More the meme

[holdouttrout]

surreallis asked me to elaborate on: Writing, DragonCon, My biggest man-crush, My first fanfic ever, Baking/cooking



Writing:

I don't really think of writing as a big part of my life until fanfic, but looking back, it kinda was. I loved reading from the time I first picked up a book, and had a teacher savvy enough to realize that I would be bored with the standard reading-level stuff in first grade. My parents were both readers, and especially read to us until we were old enough to read ourselves. Anyway, I remember writing and enjoying writing in fourth grade, and I kept a journal off and on since the one summer Mom made us do it. (I was home schooled for a few years, and the longest I spent in one school was three years.)

Anyway, in high school, I fell in with other creative, writing-type people, and never looked back. And when I discovered fanfic, I knew I had to write it, especially because as bad as I knew my writing was, it was still better than some of the stuff I was reading. (I will talk more about this below.) I kinda didn't write too much outside of classes the first three years at college, unless it was more non-fiction, journal-y stuff. Or bad poetry. I have written lots of bad poetry. I have absolutely no sense of rhyme, rhythm, or anything, but my poetry is usually for my eyes only anyway. Anyway, KR dragged me back into online fandom, and I was hooked.

DragonCon:

Oh my goodness. The funny thing about going to DragonCon the first time around was that it was so spontaneous (for me). I saw Abyssis' post about it, and then I said to my then-boyfriend, "I really want to go to it, but I can't!" And he said, "Why not?"

And I couldn't think of one damn reason. Cost? I had extra saved up from work. Time? I had vacation time. Room? Well, there was someone right there who said she was looking for roommates, and the worst that could happen is she'd say no. Not enough interest? Um. STARGATE. And PEOPLE. And I am a sci fi geek, so I figured it would be okay.

So, originally, I thought I was going mainly to hang out with cool peeps, and ultimately, I ended up hanging out with RIDICULOUSLY COOL PEEPS. Only not the marshmallow kind. But I ALSO got to see Claudia Black, and Stargate actors, and JAMIE BAMBER who is insanely hot, and even hotter in person, and I didn't make an ass of myself when I met him (although I pretty much did with Claudia, sadly), and it was crowded, and loud, and these were MY PEOPLE. Seriously. I got misty-eyed a few times when looking at everyone wandering around in costume.

...did I mention I'd never really been to a con before?

Last year was different, but very good. I met more RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME PEEPS, and had a text-message affair with Splash, and got to panels for authors I liked in addition to all the media panels. I met Jayne's cunning hat, and wore my dragon dress. I could probably afford to go this year, but I also probably wouldn't unless AT is there, and lots of people from lj are going. Because...you all rock, and because it is a LOT of money to fly across the country.

My biggest man-crush:

I am assuming this means my biggest crush on a male actor? Or fictional character? This is actually a tough one right now. Jamie Bamber is pretty much always at the top of my "Most attractive men" list, but I wouldn't say it's really a crush. And Elliott is extremely sexy, but he's a little old for me to properly crush on. Hmmm...I'm just not sure. I'm sure I'll let you know when someone pings me. *g*

My first fanfic ever:

Here it is. It's a Pretender viggie, a sort of experiment with having a PoV character who was blind. It, er...won third place in the Pretender fanfic awards in its category that year (It was 2000, and I was...16? Whoa.). It probably didn't deserve it, and although I don't believe in editing fics after they're posted (there might even still be typos, I'm not sure), sometimes I want to cringe about that a little. Anyway, I keep it around because it was first, and because someday I might manage to read it again and see how far I've come.

I was so nervous about submitting it that I almost never did, and I wrote a couple of other fics back in high school that I have *not* archived here, although I'm pretty sure you can find them under my old Pretender name if you go looking. The fact that I've gotten so much better at writing since gives me hope for all those immature writers floating around out there, and makes me ridiculously charitable toward them.

baking/cooking:

Cooking is not really one of my strengths. Since college, I've gotten much, much better about the basics, and I'm definitely interested in pushing my boundaries in the kitchen. As a result of not being naturally very good at it, I'm damn proud when I actually manage to make something interesting and edible, and this is why you get spammed when I bake a pie. :-) Part of it is wanting to eat better food and more veggies without getting tired of them. I also go through phases where I think cooking is just Too Much Work, and essentially eat top ramen and cheese for a while. I figure it's a process.

Eventually, I want a kitchen with pots and pans I like, where I have space for things to make simple, good meals without a lot of stress. I don't ever intend to be Betty Crocker, but I absolutely think that good hospitality/family life involves good food--preferably homemade. And cookies. Lots of cookies.