So, Who Is Kat?

We've focused mainly on ourselves in the fandom previously in this blog, but we thought it might also be interesting to give a bit more information on who we are exactly. Though the information we've provided about ourselves and HP is pretty revealing about our personalities, this might also be of interest to some of our readers looking for friends at the con.

1. Where are you from?
Originally my family is from Cajun country in Louisiana, and I'm pretty darn proud of that so I usually answer that I'm from Louisiana. However, I've never lived in the state of Louisiana. My dad was transferred to Texas right before I was born, so I'm a native Texan (which I'm not so proud of). Then we were transferred to the Greater Cincinnati area when I was five, so I've lived here long enough to say that I'm from here, I guess.

2. Have you ever traveled outside your country? If so, where?
Yep. My first experience of the international variety was to Nova Scotia during spring break of my senior year in high school with a local school for the blind. It was pretty darn awesome to track my family history through there and meet all the awesome Cajun-like people!

Then I got into an honors program in college that involved study abroad every year. My freshman year was a trip to Ireland (Dublin, Cork, and Galway among a few other stops), and the second year was supposed to be a service trip to Mexico but I ended up having last-minute surgery that spring break and missed the trip. The third year we got to choose where we wanted to go and I went to Italy (Rome, Pompeii, Capri, and Sorrento), Greece (Athens, Delphi, and a cruise around some of the islands like Patmos, Santorini, Mykonos, etc.), and Turkey (mainly just Ephesus). I ended up dropping the major tied to that honors program (education) so I was no longer eligible for the study abroad discount they offered (which was a pretty sweet deal; I only paid $600 to go to Ireland for two weeks) and had to cancel my semester in London for my senior year. So, those are the only times I've been out of the country.

3. What do you want to be when you “grow up”?
I'm not sure what I want my job-job to be. You know, my real life grown up job that pays money, has benefits, and all that. But I know what I want to do with my life, and I have known for several years now. I want more than anything else to become a clergy person in my religion, and I'm just beginning my study at seminary to accomplish this. (We don't pay clergy in my religion, so I will need a day job.)

4. What geeky things are you into (besides HP)?
Hm...I'm a Gleek. That's the first one that pops into mind. I love me some Glee (though no one can hold a candle to Brae's obsession)! I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer quite a bit as well as Charmed. Those are pretty geeky. I also love The Big Bang Theory; it's hard to out-geek that one! Other than that, there's not a whole lot. I'm not a gamer (unless The Sims counts), Trekkie, or anything like that. I just read a lot.

5. What is your favorite food?
This question always makes me feel like I eat too much (especially too much of the junk food variety) because I love sweets like ice cream, cookies, brownies, cakes, cheese cake, etc. But beyond all that, I love Cajun food, especially crawfish. The entirety of my trips home is planned around food. I literally have a checklist of food I must eat including shrimp po-boys, crab burgers, boiled crawfish or crab depending on the season, stuffed crab, crawfish pie, gumbo, a meat po-boy at this little place near my mom's house, and the best bread pudding ever from a Scottish pub also near her house.

6. What is your favorite book (aside from HP)?
I'll have to choose a series for this one because they're all so tied together that it's difficult to pull them apart and decide which is my favorite. It's The Old Kingdom Series by Garth Nix (Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen, and the not-yet-released Clariel). His books are always amazing (though I haven't read many of them), but this world is so rich and amazing that it's hard not to love (unless you cannot stand books that don't answer all the major questions and leave you to come up with theories on your own). I've always loved those, so it doesn't bother me so much to sit around for hours contemplating the mysteries of Charter Magic and Free Magic, The Shining Ones, and so on. Theorizing was one of the things I loved most about the time between HP releases, and I still love HP theories about the veil and other unsolved mysteries, so it's no surprise that these books appealed to me so much.

I also love The Lovely Bones (despite that feeling of wanting to kill yourself when you read it), Memoirs of a Geisha, and a few other works of fiction. I spend the majority of my time reading religious nonfiction and mythology, though, from which I won't even list my favorites because I do it so much on my personal youtube channel and most people won't know what books or authors I'm talking about if they aren't Pagan. Other than that, I pretty much read fantasy and historical fiction.

7. What was your favorite childhood TV show?
When I was really young, I loved me some Muppet Babies! I also loved Gullah, Gullah Island, Franklin, The World of David the Gnome, Captain Planet, Inspector Gadget, and a program I cannot remember the name of about a girl who had two koalas living outside her window (I think one was pink and carried a purse).

I kind of grew up on classic (and good) Nick and Disney Channel, so I loved Aaaah! Real Monsters, Salute Your Shorts, The Famous Jett Jackson, Even Stevens, Clarissa Explains It All, Space Cases, Lizzie McGuire, Flash Forward, Rocket Power, The Wild Thornberrys, Avatar: the Last Airbender, As Told By Ginger, Rugrats, American Dragon: Jake Long, Kim Possible, Legends of the Hidden Temple, Hey Arnold!, Doug, Taina, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, Double Dare, Figure it Out, All That, That's So Raven, Phil of the Future, In a Heartbeat (I think I died when this show was cancelled), So Weird, Bug Juice, Totally Circus, etc. But I did love me some TGIF like Boy Meets World, Sister, Sister, Smart Guy, Growing Pains, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, etc.

Wow, I watched a lot of TV growing up! And that doesn't even include all the Disney Channel Original Movies and the stuff I started watching mainly in high school/early college like American Dreams, Boston Public, Bones, House, etc.

8. What do you spend your time doing (for the most part that doesn't relate to HP)?
Reading about, studying, teaching, and practicing religion.

9. Do you collect anything? If so, what?
Not really, but I do buy a keychain from every place I go. I guess that qualifies it as a collection, but I'm never all “OMG! You have to see my keychain collection!” or anything. I also try to find a ritual tool from every major trip/life landmark I experience. I'm actually planning on buying a cauldron I fell in love with at the WWoHP last year for ritual use because of the major impact Harry Potter has had on my life.

10. What do you dislike about yourself?
My tendency to procrastinate. It drives me insane. The sad thing was that in school it wasn't a big deal because I work best under pressure and, with deadlines looming, that was certainly the case a lot of the time. However, now that I've graduated, I don't have deadlines per se for a lot of my projects...so they hardly ever get finished.

11. What traits do you dislike in others?
Disloyalty and lying (especially when it involves attention-seeking behavior). Just be you, stand up for what you believe in, and forget everyone else. It doesn't matter what they think of you, it doesn't matter if they pay attention to you, and so on. Get over it, and live your life!

12. Name one thing you miss about being a kid.
Um...being able to be lazy. That sounds dumb, but every time I have a lazy day now, I think of the 10 million things I should be doing. When you had a lazy day as a kid, none of that bothered you because you didn't have obligations, no matter how busy and put-upon you felt by your teachers and parents.

13. Name one thing you love about being an adult.
Freedom. Sure there's a downside to making your own decisions and being able to do what you want, but I wouldn't sacrifice that just to go back to the carefree atmosphere of childhood.

14. List a few random facts about yourself.
A. I love Reese's and Smartees beyond any other type of candy.
B. I'm an actor/singer/dancer, and my favorite role of all time was Cassandra from Agamemnon, but my favorite play to be in overall was The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged).
C. I have several “secret” and highly illogical crushes both inside and outside the fandom including Ellen DeGeneres, Christie Carlson Romano, Margo Harshman, Lalaine, Mairead Nesbitt, and a few wizard rockers that I won't list for fear that they'll somehow stumble across this blog and read their names here to my great embarrassment. (In case you didn't pick up on it yet, I'm a lesbian.)

D. I have a recurring nightmare that started when I was in early high school and continues to this day in which I'm killed in a manner similar to that described in The Cask of Amontillado by none other than Edgar Allan Poe himself.
E. I'm somewhat OCD about being on time and organizational matters.
F. I absolutely cannot drink tequila. Yes, there is a story. No, I wouldn't like to share. Yes, it is embarrassing. No, you really cannot hear it.
G. I would love one day to adopt one (ideally two) baby girls from Asia who have albinism. I have albinism myself and would love the chance to help other children with this condition through the difficulties that come with it socially. Why Asia? Well, while there are major problems for people with albinism (note the use of person-first language, I cannot stand being called an “albino”) in Africa, like witch doctors dismembering people with albinism to collect their body parts for use in prosperity spells, there are also problems in Asia where babies (especially girls) are euthanized at birth if they have albinism. Because of this, adoption fees are waved for these special needs children. (For those that are not familiar with albinism, it is a recessive genetic condition that causes a lack of pigment, or color, and visual impairment. In my case, I lack pigment in my hair, skin, and eyes.)
H. I currently work as a nanny part-time.
I. I am trained in aromatherapy and hope to one day become certified.
J. Repetitive noises drive me absolutely insane and I will snap after a few minutes. We're talking about tapping/clicking pens, shaking legs, etc.