Mental Meanderings

The A-Z of Me! [Meme]

I really enjoyed the idea of this meme that Michele posted in her blog Writing the Cyber Highway (http://writingthecyberhighway.blogspot.com/2007/12/weekend-fun-with-alphabet.htm... so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm looking forward to seeing what I come up with each letter. Here are the rules:

List a word that describes you for every letter of the alphabet. Offer as much or as little explanation as you wish. Please keep the words positive (for example, don’t use “fat” for F or “lame” for L), and feel free to get creative. Tag as many or as few people as you wish. Link back to your tagger and forward to your taggees.

A is for Articulate - I love to talk and I can be very chatty. Sometimes I talk too fast and when I'm nervous recording my voice (singing or poetry readings) or DJing I have to be reminded to slow down and include more pauses.

B is for Beautiful - Ok, I've denied it in the past but today I'm feeling it. I really AM beautiful and I'm trying not to sound conceited when I say that. Trust me, after 25 years of feeling fat and ugly it is a huge breakthrough to look in the mirror and feel it and say it, "Wow you're looking beautiful today, Becca."

B is also for Bipolar - I'm not my mental health but I do live with my condition every single day. I'm feeling much better since I began medication and am discovering a remarkably different world then the one ruled by my moodswings. I'm hoping this wonderful feeling of 'normal' will continue. I'm optimistic and motivated for an incredible future.

C is for Creative - My stock in trade. I love my creativity. As a writer it's a huge part of my being.

D is for Distant - I'm a very long way away from all my closest friends. I know I need to make some friends closer to home but I truly cherish the ones I've made all around the world.

E is for Energetic - On my good days I'm very energetic. I walk a lot and am always willing to put skates on my feet, dance around the living room, or kick around a ball with the kids. This energy also means I have to seriously remind myself to go to bed by midnight and reign myself in if I'm doing more than I should.

F is for Fear - I know we're not supposed to mention negative aspects but I'm trying not to see fear in bad light. Fear is a huge part of who I am at the moment but it is also a part of what gives me strength and helps me grow. I face my fears and conquer them. Sometimes Fear wins small battles but I always regroup and turn to fight them when I'm more prepared.

G is for Gaming - I'm a gamer girl and proud of it! Yes, you guessed it. That means I'm into video games and role-playing games. D&D, White Wolf, Mage, and anything else in similar vein that I come across. Gaming allows me to explore my creativity and develop rich, rewarding characters and worlds. The only time I get bored with a video game is when I've reached the point where I've already explored everything. I'm an adventurer at heart.

H is for Healthy - I am for the most part and very glad of that fact. I've learnt to rest when I get sick. Deliberately staying in bed for a full 24 hours straight and drinking lots of water tends to make me recover quickly. I'm not a fan of doctors so I'll only go when I desperately need to but for the most part I'm pretty well and healthy.

I is for Imagination - Mine is vast and continues to expand. I love tapping into my imagination. It can take me anywhere through time and space.

J is for Jugular - I've been known to go for the throat when I'm having a bad day. Again, it's semi-negative but I think it shows an inner strength that is positive. This same ability helps me go for the things I really want and to stand strong against adversity. I just have to be careful to give my friends some distance so I don't bite their heads off accidentally.

J is also for *J..... - The first letter of my baby boy's name. It's a name I adore and always attached to the hot looking guys when I was in school. I imagine *J....'s as being outgoing and high achievers. I wanted my boy to have those traits as well. Of course, I've no idea about the name other than my own childhood memories of multiple boys with that name. *chuckles* Thinking about it now my ex mightn't be thrilled if he'd known that's why I liked the name. *J.... also has my ex's first name as his middle name. I like the idea of this kind of family tradition.

K is for *K..... - The first letter of my daughters name. I named her after my middle name which also begins with K. When I named her I thought I was being clever and original but days after we took her home from the hospital I met three other people with her name spelt in various different ways. So far, the spelling I gave it is unique.

*I'm not going to say their names here because I prefer to keep my kids names off the internet.

L is for Loving - I've a big heart, perhaps too big. I've learnt to be careful with my love but I have a rich compassion for everyone and everything. I also deeply love my children. The "I love you more" game is one we play multiple times a day. I've been learning to say I love you to others I love. It's something I've struggled with in the past along with other forms of closeness. I only hug the people that are incredibly close to me. I'm trying to break down my barriers so I can grow closer to my friends and family.

M is for Mother - I'm a single mother of two beautiful children. They enrich my life and I cherish them both dearly. (Even if they do send me broke over Christmas.)

M is also for Money - Something I wish I had more of but then again who doesn't. It's also something I'm rather careless with but also very giving. If I can help someone, financially or otherwise I'm usually happy to. I'm working hard at the moment to try and earn enough money from the freelance writing I do so that I'm no longer dependant on child maintence and the pension. I want to feel in control of my income so I can set aside the fear that it will stop coming.

N is for Nosey - Ok, I admit it. I'm curious! I don't think this is a bad thing because in my experience if someone doesn't want to share something they won't. I'm not pushy about being nosey. If you don't want to get into it, say so and I'll back off. But I am naturally curious and I want to know everything. I want details. I crave information.

N is also for Nature - I love nature and all things natural. I'm a natural blonde, at least I was. These days it's more like a mousey, dirty blonde / very light brown. I love animals and plants. Wildlife, birds, even insects some of the time. I write poetry to honor the sun and the sky and the sea. I cherish nature. I take sky pictures. I have a fascination with cloud formations and light especially at sunrise and sunset. I love crystals and strongly believe in the life energy of all natural things.

O is for Opinionated - I have strong opinions and I love to debate them with others. When I debate I believe in holding my own beliefs but I'm also listening for reasons to change them. If you're debating against me I WANT you to convince me of your point of view and if you can't I'll work hard to convince you of mine. This can sometimes seem closed minded. The truth is, I do change my opinions to suit the facts and beliefs I gain, even from others. But I'm also often very certain of the opinions I already hold. I find the challenge of debates envigorating and could debate for hours with intelligent respondants.

P is for Possibility - I believe in unlimited possibility. I picture the multiverse like a giant pocket, a vaccuum from which anything and everything was created. Pulled from the pocket of possibility into existance. Anything that doesn't currently exist could, or could have done in the past. This is aided and aids my imagination. This belief gives me the resources I need to believe that anything is possible. I hope it also allows me to create vivid, believable stories that can be wild and seemingly impossible but while reading the story I want readers to believe in magic, believe in fairies, believe in the impossible, believe in unlimited possibility.

Q is for Quotes - I love to collect quotes, particularly about writing. In fact I'm a little obsessive about it. Whenever I stumble across a good comment or quote I snip it and add it to my ever increasing quotes files. I used to have a file of gaming quotes that had over 500 quotes in it. They rotated on the pages of the gaming website I used to host and visitors would spend ages refreshing the pages to read the quotes. I have random quotes on my Writer's Round-About blog and my Rebecca Laffar-Smith domain too but the file that is online at the moment is only small. My to-do list includes updating it with the 100+ writing quotes I currently have filed elsewhere.

R is for Rebecca - Well that's pretty obvious. That's me. I like my name. I used to hate it because when I was younger there were three Rebecca's in my class so I got called Rebecca P, Pricey, or Pricetag (my name in primary school was Rebecca Price). These days I cherish my name. It has connotations of rather exceptional people and I feel it suits me well. I AM Rebecca. Some of my friends call me Bec or Becca. I even have an Italian friend who calls me Reba. Just don't ever call me Becky.

S is for Stargate - I'm a Stargate fan. In fact I love most sci-fi and fantasy. I tend to avoid reading science fiction books because sometimes the words and technologies can be confusion. On TV we don't need to know what it's called to have a clear picture of what it looks like and what it does. I didn't care that Doc's time machine needed a flux capacitor, it was a flashy Y but it meant Marty could go back in time. I also love occultish programs. I used to be addicted to X-Files. These days I don't really watch much TV but I do own boxsets of Charmed, Dark Angel and I plan to get box sets of Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis.

T is for Torque - A character and part of the title of my current work in progress. I've been working on this book for a year as of next Wednesday. I'm actually a little disappointed to still be writing the first draft. I'm over half way but I keep running slam into writer's block walls caused by my own issues. I'm currently in another lull that I'm trying to talk myself out of so I can get back to the book and finally finish the first draft. I love this story and the characters and really believe it deserves to be told. I'm determined to finish, I just wish each step wasn't so challenging.

U is for Unique - Aren't we all? I don't feel like I'm any more unique than anyone else but I do feel pretty special.

V is for Vocabulary - I have a moderate vocabulary. I'm well-spoken and fairly literate. I'm trying to improve my vocabulary but I've found doing it manually, word by word, just doesn't help me. I suppose I need to absorb more language. When I come across a word I don't know or go to use one but can't be certain I'm using it correctly I always look it up. I'm a word hound so it's always an adventure to find new words and explore their meanings and usage.

W is for Writer - Yes, that's me again. It's a huge part of who I am. I write every day in various ways and I love to explore writing and the written word. I collect books about writing. I recently had to find a new place to keep them because my shelf was overflowing and I know I'll be getting more over Christmas. I haven't read all of the books I own yet (spend too much time reading online to keep up with offline books) but I plan to devour them and I book review my favorites on The Writer's Round-About.

X is for Xavier - I LOVE this name. I don't know why but I think it's a beautiful, courageous name. I picture royal knights or handsome honor fighters, paladin's, warriors and priests when I hear it. I might have to solidify my Xavier and have him star in a book I'll write.

Y is for Years - I'm 25 years old and I feel that the years of our life are significant milestones. I like to look back over the years. Especially in December when we can reflect on what the present year has brought our way. What did you accomplish this year? What opportunities did you take, what did you turn down? Do you feel enriched by your choices this year? What do you look ahead to and plan for 2008?

Z is for Zygote - Another word I love and use from time to time. For those of you who don't know, a Zygote is the cell produced when a female ovum (egg) and male sperm unite. A Zygote is a fertile egg which will turn into an embryo which grows into a fetus. There you go, a new Z word for you, Zygote. It's much more interesting then Zero, Zebra, and Zoolander.

So there you go. More than 26 new things you might not have known about me from A-Z. Now it's your turn. I'm not going to name names but if you decide to take up the challenge then please leave a comment with a link so I can check out your own answers. I'd love to know more about YOU!