I love to play instruments. My main areas of interest are: flute, guitar & keyboard/piano. The only one I'm fairly proficient at playing is the flute, the others i simply do as stress reducers & for my personal enjoyment. I am currently taking guitar lessons with Cory Lin, a local guitar instructor/performer. And, yes, the monthly fee is paying off quite nicely! Check out his band at: http://www.callingonwill.com
I also love listening to all kinds of music, especially Alternative & Rock. I love Nine Inch Nails, Tori Amos, Bauhaus, Disturbed, Filter, Fuel, Moby, Marcy Playground and many other groups. Having played flute for so many years, I also love classical music, and for some reason, I like opera from time to time.
Foreign Languages
I love learning new foreign languages. It's one of my few talents. I pick up languages quickly. In college, I majored in French and even took 2 graduate courses in French while an undergrad. I also took courses in Spanish, Japanese & Arabic. I was vice-president of the Japanese Animation club at the U of A in 1997 & 1998.
I still love to read books and poetry in their original languages, especially in French.
Movies
I love to watch movies, my favorite genre is horror, but I also enjoy comedy, drama and action. I worked at a movie theater for about 3 months when I first moved to Austin. It wasn't quite what I'd expected it to be.
Some of my favorite movies are : Evil Dead (all 3 including Army of Darkness), Labyrinth, Nightmare on Elm St., Hair, West Side Story, Scream, The Craft and American Pie.
Japanese Animation (Anime)
I participated in the U of A Anime Club (Anime Republic) from 1995-1999. I was vice-President 1997-98. I like different types of anime. For example: Macross Plus, DNA2, Fushigi Yuugi, Ghost in the Shell, Mahou Tsukai Tai, etc...
Crafts
I like to do little crafts, such as sewing, crocheting, stencils, calligraphy.
Crocheting is my most recent hobby, keeps the hands and mind busy, great for a stress reducer.
Reading
I love reading. Stephen King, Dean Koontz & Anne Rice are my favorites, but I read anything else that looks good too. And of course reading classic French novels from time to time. I especially love short stories by Guy de Maupassant. Don't have much time to read these days with all my other hobbies, work and occasional social outings.
Writing
I'm currently working on a novel and some short stories. I'm trying to improve my grammar in the process of writing. I'm also attempting to try different genres, including horror (of course), suspense, mystery and even comedy (if you can believe that).
I am currently a member of the Texas Writer's League (formerly Austin Writer's League).
Tarot Cards
I have over 25 different decks. I have been reading Tarot cards off and on since I was 12. I am most familiar with the Waite Universal Deck but prefer the Robin Wood deck. For more information, click here. A nice and very plain & easy to read page about Tarot spreads. For more tarot information and some links (including free reading sites), click here.