1. What country, area of the US or city do you live in? Were you born where you live? If not, why do you live where you do? What do you like and dislike about where you live?

I live in Winnipeg, less than 100 miles from the longitudinal center of Canada. I was born in Montréal and moved here about thirty years ago. I left Québec in a time of turbulent politics (primarily language restrictions) and came to Winnipeg because I had visited here and liked the weather.

What do I like about this place? It's a "small" big city with a lot of great culture.

What do I dislike? Ironically, the weather. (Thirty years with -40C winter days will do that to you.)

2. Are you are married? Single? Do you have children?

My best friend and I have been partners for six and a half years now. I have one adult daughter who lives with us.

3. Do you have any pets? What kinds?

I have eight cats and seven fish (blackskirt tetras, an algae eater, and a cory).

4. What are your hobbies and/or interests? What do you do to relax?

I adore dragons and have them just about everywhere in my house. Somewhat related is my interest in the Dragonlance fantasy series, with a strong affinity to Raistlin Majere. I also collect penguins, semi-precious stones and Silver Surfer comics, and do a bit of art (acrylics, Photoshop manipulations, and sculpture). And music -- See below.

5. What kind of work do you do? Do you like where you work? Do you have plans for making a job change?

I'm currently working as an office temp, assigned to various medical offices. (Currently I'm doing clerical relief at a hospital.) In the evenings I teach music part-time. Before all this, I was a network administrator and computer hardware technician.

Looking for a more lucrative day job than the temp work, but not sure what I want to do.

6. What is your favorite kind of music? Who is your favorite musical artist? Do you play any musical instruments? If so, what do you play? How well?

I tend to favour hard rock over most other styles, but my tastes are quite varied. If I reach for a CD, most often it's Blind Guardian or Yes.

I play keyboards (quite well), guitar and bass (can hold my own as a rhythm guitarist but don't expect any flashy solos), violin (around Suzuki Book 3 level) and clarinet (only a year so far)

7. Would you rather read a book or watch a movie? What was the last book you read? What was the last movie you saw?

I'd rather read a book (95% probability) but usually have at least five on the go at any moment. Last book I finished reading was a collection of Thomas Paine writings, and currently I'm on book 1 of The Belgariad by David Eddings. Last movie I watched on DVD was The Warriors. Last movie I saw in the theatre was The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and yes, I did bring a towel.

8. Are you an ordained minister? If so, how long have you been ordained? What is your religion or spiritual path? If you are ordained, does your ministry follow only your beliefs or do you minister to others outside your path?

Not ordained. Thought of becoming a godswoman with The Troth but never pursued it. My beliefs have mutated quite a bit over the last few years, and currently I describe myself as a Zen Valkyrie (Non-theistic Buddhism + Ásatrú + an Attitude).

9. Are there any sports that you like to watch or participate in? What are they? What is your level of participation? Favorite teams or performers? Any sports you used to participate in but don't anymore?

I take Shotokan karate and spent about 10 years in other martial arts including changquan, baguazhang, judo and jiujutsu. Occasionally I swim and lift weights at the local rec centre. Enjoy watching baseball once in a while. No favourite teams at present, but in my teen years I liked the Montréal Canadiens hockey club and was a fan of drag racer Don Garlits. More recently, I enjoyed watching Royce Gracie in the Ultimate Fighting Challenge tournaments.

10. What do you see yourself doing in 5 years? 10 years?

Five years from now I want to have a self-produced CD in the local stores. Ten years from now I expect to be living in rural Manitoba and running my own music school out of my house.

People often identify with characters in books and movies for one reason or another. Did you identify with Raistlin because he is haunted, or were are you fascinated by people who appear to be haunted?


-TC

Initially I was attracted to the character because of a Larry Elmore painting, "The Companions." All my life I've been fascinated by the combination of red clothing and albino-white hair, and in fact had written about such a character in my teen years. (Mine was a female rock guitarist rather than a male practitioner of magic, however.)

After a bit of reading, what I saw in Raistlin was a kindred spirit in both the good and bad senses. I can strongly identify with his weapons-grade hissy fits (q.v. War of the Twins) and his social awkwardness, and admire his ability to transcend pain, think his way out of impossible predicaments, and stand his ground in the face of fear. I see him as a trickster and a loose cannon who has an uncanny knack for balancing and resolving.

I was curious on your thoughts of Thomas Paine. Of course, as a Deist, I've read many of his works, but I was curious what others might think of hi character as well as spiritual outlook.

_TC

When reading Paine, I had a lot of trouble initially because of the flowery centuries-old language. After getting used to the style and sifting through it all, I tended to agree with most of his points -- Particularly on the origins of government and the wrongness of hereditary leadership.

Overall I got a good impression from Paine except when he used a sarcastic jibe against a rival (which happened rather frequently). For the most part he impressed me as someone who spent a lot of time looking for clear, definitive answers to hard questions, and who carefully "showed his work" so others could follow similar thought paths.