INTRO PROFILE

[Mary Ann]

THE OLD CROWD – INTRO
 
 ***Name:
Mary Ann Jennings
 
 ***Nicknames/IDs:
macloudt on all email and LiveJournal.  Cloudt is my maiden name and 
it drove me nuts as no one ever spelled or pronounced it properly 
(the D is silent; a misspelling dating to the mid-1800s).  But it's 
darned handy when it comes to handle names because it's so unusual.
 
 ***Age:
34 for another 2 months
 
 ***Family:
All over the place.  My dad (76) lives in Oakville, outside Toronto, 
which is just about far enough.  I love him dearly, but he drives me 
nuts.  He's a very staunch Catholic and very conservative (e.g. "The 
gays" can be cured through prayer) so we don't exactly see eye-to-
eye.  Mom died of cancer in Feb 2000, and I miss her loads.  3 older 
brothers; the oldest is married with 4 kids and also lives in 
Oakville, the middle one is single and lives in Amsterdam, and the 
youngest is single and lives in London, Ontario, 200km from Toronto.  
Met Stu through penpalling and were married in July 1995.  3 kids:  
Elizabeth, 6, Gareth, 5, and David, almost 3.  Also 3 cats and a 
lovely Shetland Sheepdog named Hamish, who's cute but useless. 

 ***Home
A cluttered, messy, stained semi-detached house in a pretty dreary 
seaside town named Weston-super-Mare, 20 miles south of Bristol, 
southwest England.  The locals can't believe that I moved from 
Toronto to be here.
 
 ***Birthday, Place of Birth:
August 13 in Pointe Claire, Quebec.  Mom was almost 42 and scared the 
daylights out of her GP.
 
 ***Education/Job/Role in Life etc:
Honours Bachelor of Arts with a double major in sociology and 
anthropology from York University, Toronto.  Fun but useless degree.  
Currently a domestic goddess (hate the term housewife) but spend lots 
of time outside the house.  I volunteer in my kids' school and with 
the Guides and Scouts, and anything else I can be suckered into.  
Come September I'll be looking for part-time work.

Role in life?  Apart from motherhood, not a clue.  I know I want to 
further my education but I don't know what I want to study.  I plan 
to take computer courses at the local college for a start, and I'll 
take it from there.
 
 ***Other things we might want to know about you:
Raised Catholic but am Free Christian at best.  Definate Pinko 
leanings.  Current events junkie since the year dot but don't take 
life too seriously.  Love a good laugh with mates.  Member of Amnesty 
International since I was a legal adult and cannot abide hunting with 
dogs.  Support RSPCA, NSPCC (though the way I yell at my kids some 
days I expect to be reported by the neighbours any time now) and the 
like.  My local friends think I'm highly radical, which I find 
amusing.  Training to be a Rainbow leader and have taken up Beavers 
as well.  Help out a lot in my kids' school, which I love, but I'm 
too chicken to do teacher training.
 
 ***First contact with Harry Potter:
June 2001, on a bus trip to Cadbury's Chocolate World with the 
Brownies and Guides.  My friend who's the Rainbow leader recommended 
the books to me but I hadn't read them yet.  Since the trip was 2 
hours one way Lin asked me to borrow Stephen Fry's reading of PS from 
the local library.  Since it was on my library card I could listen to 
it when we got back and I fell head over heels in love with it.  
Promptly bought the 4-set of hardcovers and haven't looked back.
 
 ***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets 
 d'Art, general enthusing):

BOOKS:

PS, I suppose, though I really enjoy PoA as well.  I found GoF a 
little hard-going at first but enjoy it more every time I read it.

CHARACTERS:

Am I the only person who actually likes Ron?  I suppose it's have-too-
many-older-brothers syndrome, but I sympathise with Ron and can see 
why he has a slightly crummy outlook on life.  Not that he wouldn't 
benefit from a boot up the backside, mind.  I also very much like 
McGonagall and adore Mad-Eye.

SHIPS:

I'm not anti-ship but have no leanings either.  How's that for 
accommodating?

FICS:

Once upon a time I had time to read fics, especially Barb's and 
Ebony's.  I haven't been near FictionAlley for months, sadly.

OBJETS D'ART:

Lego.  Lots of it, though Hogwarts is in pieces in a box in Gareth's 
room right now.  The Hogwarts Express lives on my piano.  I also have 
a small Hedwig statue, a Hogwarts umbrella (which Stu refuses to use 
even when it's pouring down), a money box, and other little bits and 
pieces.  I'd own more if I had anywhere to put the stuff.

 ***Extent of Potter obsession:
I think it's Moderate, though most people I know outside the Fandom 
think I'm nuts.  My membership to adult HP groups is the main 
corker.  I watched both movies and own them, though I don't think 
they're fabulous, and if I see Susan Bones in one more scene I'll 
throw up.  Beth thinks the movies are very scary and will only watch 
them on a bright, sunny day while sitting on my lap, but Gareth 
adores them.  Mind you, he can't for the life of him follow the plot, 
though he likes to tell me that "the big snake is naughty".  For the 
rest I own my bits and bobs and reread the current 4 books several 
times a year.   
 
 ***Other interests/activities:
Reading (hundreds of books in the house), music, playing the piano 
(badly) when I get the chance, volunteering, needlework, surfing 
the 'net, meeting up with friends, going out with Stu for a Childless 
Night (doesn't happen often enough) and generally enjoying life.  
Anything but housework, really.

 ***Current/recent reading:
Just finished The Name of the Rose for about the 20th time, 
Charlotte's Web (with Beth), Terry Pratchett's Wee Free Men, The Dark 
is Rising (wow!), Bully for Brontosaurus by Stephen Jay Gould, an 
author I greatly admire and was introduced to by my anthro prof.

 ***Current/recent listening:
Depends entirely on my mood.  I grew up with classical music and 
still love it.  Other days I listen to Motown, classic Rock, Celtic, 
Rockabilly, or whatever tickles my fancy.  You can tell a lot about 
my mood by what music I'm listening to.  

 ***Current/recent viewing:
I rarely go to the movies and don't watch too much telly.  I love fly-
on-the-wall stuff like How Clean Is Your House and the enviromental 
health show (the name escapes me).  Also love satire such as Have I 
Got News For You and cop/murder shows such as Frost and CSI.  The 
basic rule of thumb is that it has to be on after the kids go to bed 
or there's no point turning it on.  Stu works evenings so I have the 
little darlings to myself most evenings, which is why I give in and 
let them watch the !*&^! CBeebies Bedtime Hour every evening.  I defy 
anyone to watch the Teletubbies, Fimbles, and Storymakers in large 
quantities and not reach for a Bud.

Shall I shut up now? ;)

Mary Ann :)