10. I've
always been fascinated with Cuba.
I admire the beautiful and resilient people, the wonderful cigars, and even
the crumbling architecture. I visited Havana in December 1995 for a film
festival, and am a big fan of Cuban movies, music and, of course, dance. I'm determined to become a salsa goddess,
and una reina de casino rueda!
9.
I totally fetishize the '70s. I love disco music, '70s television
(thank goodness for Nick at
Nite!), and '70s fashion. I have fond memories of my first crush
(Willis from Diff'rent Strokes), first career aspiration
(Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader), and my first pair of
Calvins.
8 . I love the music of Earth, Wind & Fire, the Doobie
Brothers, and Tom Jones. Really.
7. I took swimming lessons for a good two years before it finally "took." In early 2005, I was terrified to get into
the deep end of the pool, but by that July I was taking ocean swim clinics (and a lesson with the Surfing Rabbi!). Yes, I did have to try hypnosis and my first triathlon
(half mile in Avalon Bay) wasn't as smooth as it should've been, but I'm getting there!
6
I was on
academic probation for a semester during my sophomore year at CMU. So were my two roommates
(together, we were referred to as the Three Graces of Groove, "the Sisters of Funk", "the
Divas of Disco", or "those three black girls" -- although one is white).
OK, so we didn't get to initiate into our sorority with the rest of our
pledge class -- we still managed to have a blast...and graduate on
time!
5. My academic papers are a hoot. My undergrad opus was
a study of intertextual identity and the comedy of Dennis Miller; I got
into the American University
graduate review with a paper about the Shannen Doherty phenomenon; and
the topic of my master's thesis -- the crowning glory of my year at the
Columbia University Graduate
School of Journalism -- was MTV's "Real World."
4. I love classic films. I'm always up for a night out to watch a revival of "Sunset Boulevard,""A Star is Born" and the like; I'm happy to forgo "American Idol" or even "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy" to check out the best of Old Hollywood on Turner Classic Movies.
3. 
I was the first American
citizen in my gigantic extended family. They're all from Guyana
-- yep, that South American country made famous by a certain cult
leader.
2. I was a contestant on two game shows in '02 (when I wasn't working full-time and could actually go to the auditions). I did my time in
The Chair, ABC's attempt at prime-time masochism, and actually WON on Comedy Central's Beat the
Geeks! (Who knew all that useless trivia clogging my brain would come in handy?)
AND....(drumroll)....
1...I have developed an insatiable
wanderlust that I can only attribute to my early addiction to the '70s
PBS children's show,
Big Blue Marble. The past decade (beginning with a fabulous, fun-filled Millennium in Paris) has included group trips
to Greece, Brazil, Fiji, Thailand, Ibiza and the South of France; marathons in New York City, Washington D.C and Honolulu; a two-month stint living with a family and studying Spanish in Seville; a few stopovers in London; a triathlon on
Catalina Island (and a few partial tris in Malibu) and vacations in Vegas, Sedona, Cannes, Rome and Australia. I wouldn't have it any other way.
In 2009, I spent 10 glorious days in Spain -- partying in Madrid and volunteering with an
English-language immersion program in Salamanca, and about half the year having fun in New York Cit-ay. So far in 2010, I've volunteered at the Sundance Film Festival, and might do the same at the Tribeca Film Festival in April/May. Wherever my travels take me (planning on going back to Spain to walk the Camino de Santiago de Compostela), I enjoy returning to my beloved home in the San Fernando Valley of La La -- and back to weekly hikes in Griffith Park, days docenting at the Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica and afternoons riding along the Burbank bike path. Giddyap!
