World Building

Sixteen Things

I’ve been tagged by Chris Miller for the Sixteen Things meme, in which one is supposed to share sixteen random facts about oneself. So, let’s see here…

1. I love being tall. I’ve gone through life being self-conscious about a lot of things over the years, but my height is one thing I’m very grateful for. I can reach the top shelves in cupboards, control the projector on the ceiling by going up on tiptoe, and see over the heads of nearly everyone else in the crowd. It’s one of those things I have no control over, so I can’t exactly be proud of it - but damn, it’s cool.

2. I love planes, especially fighter jets. I used to build models of them as a kid, with my dad’s help. It’s one of the few really happy memories that I have of my childhood relationship with my father.

3. As implied by #2, Dad and I didn’t get along very well until relatively recently. In my pre-teen years I think he didn’t know what to do with me; my pastimes and interests were alien to him, as his were to me. Our relationship is much better now, as we have each grown to respect the other in spite of our (often dramatic) differences of opinion.

4. Knick-nacks on my desk: two beanbag animals (a seal and a killer whale); five D&D monster minis (including the Gargantuan Black Dragon); a model of Serenity; a dragon holding a letter opener shaped like a sword; a posable wooden mannikin; a beach scene in a bottle; a chintzy porcelain dolphin sculpture given to me by friends at work; a garter belt that I caught at a wedding (still waiting for that tradition to pan out); a headband decorated with strawberries (an in-joke present from friends); a stuffed Yoda; a bronzed bust of a mermaid, based on a drawing by Monte Michael Moore; and my Podcast Peer Award for Best Production.

5. I collect mermaids. Paintings, the aforementioned bust, books of fantasy art, images found online — I even ran a story contest once in which I commissioned stories about mermaids. I love ‘em. And, incidentally, I think that The Little Mermaid would have been ten times better if they’d kept the original ending.

6. I think I have a bit of gender dysphoria. Not enough to make me feel like a stranger or a prisoner in my own body, but enough that I find myself drawn to certain things that would be considered more feminine than masculine. This may be why I find myself drawn to using transformation as a theme in fiction; I’m very envious of the androgynes in my Metamor City setting, as they have the freedom to explore both the masculine and feminine drives within themselves without experiencing any sort of prejudice for doing so.

7. I’ve never tried nicotine or any sort of illegal drug. I used to enjoy reading about them to find out how they worked and what they did to the body, but I’ve never actually tried any of them. Of course, part of that may have been because I didn’t know anyone who could sell them to me during my younger, stupider days.

8. I sing everywhere. In the car, while out walking, shopping in stores, while cooking, in the shower, with musical accompaniment or without — if I’m not intensely focused on something else, chances are good that I’m singing.

9. I get really annoyed at writers who don’t live up to the potential of their premise.

10. Ten years ago I was an ardent opponent of “condoning” homosexuality in fiction. I even had a falling out with two of my favorite authors on the TSA-Talk mailing list because they revealed that one of my favorite characters was a lesbian. Now, I’m an ardent supporter of marriage equality and have written about several gay and bisexual characters in a positive manner. Channing and Feech, if you ever read this: I’m sorry. You were right, and I was wrong.

11. I did my master’s thesis research on water conservation in fasting elephant seal pups. Like many projects in biology, that sounds kind of silly, but it actually had significant relevance to a much broader field of study about evolutionary adaptations in mammals.

12. The proudest moment of my life to date: When I defended my thesis to my peers and colleagues at the end of my master’s program.

13. I have had a crush for years on Christian singer-songwriter Rebecca St. James. I’ve met her three times at various events, gotten her autograph on several items, and one time even gave her a gushy handwritten letter about what a significant blessing her music had been in my life. She still isn’t married, and there’s a tiny part of me that still holds on to the ludicrous hope that I could be the one she’s been singing about waiting for all these years. Which is kind of pathetic, since I seem to lose the power of speech every time I get close to her.

14. Favorite artists: Boris Vallejo, Julie Bell, Luis Royo, Dorian Cleavenger, Alex Ross, and (the oddball exception to the overall pattern) Phil Foglio.

15. I taught myself to play the guitar a couple of years ago, largely because I was the worship leader for our little church and had gotten sick of dragging my ginormous electric keyboard around. I find playing guitar to be very relaxing; there’s something therapeutic about it, and it allows my mind to enter a sort of Zenlike state that I can’t get into if I’m just sitting there.

16. I hate answering online surveys. So that should tell you how much I value our friendship, Chris. :-p

To carry on the meme, I’m tagging the following people: Dan Sawyer, Scott Roche, Dani Cutler, Kimi Alexandre, John Scalzi, Mur Lafferty, Arcturus Rann, Jenivi7, DanaeWinters, Rachel George, Cunning Minx, Heather Bowman Tomlinson, Victoria Folks, Robin Hudson, Philippa Ballantine, and Kitty Nic’Iaian.