Hi Everyone

[Dhyana]

Thank you very much for inviting me to join this group!  I was pleasantly 
surprised and flattered to find the invitation in my mailbox yesterday morning.  
I am looking forward to more HP discussions and to getting to know everyone 
here. :)

***Name:
     Dhyana Graham

***Age:
     25

***Family:
     I am married to my high school sweetheart, Justin. We have one tiny, black 
dog named James.  I have three younger sisters, and a mom who all live 
about an hour away.

***Home:
    Columbus, OH.  We are currently renting a loft-style apartment with a view 
of downtown, which we love.  But we are hoping to purchase a home within 
the next year or so.


***Birthday, Place of Birth:
    1-27-79,  Racine, WI.

***Education/Job/Role in Life etc:
     I have a BA in Human Development and Social Relations from Earlham 
College, a tiny Quaker school in Richmond, Indiana.  I am currently teaching 
pre-school in one of the suburbs of Columbus, which is nice because I sort of 
reverse commute; I go to the `burbs to work and come home to the city. :)

***Other things we might want to know about you:
     My name is Sanskrit and is pronounced "John-a" ([dh/soft d]+[y]=J). Justin 
and I both grew up in Yellow Springs, Ohio which is a tiny, hippie, college 
town near Dayton.

***First contact with Harry Potter:
  My youngest sister loved Harry Potter for years before the rest of us caught 
on; I remember her disappearing into her room for two days after GoF came 
out.  I borrowed her copy of SS in August 2001, so that I could read it before 
the movie came out.  After that, I went out and bought my own copies of the 
first four books, and my life hasn't been the same since.

***Favourite Potter things (books, characters, ships, fics, objets d'Art, general 
enthusing):
    I love Harry himself, of course, and also Ron, Hermione, Gred and Forge, 
OoP Ginny, Dumbledore, & Lupin.  I was an OBHWF shipper, before I knew 
about "shipping."  PoA is my favorite HP book and my favorite HP film.

***Extent of Potter obsession:
     I own three copies of SS/PS, 2 of CoS, PoA, GoF, but only one of OoP, both 
movies on DVD, and audio recordings of CoS & PoA on CD and GoF & OoP 
on tape. I am a new elf at HPfGU, still learning the ropes, but enjoying myself. 


***Other interests/activities:
     I *love* to go to the movies.  I'm trying to cook more, but it's just so much 
easier to order out.  I also love listening to all kinds of music, reading, and 
playing board games.

***Current/recent reading:
     I just finished The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, which was 
excellent.  Next on the night stand is Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy 
Allison.

***Current/recent listening:
     Right now I'm getting hyped for Ani DiFranco's next stop in Columbus 
(October 1st!) by listening to her albums as often as I can.  At work we've been 
rocking out to They Might Be Giants' children's album "NO!"

***Current/recent viewing:
     Lately I've been into watching our DVDs of The Office, I'm always amazed 
that a show can be so hilarious and so painful to watch at the same time.