Getting To Know You, Getting To Know All About You

[Tom Wall]

It's a real pleasure to be here! I'm a bit behind the rest of you, 
so I've been trying to catch up today. It's been great learning so 
much about y'all, and so now here's the low-down on me:

>Real name:
Thomas Michael Wall
Yeah, I wasn't too creative with the pseudonym-stuff when I joined.

>Also known as:
Tom
Tommy Boy
Philo

>Age/Sex:
25/M

>Birthplace/Livingplace:
I was born in Norwood, Massachusetts, and grew up in a little suburb 
of New Bedford, MA (of 'Moby Dick' fame) called Acushnet. Acushnet's 
big claim to fame is that Titleist, apparently the world's premiere 
golfball manufacturer, is based there. I now live in Queens, New 
York.

>Family Life:
Single, with commitment issues. I'm lucky to have two great and 
supportive parents, and a younger brother and sister that I like a 
lot more now that I (and they) are older. And close friends 
definitely register more as family than as friends.

>Personality:
I have no idea what I'd be on Myers-Briggs. I tend to ask a lot of 
questions, and am fairly good-natured. I dwell on things in my head 
(or out loud, to the dismay of many) until I'm either satisfied or 
bored. I like to have a favorite poem memorized. Currently, 
that's `Jabberwocky.' I *love* to brainstorm and generate ideas, 
even if they never get used, and teamwork is incredibly fulfilling. 
I have a LOT of trouble dropping projects before they're completed. 
I've got no sense of punctuality, haven't worn a watch in over a 
decade, and tend to procrastinate heavily, unless it's something 
that I really care about and in which I'm interested.

>Words friends have used to describe you:
Talkative, inquisitive, stubborn, generous, chronically-late, care-
free, procrastinator, and playful.

>Words you have used to describe you:
Gregarious, procrastinator, gullible, curious, night-owl, open-
minded, loyal.

>Things you do when not staring at the computer:
I used to play the tuba and was a bona-fide band-geek for eight 
years, but since brass instruments are so expensive (and I don't own 
a tuba,) I don't get to play anymore. Love to read, hence a previous 
nickname: `Booky-boy Tom,' which I disdained, for reasons I'm not 
clear on myself. I also love to write, and carry a small notebook 
with me everywhere. I walk everywhere, and love to explore cities 
and parklands - one of the greatest feelings is when I can finally 
visualize the world above the subway stops. Prefer a good card game 
to TV or the bar. I have been known to consort with Mary-Jane and 
listen to Phish from time to time. ;-) And I make a point of going 
to the movies at least once every two weeks. Latest: Finding Nemo, 
which was fantastic! "The sea-monkey stole my lunch-money." 
Priceless.

>Comfort foods:
Greek food, Goldfish (the crackers,) Cheez-Its (crackers again,) 
falafel, carrots (which I've recently learned can be habit-forming) 
and vanilla ice-cream. Oh, and mashed potatoes with gravy. *Love* 
that.

>Education/Work:
Double B.A. in Philosophy and the Classics from Boston University. 
Normally I'd just say `B.U.,' but apparently there are lots of those 
out there. Very frustrating to tell someone I went to `B.U.' and 
get, in reply, "Baylor?" No. Not Baylor. ;-)

>Language skills
English. High-school Latin. And despite four tedious semesters, 
practically no retained knowledge of Ancient Greek, which means that 
I'm in absolute awe of Melody and Charis Julia. New Testament? Oh 
man, that was horrifying!

I also tried to take Intro to Spanish in college, because I think 
Spanish is a beautiful language, but the professor didn't speak any 
English. Intro to Spanish. Intro, people, intro! Even the book was 
totally in Spanish. And to boot, there were people in the class who 
already spoke Spanish. Good grief, I felt so dumb there, and dropped 
it after a week. Never looked back.

>Technical know-how:
Old school HTML, and I never bothered to learn any of those new-
fangled programs like Dreamweaver. Some SQL and PLSQL.

>Favourite HP book:
GoF, definitely. I can reread `The First Task' over and over and 
over again – the descriptions of the Hungarian Horntail are so 
delightfully vivid, and the scene has so much tension it's 
overpowering.

>Favourite HP character(s):
Trelawney makes me laugh out loud. I'm intrigued by Snape. But I'd 
have to say Dumbledore (despite my desire to see what happens when 
he's dead,) with Lupin at a *very* close second. Oh, and as a 
redhead, I'm definitely partial to the Weasley clan, although no one 
Weasley in particular.

>Favourite HP line:
After they sing the school song in PS/SS:
"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do 
here!" So true. That really resonates with me.

>Watching/Avoiding the HP movies?:
Watching, and scrutinizing too much for my own good. Lucius 
definitely is saying `Avada' at the end of CoS after Harry frees 
Dobby. Ergh! It was infuriating... why invent when the story's so 
compelling already? After seeing `Y Tu Mama Tambien,' I'm confident 
that Cuaron's going to do PoA justice.

>Into HP fanfiction?
Not really – I think it's fascinating, but it's just not my cup of 
tea. Like some of you, maybe I'll check it out after book seven.

>Books you'd recommend to just about anyone:
My all-time favorite book is `The Phantom Tollbooth' by Norton 
Juster. It's full of so much wisdom and insight that I've read it at 
least once a year since the fourth grade. Highly recommended.

I loved `White Teeth' by Zadie Smith, and `One Hundred Years of 
Solitude' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez blew my socks off. `The Grapes 
of Wrath,' `The Foundation Series,' by Isaac Asimov; Stephen 
King's `The Stand;' `Catch-22,' and `A Prayer for Owen Meany' by 
John Irving would also be on my list. `The Screwtape Letters,' by 
C.S. Lewis totally warped me for a few days. And almost all 
childhood favorites, from the Narnia Chronicles to vintage Roald 
Dahl register highly.

>Favorite TV shows?
The Simpsons, Frasier, and reruns of Seinfeld.

>Favorite movies:
Oooh, `Babe' is my favorite movie, hands down. "That'll do, pig. 
That'll do." I start bawling uncontrollably there every time.

Other favorites are `The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly,' `The 
Shawshank Redemption,' `The Bridge Over the River Kwai,' `The Lord 
of the Rings' films, `What About Bob?' (Bill Murray is too funny to 
be allowed,) `Election,' and `Waiting for Guffman.'

>One thing about your life you'd change if you could – you may not 
>say "lose weight."
I would not have started smoking. At first, honestly, having a 
cigarette was both pleasant and relaxing. Now it's a nuisance, and I 
feel like a leper in public, especially since smoking indoors in 
public places is not allowed anymore in New York.

>One thing about your life you wouldn't change even for an advance 
>copy of Book 7:
Okay, this is a plural-singular: the people I love. I wouldn't have 
the heart to change any of their eccentricities and flaws.
 
>Philosophy for an easy life:
Um, I'm terrible at mantras and stuff like that, and tend to reject 
one-line solutions as boring. However, one of the most compelling 
thoughts on life, happiness, and self-worth that I've heard recently 
was from the movie `Adaptation:' "You are what you love, not what 
loves you." Excellent. Really meaningful.

>How you found HPfGU:
Well, I got my mother into the HP novels, and she loved them 
immensely. Like that's a surprise. ;-) But, she was always 
complaining about how much vocabulary there was, and how many 
characters there were. She said she just couldn't keep up, and as a 
result, she had to keep going back to look things up.

So, I made her a lexicon for Christmas (without knowing that there 
already *was* one online, which would have made things easier, yet 
also would have seemed like cheating to me) and about halfway 
through, I found Steve's HP Lexicon. When I was done with the whole 
project, which entailed reading all four books twice, back to back, 
my head was abuzz with theories and ideas. So I went back to the 
Lexicon and starting putzing around, followed a few links, and voila!

>Active at other HP sites:
I sincerely tried, but they were infested with twelve year olds. 
It's really hard to get a point across to a twelve year old. HPfGU 
is definitely the best one out there.

>Your most rock solid OoP prediction:
I'm terrified for Hagrid.

>Members of the fandom you have personally met:
None, yet. Although Jim tells me that the NYC group is fairly active.

>Add a question of your choosing and answer it:
Wow, this question is harder than I thought. Um, what's your most 
embarrassing moment? When I was a Jr. Leader in Boy Scouts, at 
summer camp, some of my wonderful young charges decided it'd be 
hilarious to fly my underwear (which were white briefs at the time) 
up the camp's central flagpole before morning assembly because I 
made them hit the sack earlier than they wanted. Of course, no 
underwear-flying episode would be complete without writing my name 
on it first. <shudder>

<Something you'd do over if you had the chance:>
I would have signed up for the Peace Corps. Not that I still can't, 
just that I probably won't now.

This is great, you guys. I've learning about all of you, too! Hope 
everyone's doing well out there.

-Tom