.
10. I could eat pizza almost every day. Spinach, green olives, and banana peppers are my current favorite toppings.
11. My most epic New Year's Eve was spent in Rome with Spanish friends. It involved dinner at an Indian restaurant, drinks, Prosecco at midnight with fireworks in the Piazza del Popolo, and stumbling upon a candy shop serving cocktails into the wee hours that made us feel like we were in Hansel and Gretel.
Joanne asked the following questions.
1. What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?
In general, so far it's been writing and defending my dissertation. I think getting a book in print would trump that, though. In terms of running, it was completing my first marathon.
2. What's the funniest thing that's ever happened to you?
Hard to say.... One of the most embarrassing things that has happened to me that I was able to laugh about afterward is several years ago I unwittingly started teaching the first class of the winter term with the fly of my trousers unzipped. A student in the front row tried to make subtle gestures to let me know, but I remained completely unaware until her gestures became significantly less subtle.
3. Are you a morning person? If not, how do you feel about morning people?
I am a morning person. The early morning is my favorite time to write and to run, which can make things a little bit tricky. The past couple of semesters I have taught at 8am, but that's not really optimal for me because I'd rather teach later in the day and use the morning for research and writing.
4. What's your favorite book?
My favorite novel is The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino. My favorite book to teach is probably Lieutenant Nun.
5. If you could take classes to learn any new skill, what would it be?
If I had more time and the opportunity, I would love to take Portuguese for Spanish-speakers. I can kind of read the language, but I'd love to be able to speak Portuguese. I also wouldn't mind taking some Tango classes.
6. What is your favorite track workout (or other workout if you don't do track)?
I don't do track work outs, but I actually enjoy 800s when they're over with.
7. If you could visit any place on earth, where would you go?
Hmmm.... This is tough because I love to travel and there are many places that I'd love to go. I'll go ahead and say I would love to visit some of the Greek islands - Crete, Santorini, Mykonos....
8. Do you have an unusual talent?
I don't know about unusual talent, but I have a pretty good short term memory and can remember names and faces quite well.
9. What's your favorite guilty pleasure?
It's probably watching episodes of Buffy. I love the Slayer. That is all.
10. True or false: Jimmy John's is awesome.
False. Like most fast food sandwich places, it has very few options for vegetarians or people who are discriminating about the sources of the meat they consume. I'm willing to eat it once or twice a year, but that's about it.
11. How long have you been in your current job?
I've been at my current institution for a year and a half.
For those I'm tagging, here are your questions:
1. If you had to enter a different profession from your current one, what would it be?
2. Apart from running, what is your favorite way to work out?
3. Would you consider yourself a dog person or a cat person and do you think this reflects in any of your other personality traits?
4. If you could spend the day with one celebrity, who would it be and why?
5. What is your favorite thing to cook?
6. Where did you grow up?
7. What is the last book that you read?
8. Why did you go to the college that you attended?
9. What is your favorite kind of ice cream?
10. If money were no object and there was no need for concern about exploitative means of production or harm to the environment, what would you splurge on?
11. Why did you decide to start blogging?
12. What did you eat for breakfast?
I'm tagging:
Beth
Frances
Jana
Kyria
Lisa
Rose-Anne
For the rest of you, I'd love to know your answer to Joanna's 7th question for me. Where is the one place you really want to visit?
