Getting To Know You, Getting To Know All About You

[Phyllis]

First my awful Mundungus de-lurk post, now this...

>Real name:

Phyllis Morris
(not Philip Morris, the tobacco magnate – *Phyllis* Morris)

>Also known as:

erisedstraeh2002 (Yahoo ID)
Phyl (nickname only used by my three brothers and Grey Wolf) 

>Age/Sex:

Same as Cindy: 41/F

>Birthplace/Livingplace:

Interestingly, the exact opposite of Cindy – I was born in 
Washington, D.C. (I actually used to work in Bethesda, Maryland – a 
hellish commute from where I was living in Arlington, Virginia!), but 
have lived in New York (State capitol, Albany) since 1992.

>Family Life:

1 husband, 2 kids (4 and 6).  

>Personality:

Hard-working, fairly serious but I love a good laugh.

>Words friends have used to describe you:

Sensitive, loyal, provider of good advice

>Words you have used to describe you:

Too hard-working!

>Things you do when not staring at the computer:

Primarily working and caring for my family.  I hold a third-degree 
black belt in karate, so I train sometimes (not as much as I should, 
however!).  I also play the piano, but have regressed from playing 
Bach inventions at competitions to playing nursery songs for my kids 
(the latter is infinitely more enjoyable, however!).
 
>Comfort foods:

Anything with sugar and refined white flour as the main ingredients.  
Preferably including chocolate.

>Education/Work:

BA in English and History from the University of Notre Dame; MPA 
(Master of Public Administration) from the George Washington 
University.

Currently working in the New York Governor's budget office as a 
budget analyst for state welfare programs.

>Language skills

I only know English, but I know it well!

>Technical know-how:

Proficient with word processing; good with numbers; good analyst; 
good proofreader and editor; fast and accurate typist; OK with 
spreadsheets.

>Favourite HP book:

PoA. 

>Favourite HP character(s):

Harry.  I'm a sucker for a hero! 

>Favourite HP line

My favorite *funny* lines: 

Ch. 18 of CoS, when Dumbledore says  "`Impaled upon your own sword, 
Gilderoy!' `Sword?' said Lockhart dimly.  `Haven't got a sword.  That 
boy has, though.' He pointed at Harry. `He'll lend you one.'"

My favorite *inspirational* lines:

Dumbledore to Harry: "You think the dead we have loved ever truly 
leave us?" (PoA, Ch. 22)

Dumbledore to the assembled Hogwarts students:  "We are only as 
strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided." (GoF, Ch. 37)

>Watching/Avoiding the HP movies?:

Watching; mostly enjoying, although some parts aggravate me when they 
deviate too much from the text.  I want the movies to be just like 
the books!

>Into HP fanfiction?

I haven't read any fan fiction yet.

>Books you'd recommend to just about anyone:

Oh, my.  So hard to pick just a few.  I really enjoyed the "Wind on 
Fire" trilogy by William Nicholson; the "His Dark Materials" trilogy 
and "Clockwork" by Philip Pullman; "The Giver" by Lois Lowry and "The 
Lovely Bones" by Alice Seibold.

>Favorite TV shows?

I haven't watched TV since I stopped nursing my daughter three years 
ago, but when I was watching, I enjoyed "Law and Order."  It was the 
best show to watch while nursing, since daily re-runs were shown 
during prime nursing hours – 11:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m.

>Favorite movies:

Lorenzo's Oil; Awakenings

>One thing about your life you'd change if you could – you may not 
>say "lose weight."

Rats, losing weight is always high on my agenda!  I would try to be 
more easy-going and not take life so seriously.

>One thing about your life you wouldn't change even for an advance 
>copy of Book 7:

Having children.  Although I wouldn't want an advance copy of Book 7 
until I had the opportunity to read Book 6!

>Philosophy for an easy life:

Find the happiness that lies within!  (When I've managed to figure 
out how to do this, I'll let you know.)

>How you found HPfGU:

Like Cindy, I was trying to find out the release date for Book 5. 
Last summer, I saw the SS video for sale at the drugstore and thought 
I'd buy it to see what all the commotion was about.  I was 
immediately hooked, and bought the first three books, foolishly 
thinking that they would answer all of the unanswered questions the 
movie left me with.  I only bought the first three books since GoF 
was due to come out in paperback the next month and I figured it 
would take me that long to read three books.  How wrong I was!  Like 
so many others, I buzzed right through SS, CoS and PoA and 
immediately purchased the GoF hardback (there was no way I was 
waiting for the paperback!).  I then wanted to find out when Book 5 
was coming out, and Google took me to the Book 5 page on Steve's 
Lexicon.  I started exploring the Lexicon, and found references to 
HPfGU, and thought I'd check it out.  I was instantly impressed by 
the quality of the posts and the friendliness of the folks!

>Active at other HP sites:

I regularly visit The Leaky Cauldron for news, and still putter 
around the Lexicon occasionally.

>Your most rock solid OoP prediction:

We will find out that Fawkes was once Godric Gryffindor's phoenix.

>Members of the fandom you have personally met:

None yet, but like Gail, I am hoping to remedy this in July at 
Nimbus!  Although I feel as if I've personally met many HPfGU-ers 
during Sunday chat and on the lists.
 
~Phyllis
thanking you all for taking the time to read this!