If you really knew me, you would know…

(This post was inspired by the incomparable Alexandra Franzen, and by Cassie’s genius interpretation of it from her perch at House of Owls. I highly encourage you to check both out.)

(Go ahead. I’ll wait.)

So without further ado, in the spirit of inching that proverbial blog curtain up just a liiittle bit higher:

IF YOU REALLY KNEW ME, you’d know…

Once, in a strange twist of fate, I answered a phone and befriended a painter living in Africa. I proudly received three of his original works from Equatorial Guinea a few months later:

Here’s one of them. Terrible photo, beautiful painting.

I’m convinced Instagram blew up because it’s an easy way for people to showcase their private obsessions with beauty. This is something we need as a species.

I wrote about 20 chapters of my first fantasy novel in the second grade. They’re still floating around somewhere… physically and mentally.

I can whistle through my teeth, and even louder through my fingers.

I believe in the power of red lipstick and pencil skirts.

My first favorite color was red. Then yellow. Then blue. But now; blue, blue, blue everything in my life. All shades and shadows. Blue hair is next on the list. Stand by.

I once had two badass whiskered friends, Simon and TS Eliot. They went to new, loving homes when I moved to NYC.

As a wee Weiss, I was the first of my class to be allowed to check out chapter books from the library. I remember solemnly walking down the ‘Kid’s Chapter Fiction’ aisle feeling like I’d been given the keys to the universe. (I had.)

I just can’t get into Hemingway, no matter how hard I try. Sigh. I suspect this makes me less of a literary snaffoo.

I was born with a blocked left tear duct, which used to make my eye fog up. While the problem cleared itself, my mom gave me the nickname Misty, and has called me that ever since.

I’m a compulsive nicknamer. The names tend to stick, for better or for worse. I get it from my Mom.

I love Paris, and I’ve been to the top of the Eiffel tower twice. But I love New York City more.

In 2009, I did a field study course at The Lemur Conservation Foundation in Myakka City, Florida. I studied 8 different species of lemur in their free-range habitat; common brown, mongoose, ring-tailed, red ruff, and sanfords. It. Was. Awesome.

Me soaking up early morning rays with my favorite ring-tail, Yuengling.
I don’t dig strawberry ice cream, or mint chocolate. No, you cannot introduce me to a brand that will suddenly make me love it.

I need music. Music, music, music at all times, in all the nooks and crannies of my life & mind.

I danced for 8 years in my childhood, but was always kind of terrible at it. I’m alright with that – and continue to dance with wildly ridiculous abandon pretty much anywhere.

I play piano and can read music, but my extra petite hands are too small for more complex pieces.

I spent a night at the Hostel in the Forest three years ago, and have been dying to go back ever since.

I have a laugh that can be heard up to 100+ yards away. I find this to be a somewhat dubious talent.

I adore music festivals & the wardrobe required for them. I’ve got a drawer full of neon & metallic wear, and I’ve owned at least half a dozen full-face masks in my time.

I have no tattoos or piercings aside from my ears. This may be subject to change.

I’ve waitressed/hosted at 7 restaurants in my lifetime.

I’m not a natural redhead. My hair is actually a light blondish-brown. (Did I just blow your mind?)

I have a bizarrely long memory for rhymes. I still remember the first poem I ever memorized in my fifth grade English class.

My favorite artist is Salvador Dali (who shares a birthday with my terribly talented partner. Coincidence?). His work stretches my imagination. My favorite masterpiece is Columbus Discovering America.

Sometimes, I paint. Shyly. Mostly stuff for my friends, like this one:

My proudest work to date is an interpretation of Dali’s Rose Meditative for a friend Leigh Rose – called Leigh Rose meditative.

Again with the terrible cell phone quality photos

My favorite creature is the octopus. Big brains, and the ability to slip into almost any space and adapt to any background, unencumbered by troublesome bones and tendons. Most definitely the grooviest of all invertebrates.

I’ve been a passionate thrifter since I was 16. As a result, my closet resembles something like a supernova.

I was published for the first time this year – I wrote an essay for the End Sex Trafficking Day book called ‘Small Fish Sydnrome: a Narrative for the Comparative’.

I’m a proud member of the Literati writer’s group.

I’m a citizen of Switzerland as well as the US. My family has some very groovy little apartments there.

Toasting travel in 2009 with one of my besties.

I’m proficient in conversational French, but I’m painfully out of practice.

I once lived next door to a meditation instructor who turned my views on reality inside out. Since then, I’ve been practicing visualization techniques to help me walk around inside my own imagination like a room.

My entire family has dimples. It makes us all look very related.

My life is incredibly joyful, and I’m very blessed to be here, with you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Your turn.

You didn’t think I’d really let you off that easy, did you?

So now, tell me: what are some awesomely weird/wonderful things I should know about YOU?