J: A List in One Letter

I have been tagged for a meme by Cara, who has given me the letter J. The meme involves getting a letter and then listing 10 things/themes/ideas/etc. that are important in your life. So, without much knitting content to share with you at this juncture, here is my list!

1. J - My J Meaning my wonderful, caring, always supportive fiance. He is truly my best friend and my soulmate. I wouldn't know what to do without him. Which brings me to ...

2. JDate I think I've mentioned it here before, but J and I met online, through this particular site. Pittsburgh's a small enough city that we probably would have met eventually if we hadn't had the Internets, but meeting online was apropos considering that J's gotten to where he is professionally online. When asked why he decided to give online dating a try, he always says that he met his first business partner online, so why not a wife? And this brings me to ...

3. Judaism I don't consider myself a very religious person, but my faith -- and, most importantly, its traditions -- are very important to me. It was essential to me to find someone with the same background as a potential mate, which was my reasoning for signing on to #2.

4. Joel -- Billy Joel Along with the Beatles, one of my all-time favorite artists. My very first CD, which I received on for my 13th birthday, was River of Dreams. I've seen him twice in concert, once when he performed at my college to tape a special for A&E. I'll never forget that concert -- I was in the ninth row in an auditorium that holds about 1,100 people. It was set up as Behind the Music-style show, with questions from the audience sparking discussions of the artistic process and performances of the songs that resulted. One of the most incredible moments (which never made it in the TV special, I should add) was when a friend of mine, himself a talented musician, got up and asked if, in the spirit of the master class, he could perform a song he wrote for BJ and get his feedback. He then proceeded to go up on stage and play a song all about how BJ had been such a huge influence on him artistically and how much he admired him. I don't think BJ was too pleased with this guy upstaging him, if only for a couple minutes, but the crowd just loved it.

5. Jeopardy! My favorite game show -- so much so that I've been known to answer questions in other games (like Trivial Pursuit) in the form of a question. It's one of my life goals to appear on the show, and I actually auditioned last May. I'm still waiting to hear from them -- they have another four months or so before I can take the contestant test again!

6. Jane Austen (Okay, technically she would probably be filed under A, but this is my list and I'm making it work, okay?) My favorite author, who I'd wish to be if I could live another's life. Or rather I wish I could have lived in her time, when people still corresponded with actual letters and had serious conversations and spent time doing pleasurable things like reading and embroidery. Although I've been known to say I have many favorite books, if I were completely honest I'd say Pride and Prejudice is at the top. I've read it many times and feel the need to reread it regularly. As it happens, I am watching my favorite film version of it as I write this post!

7. Jeans I like getting dressed up as much as the next girly-girl, but if I ruled the world, I'd wear jeans every day. I have almost an entire drawer full of denim. I own several different styles, but my favorites are Gap Long and Lean.

8. Java I am completely nonfunctional without my morning coffee -- you can ask J if you don't believe me. On weekdays I have two rather large cups before I leave for work, and on weekends I either brew my own or get a large cup at Panera. I like my coffee with lots of skim milk, but will drink it black or with sugar if only cream is available. My favorite flavor? Hazelnut. I've also been known to enjoy an espresso or two in the evening or when in Rome (or Florence, or anywhere in Italy, for that matter).

9. My last name Yes, I know what you're thinking: that doesn't start with a J! I'm not revealing my full last name for the sake of maintaining my privacy and anonymity, but suffice it to say that it does indeed begin with a J! Over the years many people have treated my first and last name as one continuous word. Although I'm planning on changing my name after I'm married, I have no doubt that there will still people who will call me by that one-word combined name.

10. Jaywalker This was the sock that started it all for me. Although I started off last year by knitting J a pair of socks, these Jaywalkers were the first pair I knit for myself and they officially started my obsession with socks. These aren't exactly my favorite socks, as they're handwash only and a tad bit big, but they have a special place in my sock drawer and my knitting memories.

See there, you did get some knitting content in this post!

If you'd like a letter for this meme, leave me a comment!