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Some of the things which frequently occupy my
time or my mind
| Books: |
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To say that I like books would be a bit of
an understatement. I am a bookworm, and not ashamed to admit
it! According to my mother, I was reading Dr. Seuss by the age
of two, and my passion for books and reading simply grew from
there. I began to actively build my own personal library
around the age of 14 and try to continue to do so today. Every
so often, when I can afford it, I pick up a few new books from
a bookstore, and, when I have the opportunity I also like to
browse garage sales for various used books to add to my
collection, which is currently numbering between 600-700.
In addition to my general collection, I also collect the book
Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne in foreign
languages. To date, I have editions in Catalan,
English, Finnish,
Frisian, German, Latin,
Norwegian,
Polish, Swedish and Yiddish,
and I'm constantly looking to acquire even more. If you know
of or have access to an edition in a language that I do not
yet have, please contact
me. I would be willing to reimburse for the purchase
price, as well as postage.
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| The Internet: |
| In November 1994, a friend of
mine (thanks, Kristina!) showed me something neat called
"telnet". My first connection was to a talker called Castle
and it was there that I first took the name "Ryner" for
myself. I thought that being able to chat with people all over
the world via a computer was simply The Coolest Thing Ever.
About a year later, around September 1995, I was introduced to
NannyMUD. At this point, the novelty of talkers having worn
off somewhat, I was newly enthusiastic about the concept of an
interactive game. Several talkers have come and gone, and I've
sampled some other MUDs, but now I have settled down at just
one talker and one MUD: |
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NannyMUD, or simply "Nanny" as
it is affectionately called, is a role-playing MUD with a
medieval theme up and running since 1991. Diverse areas,
guilds and quests make for an entertaining and often
addictive atmosphere. The machine on which the MUD runs is
located in Linköping, Sweden, and players from Sweden and the
USA comprise a large percentage of the population. Nanny's
diverse player population is one of its most appealing
features; at one point recently when I checked, there were
players logged on from Denmark, The Netherlands, Sweden,
Israel, USA., Finland, Romania, Norway, Greece and the UK.
I've been playing Nanny since fall 1995 and am known by "Lourdes"
there. If you like, you can
finger me to see if I am logged on or not. NannyMUD also
has a homepage. |
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Cut and Cats' Cradle are two talkers
I semi-regularly frequent nowadays. |
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The World
is a talker I frequented from 1995-2001. Unfortunately, it is
now defunct. |
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| Genealogy: |
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A couple of
years ago I became interested in researching my family tree.
So far I've been able to trace back to and verify family
members who immigrated from England, Holland, Germany, Norway
and Austria. I'm finding it a truly fascinating and rewarding
hobby. I may give genealogy its own dedicated page later on,
but for now here are some of my most frequently used links:
Locality-specific
links:
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| Penpalling: |
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I'm a letter-writing fanatic. My first
penpal (at age 11) was a girl in Australia, and with just a few exceptions
when I couldn't make time to keep in touch (like going off to college),
I've been happily writing people from various locations around the globe
ever since. I'm not sure just what it is about it, but I derive deep
satisfaction from written correspondence -- sharing hopes, dreams, stories
and lives. Nowadays I prefer to write to other women from different
countries or cultures. Below are some useful links for old-fashioned snail-mailers:
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| Music: |
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For as long as I can remember, I've loved to sing. Through
most of my school years I was involved in choirs, but when starting high school I opted
for other electives to fill my schedule and never rejoined. I still enjoy singing quite a
bit, but my voice, which I once felt sounded halfway decent, isn't what it used to be
without the regular training. Of course, that doesn't stop me from singing around the
house, in the shower or anywhere else!
 When listening
to music, I prefer the sounds of classic rock to most other genres. My all-time favorite
band by far is Queen. Brilliant lyrics,
fantastic music and Mercury's phenomenal voice -- heaven! I could go on with endless
praise for these guys.
As much as I enjoy Queen, it is not the only music I listen to. XTC follows a close second.
Highly recommended: XTC's latest albums, Apple
Venus Vol. 1 and Apple Venus Vol. 2:
Wasp Star. I also enjoy The Monkees,
The Mamas and the Papas, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, The Platters, The Who (TOMMY!),
The BeeGees (but not the disco stuff),
The Moody Blues, Simon & Garfunkel and Peter, Paul &
Mary. There are probably some others I can't think of right now, but I'll add them when I
do.
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Chalkhills - the
definitive XTC fan site
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XTC -
their official band site
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| Sports: |
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In-line skating (rollerblading): Just
this year we've taken up rollerblading and it's awesome!!!
We've been trying out all kinds of trails, both in the metro
area and outstate.
Swimming: When I was
nine months old, my mom enrolled me in the local "Water
Babies" swimming class, and when I was a bit older I had some
other swimming classes with further instruction in different
strokes. I've loved the water for as long as I can remember
and swam whenever I had the opportunity. Growing up with a
lake in my backyard was a nice encouragement, too! It's gotten
harder to find the time to swim regularly as I've gotten older
and moved away from home.
Gymnastics:
I practiced gymnastics for several years in my early teens,
and advanced to the point of entering competitions, but I
disliked the pressure of being so closely scrutinized, and at
that point I hung up my leotard, so-to-speak. Nowadays,
chronic knee problems are a constant reminder of those years.
Orienteering: More
recently, Jonas and I have been attending some local orienteering meets. I
was first introduced to this sport at camp when I was in 4th grade and
found it really fun. Jonas had also done a bit with his mother when he was
younger as well, so when I heard there was a local club we decided to
check it out. Now we're beginners again but hope to find some time to get
into it.
Baseball:
No, I don't play baseball myself, but it's definitely my
favorite sport to watch, whether in person or on TV, and to
listen to on the radio. My favorite team, through all of their
ups and (mostly) downs, is my hometown Minnesota Twins, though
between 1994 and 1999, when was living away from the Twin
Cities, it was quite a bit more difficult to follow their
seasons. Although I recognize almost none of the names
currently on the roster, I intend to again be an avid fan now
that I'm back! Below you'll find a link to the Twins' website,
as well as some links to other local Minnesota teams:
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| Cross-Stitch: |
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When I was about seven or eight, my mother taught me to
crochet. Although I could fly through granny squares with ease, every attempt at making a
standard afghan resulted in crooked rows and frustration. A few years later I discovered
cross-stitch, and began completing every pattern I could get my hands on. As I've grown
older, my spare time has decreased, but I still try to set aside some time to work on some
projects.
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| Pets: |
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Unfortunately, since moving
away from home for school and having been moving around
frequently the last few years, I currently have no pets. I
hope to have another hedgehog sometime, as well as a couple of
dogs running around. I'd also like some slugs.
Dogs: While I was growing
up, we had three different dogs: Sam was a beagle/basset mix and was already
pretty old and laid-back by the time I was born. My parents tell me I used to ride him
around the yard like a little pony. He eventually developed cancer and we have to have him
put to sleep when I was around 5 years old. We then got a bulldog, Rocky,
who was adorable as a puppy, but unfortunately he developed a bad disposition and we
ultimately had to take him to the pound. Finally, when I was around 8 years old we got Boomer,
a red and white basset. Boomer was an exceptional dog - adorable, intelligent and playful
and treated just like one of the family. He was a constant companion to both me and my
sister. Boomer lived to be 11 years old, and although he eventually was completely blind
in both eyes, he still ran around the house and yard like there was no tomorrow! In April
of 1996 he became severely ill, and fortunately I was able to travel home to Minnesota
from college to see him again before he died.
Hedgehogs: During high
school I had an African hedgehog, which turned out to be a really exciting as well as
unique pet. His name was HoJo and he was really quite adorable. Here is one of my graduation pictures taken with him -
he behaved so well for the camera! For more information about HoJo and hedgehogs in
general, see the following link:
Other pets I have had
over the years include:
- Tina, Brownie: gerbils
- Fred: teddybear hamster
- Billy: a parakeet
- Also in the household at some point, but not necessarily belonging to me,
were an another gerbil, some hamsters, another parakeet, two rats, two mice, some fish and
an albino frog. Unfortunately, the frog made a habit of eating all of the fish.
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| Updated 22 August, 2002. |
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