Issuing supreme power to you...one moment.

My self-summary Propose an edit

I'm hoping to find someone who'll surprise me! That's what the Southland's about after all, and how can you not love it? I don't know about you, but I swear I didn't come out here to be an L.A. cliché, yet here I am: blown away by the Hollywood or West Hollywood farmer's markets every single week, puttering with the native plants in my garden, crazy about ocean swimming, learning how to teach yoga, past knee-deep in the Tao and qi gong/ nei gung... what happened to the levelheaded East Coast literature scholar?? At least I still adore my family, teaching, questionable music, and museums. Especially Latin pop and the netsuke at LACMA.

What I'm doing with my life Propose an edit

Teaching literature part-time at UCLA... making sure our Bruins get out and see the big city.
This leaves plenty of time for my awesome friends, cooking, (friends + cooking = dinner parties!), trying to make my life as eco as possible--and my favorite thing, learning new things! You can read that like a fortune cookie, or not, but in any case I hope you have a few new tricks up your sleeve.

I'm really good at Propose an edit

Listening. Asking questions. Finding answers. Which leads to more questions... In a good way, I promise, no inquisitions. Or not so you'd notice. Probably. :-)

The first thing(s) people usually notice about me Propose an edit

... that they say out loud?
1. "Hey, your eyes are BLUE."
2. "Nice smile pretty lady!" (alt. "pretty smile nice lady!")
Now guess which comment gets followed up by a request for something... we may conclude that my eye color is true but #2 is of questionable veracity.

My favorite books, movies, music, and food Propose an edit

For movies my arm needs twisting but then I'm always grateful: like, I just discovered Miyazaki and Mizoguchi? Still haven't seen The Big Lebowski or anything Fellini? Pathetic much? Help please?

As for books, everything you'd expect a lit prof to like (surprise), plus Harry of course, Robin McKinley, children's lit in general really (and yes I loved Goodnight Bush), Octavia Butler, Rachel Carson, and I'm just getting into the Taoist and Buddhist stuff. Good times. But what I really love are friends who will sift through and then tell me about NPR and the New Yorker. Also the Sunday paper, or just about any nonfiction, really. I will trade large favors for these services. Help please? :-)

The six things I could never do without Propose an edit

"The inquiring consciousness." Henry James nailed it. That and another, preferably kind, inquiring consciousness to talk to... preferably in my garden or by a fire and over tea/cocoa/coffee/wine and snacks/cookies.

I spend a lot of time thinking about Propose an edit

My friends and family, lesson plans and students, yoga poses and practices, garden care... enlightenment... gossip... and food, mmm... Happily from my best philosophical perspective these are all much the same thing.

Professionally, I study literature and nature. So, environment, civilization, compost, biophilia, apocalypse... the usuals. And how we tell stories about them. And how we might still be OK.

On a typical Friday night I am Propose an edit

Eating and talking. Or talking and eating. Sometimes some watching and/or listening precedes or follows the talking and the eating. Or working out, or walking. But there is ALWAYS eating and talking, or talking and eating.

The most private thing I'm willing to admit here Propose an edit

I can never remember which sports I play right-handed and which left. Strange and tragic, no?

You should message me if Propose an edit

... you're even thinking about it. It's worth a try, right? :-)