More memeness

Here are Jason's five words for me, and my reaction to them:

Music
This could remind Jason of me because of my composer husband, or my wildly talented musical child, or even my own appreciation of Jason's demonically good blues singing. But I like to think it's because of that surreal night at Clarion South when a bunch of us went out and karaoke'd the night away. Ah, sweet memories!

Cooking
Okay, I'll admit it: I'm a pretty good cook. And I love incorporating food and recipes and the mysterious alchemy of barbecue into my writing. (On July 18, in fact, I'll be guest blogging over at Gillian Polack's Food History blog on just that subject!)

Theatre
One of the aching tragedies in my life is that I have no talent whatsoever as an actor. *Sigh.* At least I can live that dream out vicariously through my child, which is what they are for — and, less pathologically, I have had some modest success as a playwright. I love the theatre. I love rehearsals even more than performances. I love backstage, I love the light board, I love it all.

Libraries
Just about the only place I love more than a theatre is a library. I grew up in them: first, because my wonderful mom took my brother and me to libraries all the time from our very first days, and then, after she herself became a librarian, because I used to help her out with some of the more menial library tasks. (I learned a whole lot about taxonomy by alphabetizing catalogue cards. Remember catalogue cards? Remember alphabetizing things by hand?) My one and only high-school job, which I held for years, was in the county library. My work-study job in college, which I also held for years, was in the university library. And no matter how many books I've bought over the years, libraries always have more than I do. They're the bestest places in the whole world.

Nationality
I take being a foreigner very, very seriously. It's a heavy burden (although, in my specific case, it's lightened considerably since Obama's inauguration). I think a lot about what it means not only to be foreign, but to be my particular brand of foreigner. And what constitutes the feeling of home, the feeling of belonging. (I have a story coming out in an anthology next year on just that subject, and — surprise, surprise — it also concerns food. I'll post details closer to the release date.)

As ever, the fine print of this meme: ask me for words, and I will give you five that remind me of you. Then it's up to you to blog about what they mean to you.