This is a survey my friend Abby Powell posted in Facebook, I thought I would share it here.

You dont really need to copy and do this yourself but hey, feel free. I just cut and paste it from facebook.

Basically we were asked to pick 10 things that we are into that no one had influenced us into liking. These are things that I truly stumbled upon on my own without influence from friends and what not.

1) Britain

http://www.eye2eyesoft.co.uk/graphics/Britain_WithLetters.gif

almost everything about Britain and yet I have never been there. I swear I dont know what it is that has drawn me to there but I know its someplace Im supposed to be. I see my future being there. I love the history, I love the music, I love the food (no joke). My godfather is from Blackpool and despite my relationship with him, I really love everything about Britain. I cant wait to finally go. I watch tons of British tv, especially panel shows like Have I Got News for You, Nevermind the Buzzcocks, QI just to name a few. I even love British guys. Go figure. I just know Ive loved the idea since I was a little girl. When I was growing up, the threat I would constantly get from my mom and my uncle and godfather would be if I did a bad job in school I would be sent off to a boarding school in England. I would be scared cuz I didnt want to be so far away from my mom but deep down I kinda wished I could go cuz it sounded AWESOME!

2) Faeries

http://www.amybrownart.com/

Do I believe in faeries? Not really but I do wish they existed. Hell I wish I was one. I think they are kewl. I love fantasy art but faeries are cute, sexy, deviant, tricksters, enchanting, artistic, powerful, magical, everything I wish I was. Its weird though. The moment I tell people how much I love faeries (I have an Amy Brown inspired one tattooed on my back) they automatically assume I love rainbow colored cheesiness and… unicorns… bleh! Ive never been into art that depicted unicorns and pegasuses (or is it pegasaii??). It just looks weird to me. I like dragon art too but for me, elvish, faeries, pixies all have to go alongside dragons. Im not saying it makes sense Im just saying its how my head is wired dont judge me! LOL. If anyone ever wanted to give me art, faeries win, I have one gift from Paul, a faerie figurine that sits above my computer. I look at it daily and it makes me smile.It broke one day and I crazy glued it back together cuz I wont let it die. I even have written a song (fairly Enya-esque, Cocteau Twinish, Loreena McKennitish, Bel Cantoish) where I mention faeries. I also sing a song called Faerie Pet in my band The JSE. Yeah, I did faeries. a lot!

3) Labyrinth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufrCIwNk1zc

I’ve loved this movie since it first came out. I know every line, every song. If dared I can reenact the entire film. Jim Henson and George Lucas work together to make a great fantasy movie. Everyone talks shit about David Bowie’s acting in films hes taken part in. I normally agree to be honest. Hes not the best actor. That being said, the role of Gareth was clearly designed for him and because it was he does a great job with the role. The song Within You (in fact the entire sequence in the film) is one of my faves hence the reason I chose that particular link. I want to cover that song one day. Ugh cant wait!. Its also the first time I think I ever had a crush on a girl. Yeah, I think Jennifer Connelly was my first girl crush. She still is, omg I would looooveeeee to get with Jennifer Connelly she is soo effing beautiful.

4) History

I dont have a link for this, just in general I love history. I love learning about different cultures and different countries. I think the more knowledge you get on different parts of the world, the more of an understanding you get of cultures and why people do what they do. I also think with that knowledge and understanding you are more likely to garner respect for their traditions and cultures. Not to preach but I really think more people need to learn things like that. My love of history and global cultures is something I cherish because there are a lot of things in this life that I know I am not that smart about. Im not saying Im a bimbo or dumb but I have been known to be naive and history is really something I pride myself on knowing. Its the one thing I can actually say I love knowing about and love helping people with when they want to learn about it as well. I make an awesome tour guide when I can haha.

5)The Cloisters/Fort Tryon Park

http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/the_cloisters

I love this place. When I was little my uncle and godfather brought me here to the medeival festival ( I was like 12) and I will get into the festival in a moment, but the place alone is mesmerizing. Its actually one of my favorite places to be in New York. Its in Washington Heights and you forget you are actually in the city. A friend of mine calls it Helms Deep (because like me he is a lord of the rings nerd) and well, it actually looks like it. Its the perfect place for a medieval festival. The Cloisters itself is a monastery that was originally built in Europe but when the order was moved to New York, they wanted their monastery to come with, so they numbered each stone and dismantled it. When they got here, they put the stones back together in numerical order. When I first went there, the numbers were still on the stones, but faded. Sadly they are now all gone but the European Medieval Art is prevalent. Its got gorgeous relics and a few chapels. When I really get married it would be really posh and expensive yet cool if I could get married there. Outside the Cloisters, the grounds of Fort Tryon park is amazing. You can see the Hudson River and you actually forget you are in an urban city. If you look for a place to relax and just be at one with yourself and your surroundings this is the place for it

6) Renaissance Fairs/Medieval Festivals

http://www.whidc.org/home.html

I love them. I know there is a nerd quality to it all however being a history buff, loving britain, loving the clothing, how can I not love them. There are jousts, people dressed as knights, kings, queens, maidens, faeries, monks, scribes, blacksmiths, wenches, pirates, and goth kids just blend the fuck in! LOL. Corsets galore and tits just ready to pop! I love corsets and everytime I go I wish I had a cool one. They also sell really cool costumes, trinkets, art, makeup, face painting, psychics. They also have entertainers, poets, mandolin players, singers singing songs from that era of time, dancers, magicians, jokers, gypsies. They put on great shows and its one of the few times I think any parent is capable of having their kids sit in a circle quietly while a man dressed as a monk tells stories to children. Like I know they have story time in nursery school but its not the same. I actually saw it yesterday and I stood mesmerized. It was actually beautiful to me. It was from another time. As for the food, its the only place a lady can be dainty yet push all that aside while shes gnawing on a huge turkey drumstick like a bear gnawing on its leg in a trap. They sell old fashion style food but of course with gyros, pizza, potato salad, pepsi and candy bars like snickers are sold as well. Its actually awesome when you buy candy and the guy at the booth dressed as one fo the three musketeers says “Here is thou snickers bar, m’lady” LOL Classic.

7) Cyndi Lauper

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cxXAwKWukU

Ive loved her since the 80s. She was my salvation. She was weird yet talented. A set of pipes that you wouldnt expect from such a tiny little woman. She waas wild and crazy yet you can tell that the persona wasnt something that she used in her personal life. Like she was a regular woman who just looked wild and was who she was. Basically she wasnt trashing hotel rooms, doing a bunch of drugs and getting into the papers about it. She loved her mom and made sure the world knew it. She had her mom in so many of her videos. She also became famous fairly late in her life although she didnt look it. While most entertainers in the 80s were in their early 20s she was already in her 30s but showed she could be just as innovated and new as the next person. Shes my inspiration. At 34, Im not worried about becoming known late. I know I can still do it. Cyndi is 50 something now and she can still be powerful when she performs. The True Colors tour is going strong and I will go to one next year I vow to afford it lol!

Real Estate/Interior Design

Ever since I was little, we struggled with money. We were on welfare once. A neighbor called child services on my mom because I was home alone when I was 6 however thankfully being a latch key during those days wasnt as illegal as it is now. Mom also worked for Child Services so that was a bonus. I also had the rest of the neighborhood looking after me cuz everyone (aside from that racist bitch) loved my mom. We always barely made it by. I learned to cook, clean, and balance a check book before I reached junior high. Due to all of that and my vivid imagination I have always been able to combine the two and imagine buying a home and decorating it. I would go to libraries and get decorating books and look through the Pennysave and format how much money i would need to buy the home, buy furniture, etc and figure out how much it would all be. To this day I go online look at real estate and then figure out how would I decorate it. I love doing it, it basically means when the time comes that I can afford my own home I will know how to budget my place and still make it look awesome.

9) Cooking

Well since I was home a lone a lot I had to cook for myself. Most kids at 6 werent allowed to use the stove cuz of the whole fire thing but I had to figure it out. Of course at first I was lousy at it and when my uncle realized I had to do these things on my own, he figured since he went to culinary school he might as well teach me the basics. Thankfully he did and i figured out how to make a decent sandwich, make eggs, cook a chicken in the oven, etc. He only taught me the basics though. As time went on I thought it was boring so I started experimenting and I learned how to make pretty decent food. I loved experimenting and then taste testing all my food. Of course, as you can see to this day, there was a downside to it all….. but whatever, I may be a big girl but at least I know what a peanut butter cheesecake tastes like mmmmm……

10. The 80s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCRXtc6zEp0

Everything 80s. The music the movies, the tv, the people, the cartoons, the toys, the clothes, the video games. It was all so awesomely ridiculous. We didnt think so then, but when you look back now, its just soooo much fun to think about and be nostalgic about. I mean you the the 80s you think neon, fluorescent, synthesizers. It was a time where people just kept on going with ideas… and aquanet. The 80s impacted me in music and acting. MTV made it so that every type of music was visible. You could choose which you liked. I liked sooo many different types I was able to blend my own sound. I love the idea of having different influences in my music hence the reason when people ask me what type of music I sing I always have a hard time answering because its a mix of a lot of things lol. As for acting, all these different types of movies and tv shows would come out with ridiculous plot lines and they sounded feasible. I wanted to be princess leia, I wanted to be Sarah, I wanted to be Atreyu ( I also WANTED Atreyu… omg Noah Hathaway, he was 12 I was 8, yum) It made me realize that anything was possible. I love the 80s and I love the nostalgia.