Tagged!

Wow, I got tagged! I get to do a meme! You know, someday, I may not be excited about this... but today, woo-hoo!

The rules:

1. Let others know who tagged you.
2. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.
3. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.
4. Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been tagged.

I was tagged by McEwen, the Goldfish Queen.

Now, for some random facts:

8 things that most people don’t know about me:

1. My grandmother was a pretty popular wildlife ("Duck Art") painter in the 1960's-1980's, Marie Conway. I have her paintings all over the house. The random fact is actually that I wish I could paint.

2. I have an ushnisha. An ushnisha is a cranial pertrubance on a Buddha. Originally in art, Buddhas were shown with their hair in a bun or tied up, to reference his life as prince. However, it later became simply an enlargement of his head. I have a very small one. I was born with it. My mom was told it was an "old wound." No, she did not have an amnio. I expect to be a Buddha in about 15 lifetimes. See you then!

3. My favorite beverage is Fresca. I really liked the fancy cherry Fresca, too, but they don't sell it around here anymore. My other favorite drink is Almond Smash. I don't think they make that anymore, either.

4. I can snap my toes.

5. I do not like dogs. I do not know why.

6. I like to do ballroom dancing. I was pretty good at it when I was in grad school. My brother taught me to waltz when we were young, and I was fascinated ever since, then finally took classes. The problem is, the only guy I really want to dance with doesn't like ballroom dancing.

7. I have a PhD in South Asian art history. Even I forget sometimes. One of the school admin people calls me "Dr." and I always turn and look around to see who else he is talking to. I think he finds this amusing. I actually have two master's degrees. I do some adjuncting, but I've been doing it for so long, that's not much of a reminder (you don't need a PhD to adjunct). I prefer teaching in person to online, but most of my classes are online because of the therapy schedule.

8. I am a Tolkien affectionada. Yes, we have the full set of the books Christopher Tolkien put out of Tolkien's notes and unfinished work. I like the Silmarillon better than the Lord of the Rings proper, though I usually just think of all of the books as a single narrative cycle. I like the movies, but hate what they did with Faramir, and the part where Frodo sends Sam away- both completely miss the point of the storylines. I could go on... and on... and on... I'd start a blog, but I'm sure there are plenty of Tolkien blogs out there already, and I already blog too much.

Who would I like to have 8 random facts about? Hmmmm...

abfh is a fascinating person who always comes up with observations about her own life and experience that give me some insights into possibilities for Joey's view of the world. I'd like to know more about her.
Club166. I know he's busy, but I'm sure he'll get to it when he gets a minute.
Evan. I always want to know more things about Evan. Besides, he'll come up with super-fascinating facts, even if he doesn't think they are.
Zoomy needs more to do while we mourn for the Bridge. Besides, he's such a sweetie!
Niksmom is a very interesting lady, and she has such a wonderful blog. I could just hug the stuffing out of Nik, he is so cute! (Edited because I just realized I mis-spelled "Nik". :P )
Stimey leaves lots of nice comments, so I want to know more about her, too.
Vab (Autista) also leaves lots of nice comments that have piqued my interest. Another nice blog, too.
Kristina (Autism Vox), as if she doesn't have enough to do and doesn't blog constantly (gotta love a blog that often has several posts every day to read! Thank you!).

I didn't hit up MonkeyGirl because she just did this one not that long ago. But I always find her interesting, too. ;)

And I should mention that I don't mind if people I tagged don't feel like doing this and don't. But do know you're being thought of. :)