Crazy 8's Meme

Karina at Candid Karina tagged me for this Crazy 8's Meme:

8 things I'm passionate about

1 - ballet (I know...crazy...)
2 - film
3 - the Victorian period
4 - art
5 - sci-fi/fantasy genre
6 - sword-fighting scenes
7 - poetry
8 - easing people's day-to-day troubles (it's usually as simple as listening to someone for a few minutes)

8 things I want to do before I die

1 - visit Portmeirion, in Wales, where The Prisoner was shot in the 1960's.
2 - feel chills erupt as I watch Gerard Butler play my vampire, in a film based on my book.
3 - walk the red carpet of my film premiere.
4 - attend the Oscars as a nominee.
5 - watch the former Kirov Ballet, returned to its true name of the Mariinski Ballet at the Mariinski Theatre in St. Petersburg.
6 - visit the Hermitage Museum, also in St. Petersburg.
7 - go hillwalking in Scotland.
8 - own my own longsword.

8 things I often say

1 - "Beep-beep! Beep-beep!" (to my dog Xena)
2 - "Hello Little Girl! I love you - yes, I do!" (to Xena)
3 - (after my husband asks me if I've had my green tea when my head is bothering me) "...no..." You'd think by now I would realize that at some point during our every-afternoon-while-I'm-at-work phone call, he's going to remind me about having green tea. But every time he asks me I have to sheepishly admit I hadn't thought about it yet, even though my head is killing me.
4 - "This is the best/funniest thing...ever!"
5 - "Whatya watchin'?" (to my husband, every time I walk into the living room.)
6 - "Love you." (numerous times per day to my honey)
7 - "I'll be over in a minute." (to my husband, referring to getting off the computer, usually several times over an hour-and-a-half to a two-hour period. He just laughs at me.)
8 - The F-word, at some point every time I have a migraine. Not very often at other times.


8 books I've recently read or am reading

1 - Heart of The Nile by Gabriella Hewitt
2 - The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
3 - In My Wildest Fantasies by Julianne MacLean
4 - The Cat Who Sang For The Birds by Lilian Jackson Braun
5 - Firebird by Mercedes Lackey
6 - The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
7 - The Bond That Ties Us by Christine d'Abo
8 - Love Me Wild by Renee Field

8 songs I could listen to over and over

1 - Why by Annie Lennox
2 - Natural Blues by Moby
3 - You Look So Fine by Garbage
4 - Perfect Day by Lou Reed
5 - One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) by Frank Sinatra
6 - Mas Que Nada by Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66
7 - The Boy With the Thorn in His Side by The Smiths
8 - Desert Rose by Sting with Cheb Mami

8 things that attract me to my best friends

1 - creative, artistic people. My friends inspire me. They write, make films, paint, take photographs, sing in operas, make quilts, act, dance and draw.
2 - lifelong students. My friends are usually taking some course or other, or just pursuing their craft, constantly refining it, discovering new ways of perfecting it.
3 - highly spiritual people. My friends come from different faith backgrounds, yet all seek to understand the sacred mysteries.
4 - compassionate people. My friends would stop and help a fallen runner in their own race.
5 - edgy, witty people. My friends share my dark sense of humor. Lots of zingers and laughs. Often at our own expense.
6 - intellectuals and total geeks. My friends and I walk the fine line. Luckily we're very tolerant of each others' quirks.
7 - movers and shakers. My friends are on political committees, run associations, start companies and then volunteer here and there and everywhere.... They make me tired...
8 - obsessive people. OCD doesn't always have to count as a minus. I'd say most of my friends have some obsessive quality that helps them get their art out of their heads and into the world. I could use more of it, actually.

8 people I'm tagging:

1 - Amy Ruttan
2 - Wylie Kinson
3 - Red Garnier
4 - Christine d'Abo
5 - Leah Braemel
6 - Olga
7 - Jill
8 - Annette