Because I need *some* content here: three questions meme

[jaala]

Ask me 3 questions. Go on, ask.

[I want everyone who reads this to ask me 3 questions, no more, no less.

Ask me anything you want.

Then I want you to go to your journal, and copy and paste this allowing your friends (including myself) to ask you anything.]

Comments

[kezzamorphosis.livejournal.com]

What IS Jaala?

What instruments do you play?

What is your favorite holiday?

[jaala]

Jaala is a name I found in a name dictionary. (I found my other online pseudonym, Ishbel, in a name dictionary as well.) Back in the day when the entire site was accessible for free, I liked the description of Jaala here. According to Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary, it means "ascending" or "a little doe or goat". Jael means "to ascend" in Hebrew so I'm guessing Jaala is Hebrew as well. It also provides a handy-dandy system for assigning pseudonyms in my journal because my real name starts with the next letter (K).

My primary instrument is flute, not because I have any great preference for the instrument but because almost no one in my Grade 6 class volunteered to play flute. But hey, it makes music. I also play piano, recorder, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, saxophone, fife, pennywhistle, accordion, and harmonica at varying levels of proficiency. And I love singing but really need some individual voice training so I don't strain myself trying to project.

When I'm able to attend church, my favourite holiday is the whole Easter season (Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Passover, Pentecost). I like it because because of the progress through the days and because it's not so commercialized as Christmas. Yes, we do have some observance of Passover in the United Church.

[gridlockjoe.livejournal.com]

1. What do you want to do when you grow up?

2. Are you related to Catherine (your surname) of "The Singer and the Song" on CBC Radio Two? I ran across her name and marvelled at the coincidence.

3. Now that you're a dual citizen, do you feel less Canadian? More American? Any different at all?

[jaala]

1. Heaven only knows. Though I have no chance of becoming a professional orchestral or solo flutist, I'd love to do something involving music. I also love theatre and comedy, so anything involving those--or, better, combining them with music--would be great. You probably know of my undying enthusiasm for musical theatre pit orchestra and chorus work. Something involving computers would also be neat. I appear to have some aptitude for teaching music and I like working with children, but I've met too many bitter school music teachers to want that job. (Besides, I don't have a second "teachable" subject.) Church organist/choir director would be neat.

The upshot of all this is: I'm studying music at university because I love learning about music. IMHO, university should be for expanding one's horizons, not for vocational training. One high school teacher swears I will end up working in academia. Or if all else fails, I may eventually go to a college (in the Canadian sense) to study for a "real" job.

2. Yes, I am related to her. She's my second cousin once removed or something like that. Back when she worked at Classical 96.3 FM, I could tell who listened to that station by their ability to pronounce my name.

3. I always considered myself a dual citizen of sorts so it's only a subtle change now that it's officially recognized. It is weird to have a U.S. passport and Social Security card; I do feel more American when I look at these objects. I also revel in the fact that I'm now able (should I choose to bother with the paperwork) to vote in U.S. elections and *do* something about my frustration with the current U.S. government. But, on the other hand, I do not feel less Canadian (or less proud to be Canadian) and the U.S. still feels like a foreign country. My U.S. citizenship is less important to me than my Canadian citizenship. I wouldn't have sought it if my mother was not so insistent.

[gridlockjoe.livejournal.com]

I also revel in the fact that I'm now able (should I choose to bother with the paperwork) to vote in U.S. elections and *do* something about my frustration with the current U.S. government.

Please, please do! Every vote is going to have to count!

[madrigalia.livejournal.com]

1. What music seems like it's describing you? (Piece, genre, group, whatever.)

2. What's your most surreal memory?

3. What websites do you visit regularly?

Hmm

[jaala]

1. What music seems like it's describing you? (Piece, genre, group, whatever.)

Ooh, that's a tough one. I identify to some degree with a heck of a lot of music. Uh... "Not Too Big" by Ron Sexsmith, "It Must Be So" from Bernstein's Candide, "Easier In May" by Glenn McGuire (whom I'm sure you've never heard of), "Song of the Candle" by Stan Rogers, "This Is Where It Ends" by Barenaked Ladies, and on and on. (There must be some cheerful examples as well.) For some reason, the examples I can bring to mind at the moment are mostly folk /singer-songwriter--which in no way implies that other genres do not enthrall, inspire, entertain, or reduce me to tears.

2. What's your most surreal memory?

I have surreal moments all the time. I can tell you one of my strangest memories--and also one of the most unpleasant--but I'm not really sure if it would be considered surreal. My sleep patterns tend to get severely out of whack. On my first night in a sleep clinic (in 1998 I believe) I had to lie there in the dark, unable to sleep, overheated, covered in wires and straps and sweat-soaked sensors, without anything to do for six hours before I finally drifted off. I don't know how I could have coped if I hadn't been wearing a watch, because I "amused" myself by counting the ticks.

Then there was the time in English class that I had to play (without rehearsals!) a character in a scene from a Sam Shepard play. I was absolutely terrified about acting in front of others but had nevertheless ended up in the most bizarre role. I had to cover my face, neck, and hands in green face paint, suddenly run into the room screaming my head off, and collapse on the floor in exhaustion before rising and speaking my first lines. I was so relieved at having made it through the screaming that I fell down too heavily and unknowingly cut my face with my glasses. Quite winded, I barely made it through the rest of the scene. Worse still, the class and the teacher were regarding me with increasing horror... for reasons I would only discover afterwards. I can laugh about it now, but not without a touch of nausea.

3. What websites do you visit regularly?

Very few, at the moment. Livejournal is the most frequently checked. There's Google, of course. After that, I dunno... cbc.ca? I tend to obsess over a given topic for a certain amount of time and visit all the sites I can find, and then switch (or switch back) to another topic.

[plotinus.livejournal.com]

1. Are there any downsides to having short hair?
2. Which is your favorite mode of public transportation, and why?
3. Do you have a preferred roast or blend of coffee?

These are slightly easier to answer than the preceding ones

[jaala]

I. Are there any downsides to having short hair?

I have to get it cut much more frequently than two or three times a year. Hairdressers make me pay more than a man even though I expressly request a man's haircut. I get sunburnt on the back of my neck more easily. And the wavy/frizziness is more difficult to control; I wouldn't mind this except that it looks really silly where my hair sticks up behind my pillbox forage cap--and it stays that way after I remove the hat. I don't know what hair products to use to rectify said frizziness.

II. Which is your favorite mode of public transportation, and why?

Probably the subway and its ilk because one is saved the bother of planning departure times, waiting particularly long for a ride (when the system is working properly), or signalling stops to the driver. I generally prefer rapid transit systems that travel above ground level (e.g. Chicago's El) because, obviously, the scenery is more interesting. I like streetcars and trolleys too... because they're quaint.

III. Do you have a preferred roast or blend of coffee?

To tell the truth, I'm not all that fond of coffee and don't drink it often enough to have developed a preference. (Shock! Horror!) I love the smell of coffee but prefer the taste of tea. In fact, I'm completely at a loss as to what I should order when I go into a coffee shop looking for a caffeine fix. (Aside from tea, of course.)