8/30 Things: What are 5 Passions You Have?

Dogs!

One of my current
buddies - Adeline

Seriously, how can anyone not love dogs? I think that my love of dogs started when I was a little girl. My mom bought me this small, stuffed german shepard that I, for some reason, named Cruiser. I took that damned stuffed dog with me everywhere I was allowed to. Now, small dogs are alright, and there are even some that I like a lot – but BIG dogs, like huskies and pit bulls, are what I love the most. For me there is nothing better than cuddling with a big, warm dog that loves you more than anything else in the world. Freud would tell me that the unconditional and excessive love that I receive from my dogs is likely a replacement for unconditional love that I missed as a child but, meh? Puppies!!!

Music

Music has always been important to me. Putting on a song that I love can change my entire day. My tastes have changed over the years. During the 90’s I was an alt-rock fool. I loved grunge and metal as well. I still do! There are many bands that I am still really passionate about that I listened to when I was 16. Counting Crows, Type O Negative, Pantera, Pearl Jam? All still great in my book. There are some that I listened to back then that are... questionable to say the least (Sarah, if you read this, I officially apologize for all of the Limp Bizkit and ICP), but at the time they did… something for me. Though, what ICP did for me I couldn’t say. I am happy to say that I did not do the Juggalo thing. I resisted! Praise Bob!

I am currently going through what my husband calls my “Lillith Fair” phase. That’s fair, I suppose. Mostly I listen to Fiona Apple, Florence and the Machine, Amy Winehouse (I was late on her, but when I heard her sing “What kind of fuckery is this” I knew she was for me), The Cranberries, Stevie Nicks, Regina Spektor, Tori Amos (“So you can make me cum that doesn't make you Jesus” – yeeeees!); yeah, that kind of thing.

Art

In college I took a couple of art appreciation classes, and they introduced me to a lot of the masters. I was always somewhat aware of them, but the town that I grew up in? Not a lot of great art; certainly nothing on par with what you might find in galleries in big cities like New York. I do recall seeing an O’Keefe at the local gallery once, but it was so crowded around that it made it difficult to really enjoy it. Thanks to the wonders of the Interwebs anyone can enjoy art anytime. You can go to the MET website and explore pieces *almost* like you were actually there. I say almost because it’s truly not the same unless you see it in person. My goal is to see Starry Nights before I die. Yeah, I know it’s like, one of the most popular paintings ever, but I still love it.

The Hallucinogenic Toreador
From the Dali Museum Website

My life and my appreciation for art really changed when I came here to St. Pete the first time on vacation. My husband (then boyfriend) took my friend and I took the Dali museum. No matter what you say about Dali’s circus-like antics, his art is amazing. I stood beneath The Hallucinogenic Toreador and The Ecumenical Council breathlessly, trying to grasp the vastness of them and what they mean. Every piece of art that I walked by I heard myself helplessly whisper “wow.” When we left I was nearly speechless. I couldn't absorb it all, but I loved it. It changed me, for the better.

RPG’s

Awwww!

I love the escapism that RPG’s supply. I played D&D with my brother and cousin when I was younger, then Vampire: the Masquerade when I was a teenager. These days I go along with my husband and play an rpg at his best friend’s house. I have a lot of fun with it, though it is not really the type of rpg that I enjoy. My favorite video games are obviously rpg’s – as per my Mass Effect/Dragon Age posts.  I love rpg’s so much that one of the best Valentine’s Day gift that my husband bought me was something by a company called Book By You. They make romance novels in which you fill in the personal details – everything from the names to the color hair, eyes, and body types of the characters. He put us (and friends of ours that will remained un-named) in a medieval romance novel! Okay, so not quite an rpg – but it provides the same amount of escapism.

Beauty products

Bath fizzies, shower gels, mud masks, makeup and hair products – ugh, I am the worst. My bathrooms growing up often looked like they were supplied by Bath and Body Works (Cucumber Melon was my jam!).  These days my obsession is with make-up. I have always loved stuffing my Caboodle with makeup, but a few years ago I was (re)introduced to Urban Decay and it has never been the same. I have…10? 12? eyeshadow pallets. No one, outside of the cosmetics industry, needs that much eyeshadow. That is not counting the loose single eyeshadows that I have. Ugh, consumerism.  It’s kind of gross, truly.

Well, that’s five of my passions. I have many others, including Nag Champa incense, New York style cheesecake, and discovering The Wilhelm Scream in movies – but these were the five I could justify the easiest.

Thirty Things