December 23rd, 2008. 16 things.

This seems to be making the rounds....
I'll give you 16 things about me you may not know (likes,dislikes,hobbies,et

c.), and I'll also tag 16 people. You're suppose to go into why you tagged the people, but, I'd prefer not to. I'll just simply say that if I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you. After you've read about me, and my 16, why not post your own note with your 16, and tag 16 people you're curious about.

1. My funny gray cat Homer used to be named Hildy. I thought he was a girl for the first week he lived with me. I loved the name Hildy so much that it took me three months to come up with another name. Homer has also been called Elliot, Miles, Newman...and finally he became Homer after he grabbed an empty bottle of beer out of the trash and it became his favorite toy.

2. There are several Disney movies that are probably responsible for me becoming an opera singer. Sleeping Beauty (is there any question why I sing so much Russian rep? The main musical theme of this movie is Tchaikowsky), Mary Poppins (I used to cry myself to sleep over how beautiful "Feed the Birds" was), and The Little Mermaid (that was the one that made me realize that I'd be lying to myself if I grew up to do anything other than singing).

3. I'm completely obsessed with the history of France - not just the revolution of the late 1700s (although I'm obsessed with that too...when I was in the 6th grade I did a report on the french revolution complete with a miniature guillotine model which I used on a barbie that I dressed in period clothing), but all the way back to France's origins. Why are the women so effortlessly femmes fatales? Why are they even worse snobs about their language than we are? Why does everything taste better there? My friend Kelly says I'm a French-supremacist when it comes to my taste in men....she is right. They are hotter and behave like gentlemen.

4. My favorite shows are all cartoons. King of the Hill is my favorite, it reminds me of where I grew up in Texas.

5. One of my favorite places in the universe is the hill right near Miller Theater in Houston. The happiest times in my life involve rolling down that hill.

6. I lived in Jakarta, Indonesia during middle school. The first time I ever heard the term "third world country" was when I lived there. This turn of phrase makes me sick to my stomach. Third world. This is only something that people who have never been there would call it. It's ONE world. Every place in the world has something of great importance to contribute. It's up to us to erase stupid phrases like "third world" from the collective vocabulary.

7. I am obsessed with surrealist artist Renee Magritte. And surrealist filmmaker Federico Fellini. And anybody who is brave enough and individual enough to turn their dreams into something tangible and memorable. It makes me wonder if it's possible for me to do this onstage. Also, I love Michael Sowa for his surrealist art for children.

8. Sweet potato french fries from Kerby Lane in Austin, TX are my own personal ambrosia. They're a cure-all, at least for me.

9. Sometimes I make an airgun with my fingers and shoot the moon. Because I'm a lonestar. Feel free to ask more about that one....it's a quirky Abbyism.

10. My favorite opera is Richard Strauss's "Salome," and I'm going to be making my professional operatic debut in this show in March. I'm SO STOKED!

11. I try hard not to spend all my money on clothes, but it's hard. I know it's completely materialistic to obsess over one's wardrobe, but I just see fashion as a way to express myself. People often don't realize that the way they dress is a big artistic statement (or at least an opportunity for one)

12. I have never been sick of a Beatles song, NEVER. I've heard all of them eight million times but they always sound new to me every time.

13. I am terribly, terribly afflicted with wanderlust. I constantly need to change scenery.

14. My brother is the wisest person I know. I always trust his advice.

15. If I wasn't an opera singer I would be a lawyer. I grew up in law firms (single mom was a legal assistant) and I've always been really interested in the difference between the law and ethics. They are two completely different things. I would always choose to be ethical first. So I guess that means I wouldn't have been a very good lawyer.

16. I completely and unabashedly believe in love.