Into the rabbit hole…

I don’t really know how to begin this post, but, to cut to the chase, I got tagged by Carl at Jazzdance Blog. So here goes…

The rules:
1 – Link to the blog who tagged you (above)
2 – Post the rules on your blog
3 – Share seven random and/or weird things about yourself.
4 – Tag seven people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
5 – Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Seven random things about myself:

1. I have a pet hedgehog. He’s a year old African Pygmy Hedgehog and his name is Hiccup. The spiky little guy fits in the palm of my hand and yes, the quills hurt, but he’s quite used to being held so he doesn’t go into “defense mode” much anymore.
   
2. I used to be captain of my high school’s girls’ bowling team. Not much else to say about that. No, I am not an awesome bowler. My highest score in a game is 159. Yes, I have my own bowling ball and shoes.
3. Along similar lines of nerdiness, I’m a complete band geek. I started playing flute in 6th grade. A few months after I began learning, I auditioned for Juilliard’s Music Advancement program – a free Saturday music program for minority music students. Thanks to that program I got private lessons, music theory instruction, participated in orchestral and smaller woodwind ensembles and attended private workshops created just for the students in the program (I met Tito Puente at one of these workshops!) In 7th grade I was in two school bands (the senior band and my own) and was in a flute quartet with some seniors. I went to Bayside HS which is known for it’s music program. I was in Junior concert band my freshman year and in Senior concert band the rest. I was first chair flute my senior year and also played in the school orchestra. I was also inIwas in a marching band for the last two years of high school. It was the NYC All City HS Marching Band.  We did city parades We marched in the 2000 Yankees ticker-tape parade, where we got harassed by Yankees fans because our uniform happened to be Mets colors (it was a subway series year).
              I continued playing flute while in college when I joined the RIT Philharmonic Orchestra. Sadly, rehearsal times are very conflicting with study time and class scheduled. Sometime after gradation, when I”m slightly more settled somewhere, I’ll start taking private lessons again. I want input on my playing. And I really miss being challenged in that way.
4. I collect I Love Lucy memorabilia. I’ve loved the show since I can remember (used to sneak down to the livingroom at wee hours of the morning just to catch a rerun episode on nick at nite). Started collecting the Mattel dolls from different I Love Lucy episodes some time ago. I have every episode on tape (now getting the dvd’s), and I can pretty much act out every episode by heart.
5. I abhor public speaking. I had to speak at a research symposium a few years ago and and I pretty much stuttered through the whole thing.
6. I almost joined the US Air Force academy.When I was looking at colleges I was looking for programs that would lead me to possible future employment at NASA. The Air Force seemed like a perfect way to get there. Why didn’t I go through with it? I found out about the application requirements and deadlines way too late.
7. I really love dancing. My mom would always make me dance with her at family gatherings. She’d spin me as fast as possible as long as it took for me to fall down dizzy and laughing. I started taking dance classes when I was about four years old – starting with ballet and tap lessons. I had to stop ballet and tap sometime toward the end of junior high. The commute and the new class schedule made it impossible. That was when I started taking karate lessons. I took them through my four years of high school. I was able to start dancing again in college. Took ballet and tap classes again as gym credits, and sometime sophomore year took the swing dance class. I always knew there was a swing dance club on campus but I was never able to make the meetings – until mid-junior year. Basically learned lindy hop by going out social dancing in Rochester. I didn’t start traveling until my second year dancing, and now it’s my favorite indulgence. It’s so great to go to a new city and meet different people through dancing.About a year ago I also started taking Argentine tango lessons. Only took lessons for a summer, but I still go out tango dancing from time to time. It’s a beautiful dance. Too bad I can’t dance for my whole life.

Ok. Now that I’ve rambled on about myself for a while, it’s time to tag seven more people… R.B. Boyer, Matt Chan, Mark Molea, Caroline Martin, Jennifer Molach, Rachel Woods, and Robert Schnibbe