10 Things That Begin with the Letter A

It's a little cumbersome to explain, but Dipsy recently posted a meme wherein you list ten things about yourself that all begin with the same letter. The ten things must be things that have true meaning in your life. You receive your letter from the person on whose blog you read about the meme. It was fun reading her comments on her letter (which was T), so I asked her if she'd send me one, too. She kindly sent me the letter A, and after some navel gazing here's what I came up with about myself. (And if you'd like your own letter, drop me a comment.)

1. Aries - This totally brings to mind cheesy 70s "What's your sign?" jokes, but I'm starting with my astrological sign. Cons: Bossy, stubborn and won't let you finish a sentence when I get excited about something. Pros: I'll talk you into doing that KAL - or that trip to Vegas - with me on a spur of the moment whim, and we'll have a really great time doing it.

2. Autumn - My favorite season.

3. Alphabet - The building blocks of language are cool. They make those nifty things called words, and I've had a great love of words ever since I was a small child. Some of my earliest memories are of being read to at bedtime by my Dad, and as soon as I could read and write I was penning my own stories and enjoying Beatrix Potter, Dr. Seuss, et. al. I worked at the public library in high school, majored in English Lit in college, and spent close to 20 years in the book publishing industry; first managing bookstores (what a hellish job that was) and then working as a sales rep for several publishers (much more fun).

4. Active imagination - Closely tying in with #3 is #4. Stories are great. Real ones, made up ones, I love hearing and reading them. In fact, when I'm bored, I've been known to make up whole lives for people I see when out and about. Writing this down probably makes me sound like a loony. But, really, it's for entertainment purposes only. Like writing a tabloid in your head as you walk down the supermarket aisles or stand in line at the post office. Try it, it's super fun.

5. Angelino - I've lived in the Los Angeles area for ten years now. It's the longest I've lived anywhere. Parts of it are difficult - the smog, the traffic and the high population density can all be wearing some days - but for the most part I really like it here. There's great people, great architecture, great history, great stories. Like Thai Elvis.

6. Artsy craftsy - I've always had artistic people in my life, and I hope I always will. Whether they're cutting televisions in half in the backyard with a chain saw to make a statement about society (a friend from college); or knitting shawls for solace (Marie); or writing a theme song (Petunia the Skunk) for the skunk who lived outside our Silverlake flat when we first moved to Los Angeles (my dear Tom); or penning book reviews for the local newspaper (Duane); or painting super cool artwork to commemorate my blog (Laura), it's a blast to be their friend. Oh, yeah, and I knit.

7. Alternative music - I remember hearing about the Sex Pistols' aborted attempt of playing for the Queen's Silver Jubilee when I was in my early teens; we were living in Paris, France, and I was in the kitchen eating breakfast and heard about it on the BBC news. Something clicked, and while I was five years too young to run off to London, the thought was there. From then until my late 20s, music was everything. I've mellowed a bit, but still love my tunes.

8. Acerbic wit - Okay, so I'm a bit of a smartass.

9. Apricots - Dried apricots (the California kind, not the Turkish kind) are yummy. Ever since I was a little kid, they've been a favorite treat.

10. Amour - Makes the world go round....

...and a perfect foil for me to say no, I haven't started working for these guys.

People, those were arms and legs. For Mr. Square. Sheesh.