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maygra gave me "R".
1. Ramamurthy (Sendhil). Um, what?!! His last name starts with an R and I do love him. He's talented, he's charming, he raised his hand when Kevin Smith was talking about "the gay Heroes" as though to say Mohinder's gay even though Kevin was talking about Ando and Hiro, he fake made out with Greg Grunberg on stage, he looks good in pink, and in
orange which ought to be against the law, he's smart - was studying to be a doctor, is from Texas but plays an immigrant on tv, wears striped scarves in and out of character, and when Greg's talking about the romance of sailing he has his arm around Masi. And that's all just recent, and leaves out the fact that he is, beyond doubt, one of the most beautiful men in Hollywood (quote: Masi Oka).
2. Red. Deep red, fire engine red, brick red, red rock, pure screaming red, skies streaked with red, red lipstick, red dresses, Red Rocks Ampitheatre and Blues Traveller on the Fouth of July. It's my favorite color - when I bother to have one, and it makes me feel...real.
3. Roxy. My favorite horse, hands down, of all my hunters and jumpers and all of our Arabians, was my Canadian thoroughbred, Roxy. I showed her under the name Artist's Proof, we won, god, countless championships in the Junior, Amateur, and Working Hunter divisions. Dark bay, 4 white socks, and a big white blaze. I let her go when I went to grad school, and I'll never forgive myself for it. I used to take her jumping bareback, and often did our horse show practices bareback and did dressage that way too. One time we got a shout out from Michael Matz at the Prescott Ball and Turban show in Cleveland, when he was yelling at one of his trainees; he said pointed to me and Rox and said "that Junior hunter pairing does this better than you and your Grand Prix jumper. Get on it." I knew Michael from a few clinics, but I was seriously pleased, and I'll never forget that moment. Nor the way that particular mare felt between my legs. Solid, strong, responsive...she belonged to me and I to her, and yes I know that sounds like sex. I can't help that riding is sensual. :P
4. RPS. Does this even need an explanation? I love Real People Slash/Fic. It's easier to write than canon-fic for me, and more fun most of the time. It's the faces and a few characteristics of the characters I love built into stories I'd probably like to tell anyway. The voices flow easier, I never worry if I'm getting them "right" and it's just...fun. Lots of fun. Plus, omg HOT.
5. Reading. I can go anywhere, do anything, be anyone. I can emerge triumphant from the greatest of battles. I can live through things that are truly awful and come out better and stronger on the other side. Books make me laugh, cry, dream; they've been trustworthy friends when there were no others, best friends even when there were. They've helped me back to sleep when nightmares woke me, kept me up when I should've been sleeping, held my hand when I would've been crying. When my parents fought, when my sister stole my mother's attention, when I'm angry, happy, sad, can't sleep, don't want to... I've built a life around books, reading, research. I wouldn't have it any other way.
6. Red Wine. Give me a good Chianti or Brunello di Montalcino, a Petit Syrah or a Shiraz, a Zinfandel or a Cabernet. Fuck the sulfites and my allergies to them, fuck the blue tinge to my lips after and the headache the next day. One glass is never enough, whether it's tart, peppery, berry, woody, earthy, or dry. Once upon a time I worked in a restaurant that served 300 different wines; I'm not a connoisseur anymore, but I'll never stop preferring it.
7. Reasons. I can haz reasons. My reasons, let me show you them. Just ask me "why" sometime, and you'll see. It's kind of like asking my thoughts on yaoi though, so don't ask unless you're serious and you've got time. I'll add "research" as a sidenote here, because I love that almost as much as reasons, and it's how I end up with a lot of them. But, you know, don't leave out rationalization, because I can do that with the best of them. Serious, I can rationalize anything. ;)
8. Red Planet. Mars! It's how I met the RealSpouse,
kaseido. We were on a Mars Society list dedicated to law and governance and I asked about some grad programs and research; he sent me a bibliography and it was love at first byte. Don't believe me? Check out: reading and reasons. ;) Why Mars, though? It's our sister planet. There's something incredibly haunting about knowing there's water there and maybe even primitive life forms. Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy is one of my very favorite series, and one of my favorite absolutely unknown CDs is called "Soundtrack from a Mars Movie" because it contains my anthem "You're so smart" - a song about all the smart women our friend Sam knew in the space movement. I always wanted him to do a revised verse including me. Maybe someday I'll use my brain and my words for something that'd move him. :) Anyway, I love Mars, the Rovers, sample return, NASA JPL, and plans for human missions, everything about it fires my imagination. Plus? It's RED!
9. Romance. Hi, have you met me? I'm the ultimate romantic. Not in the sense of soulmates and OTPs, but in the sense of believing that love does matter. That love can make a difference. That two people who love each other can find a way, no matter what else - even if the 'else' is having to learn to love the other's brother too. Maybe it's what I read growing up (Jacob Have I Loved might've been my favorite book), or that my grandparents still smile every time their eyes meet, or maybe it's that my parents refused to give up on their marriage, or maybe because they should've but I wish they hadn't needed to. I don't really know, but I love the stories I read to have happy endings that make things work out right. Even if it's not forever. It's probably why Farscape and Babylon 5 will be my favorite shows when everyone else has forgotten them, why I don't ship for pretty, and why this Mohinder/Peter fic has taken 21K to get to the first real kiss.
10. Rosh Hashanah. The Jewish New Year. I don't think about it much or talk about it much, but the other day I was explaining to someone that being Jewish for me is about what I call "the persistence of memory." In every age, in every place that my people have survived, the traditions have been handed down from parent to child, have been treasured and hoarded even in the absence of the place and the cycles of seasons that gave them birth. I love all of the Jewish holidays, but perhaps Rosh Hashanah most of all. The end and the beginning, the close of one year and the opening of the new. The tart, clean freshness of apple on my tongue, and the clinging musky sweetness of honey. The tears in my grandmother's eyes every time she makes it to another Rosh Hashanah, the smell of the synagogue of my childhood and helping to unroll the Torah scroll, the feeling of something wonderfully somber and joyous all at once. My childhood, my future, my memories, my stories.
If you'd like a letter, leave a comment and I'll give you one!