Welcome to My World

"Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights.

But your ears thirst for the sound of your heart's knowledge. 

You would know in words that which you have always known in thought.

You would touch with your fingers the naked body of your dreams.

[...] The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals."

-Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet-

And so begins my journey into the world of online journaling- a record of my eclectic, and often erratic, musings and daily adventures.  Encouraged for some time by my friends to start blogging, I am finally caving.

I LOVE lists.  Long lists, short lists, colorful lists, drab lists, to-do lists, any shape, form or fashion, I love them all!  How better to introduce myself than with a list? 

15 Facts About Ady:

1.  I started talking when I was 6 months old and making sentences at 9 months.  Needless to say, I LOVE words and stories.

2.  In college I was given (but regretfully didn't accept) the opportunity to spend a summer studying composition with a fairly well-known choral composer- free of charge.  

3.  Some of my life time goals that I have yet to reach include, but are not limited to: earning a doctorate, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, learning to quilt, singing/starring in a musical, write something that gets published, write an oratorio, sing in a professional choir, learn to be an awesome cook, humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan, learn Arabic, own my own business (either a flower shop and/or music studio), work in a museum, work with Muslim women, have a sustainable garden, make a difference in the world.

4.  I was homecoming queen in college.

5.  Moving has had a greater impact on my life than anything else.

6.  I average reading 4-5 books WEEKLY.  I regularly read my encyclopedias for fun, and have since I was young.  I'm full of useless, random information as a result.

7.  I still cannot read, hear or see anything dealing with Sept. 11 without crying and being physically effected.  I started having regular nightmares after that.  And, I am irrationally terrified of falling to my death as a result of the images I saw on the news coverage.

8.  I am fiercely loyal.

9.  The average age of my closest friends is 45.  Yes, I actually did sit down and figure out the average.

10.  I regularly make "Joy Lists" to help me focus on the little things in daily life that bring me joy.

11.  I am working really hard to invest in things with eternal value, put COMPLETE confidence in God, and be selfless rather than selfish.  I set this as a goal when I was 29 with the intent to accomplish it before I turned 30.  I have decided that it may take a lifetime to accomplish fully!

12.  I try to do one "cultural" activity a week.  This could include a foreign movie, eating food from another country, attending a live performance, visiting a museum, listening to world music or doing anything that stretches my viewpoint on any given subject.

13.  I obsessively clean my apartment and do laundry every Thursday night while listening to either Handel's Messiah or Mendelssohn's Elijah.  It throws my entire week off when this doesn't happen.

14.  I did not go to my senior prom.  (I skipped my junior year- see #15- so didn't go to that one either.)

15.  I skipped a year in high school, double majored in college (music history and music theory), did alternative certification for teaching (EC-12th grade music) and have almost completed my master's degree in Ethnomusicology.