the friday five

continuing last night's pattern ...

1. is the name you have now the same name that's on your birth certificate? if not, what's changed?
it has not changed - still v

2. if you could change your name (first, middle and/or last), what would it be?
i'm actually quite content with my name, actually - my parents did well. i think v is a great name for a professional writer and v short is a fun nickname that fits me pretty well, if i do say so myself.
but if i had to go with a different name, of course it would be lakeesha. ;)

3. why were you named what you were? (is there a story behind it? who specifically was responsible for naming you?)
originally, my parents intended to name me jennifer - but upon realizing that every other girl born in 1980 was being named jennifer and i was going to be born quite late in the naming season (november), they decided to buck the trend and come up with something else. there was a brief campaign to name me wendy - they used to say that my father wanted me to be named wendy as a nod to my his father, walter, but now each parent is claiming the other wanted to name me wendy. i think neither wants to own up to wanting to have a daughter named wendy w.
nevertheless - the search for a new name was on. after playing around with several ideas, all stricken from the list because they knew people with those names who they didn't like, they thought of a v that they both worked with and realized they liked both the name and the woman, so they went with that. marie is, i believe, a nod to both my great-grandmother on my mother's side (marie) and my father's mother (mary), as well as a name they thought went well with v.

4. are there any names you really hate or love? What are they and why?
growing up, i always imagined having an elizabeth - i think it was a side effect of being a sweet valley high junkie - but now i could never have one, as the name has been ruined for me. ;-) hehehe. there are some names that i love but have been tarnished by my life experiences. i would love to be able to name a daughter katherine (after hepburn, a fabulous role model for women if ever there was one), but never could, as i refuse to have daugher nicknamed cat (it just rubs me the wrong way) and kate or any variation of kate is off limits, no matter how much i love the ben folds song.

5. is the analysis of your name at kabalarians.com / triggur.org / astroexpert accurate? how or how isn't it?
hmm ... i'm not sure. perhaps i should check and find out.

kabalarians.com:
The name of V gives you a clever, quick, analytical mind, but you suffer with a great deal of self-consciousness, lack of confidence, and much aloneness because of misunderstandings. Your idealistic and sensitive nature gives you a deep appreciation for the finer things of life and a strong desire to be of service to humanity. There are times when you experience inner turbulence at your inability to say what you mean. It is far easier for you to express your deeper thoughts and feelings through writing than verbally. You find pleasure in literature, in poetry, and in your ideals and will turn to them when you feel you have been misunderstood. You are deeply moved by the beauties of life, especially nature. Because your feelings run deep, you must guard against the ups and downs, being very inspired one minute, then moody, reserved, and depressed the next. Your reactions to people vary according to how you feel. You tend to be secretive and noncommittal about private matters, yet at times you will talk effusively in order to hide your self-consciousness or to lead others away from personal subjects. You are inspired by encouragement from others, yet suspicious of their intent. You crave affection but seldom find anyone who understands your nature.

um ... pretty much right on the money there. now onto triggur.org:
VICTORIA
From the German root meaning "Failure"
Expression - V is drawn to the scene of an accident by morbid curiosity.
Personality - V should be monitored around small animals.
Natural - V comes from the shallow end of the gene pool.
Emotional - V is cold and calculating.
Character - V tends to get others down.
Physical - V couldn't beat Ghandi at boxing.
Mental - V is a scheming bastard.
Motivation - V hates dealing with the details.

hahahaha - brilliant.

and, since i'm feeling all introspective and i came across a survey and i'm a survey whore, the post of little significance continues ...

BORN - november 3, 1980 in beverly, massachusetts. because she was busy recovering from my birth, my mother was unable to vote in the 1980 presidential election. she holds me responsible for reagan's presidency.

COLLEGE - st. michael's in vermont, where i earned a ba in journalism with a theater concentration.

RELATIONSHIPS - i have them, with numerous people. some good, some not-so-good. but i believe they are important. oh wait, you meant romantic? let's not go there at the moment ...

FLAWS - the condensed version (haha) - i'm stubborn as hell and hold grudges. i can have a short fuse on occasion. i speak my mind more when i know i'm going to be met with opposition compared to just a year or so ago, which is good, but i'm not quite at the point at which i want to be. i have difficulty saying no (elizabeth, get your mind out of the gutter, that's not what i meant!!!) and can be painfully quiet, shy and insecure when meeting new people, particularly new people i want to impress. my self-confience is and always has been shaky - i'm working on that, but it's rough going. and i lack the mad guitar skills and killer voice to become a rock star - this is a huge flaw. ;)

MUSIC - makes the world go round.

RELIGION - technically, i was a non-practicing catholic growing up. really, it meant my parents decided my brother and i could do what we wanted to do about religion - which meant nothing of consequence for me. i attended a catholic college, but one as liberal as a catholic college can be.
now, i'm just bound for hell - i'm driving the bus down there. i've resigned myself to the fact and, in fact, am looking forward to it.

basics...
name: already covered this, but what the hell. victoria marie welch.

nicknames: v, queen smoothie, cricket, tori (former nickname, use it now and die), drew (see previous comment).

marital status: divorced seven times.

famous people i've met: how famous are we talking here? famous people by my standards include - sydney pollack, george plimpton, john mayer, john walsh, richard riehle, daphne rubin-vega, howie day, glen phillips, richard petty, numerous senators and political types, the members of eve 6, pat mcgee, matt nathanson, numerous well-known and respected theater critics of note and some others i can't think of right now because i've been up since 5:30 a.m.

pets: none.


hobbies: reading, writing, music, , theater, sports, photography, home decorating, etc. big pop culture junkie.


bands of interest: too many to mention.

fav movies: see previous statement.

fav tv shows: much as i'm quasi-ashamed to admit it, i'm a reality tv show fan. i can't help it ... so the bachelor/bachelorette, real world/road rules, cupid, queer eye for the straight guy, boy meets boy ... it's sad, i know.
non-reality tv: the west wing, sex & the city.

fav actors/actresses: too many to mention, as i need to figure out whether to speak from the stage or screen perspective. for screen, near the top of the list would be john cusack, robin williams, kate hudson, claire danes - just off the top of my head. there are seriously tons of actors/actresses i adore.

concerts: there have been many a concert experienced by yours truly. some small (matt nathanson at the coffeehouse, my benefit concert), some large (woodstock and various dmb), most somewhere in the middle. always much loved, no matter how the peformance itself is. i love live music.

cool stuff to know: uh ... if you can think of something cool you want to know, post and i'll inform the masses.

currents...
currently listening to: jason mraz.


currently watching: my computer screen.

favorites
favorite color: blue, green, yellow, orange, black.

favorite food: hmm ... probably mexican.

favorite place to be: in a state of contentment. ok, i know, wussy answer. burlington or boston, most likely.

favorite restaurant: does chipotle count? haha. hmm ... cheesecake factory is quite pleasing, but there is also a place in my heart for papa frank's ...

favorite pastime: writing. and writing. and writing. and going to a show - whether musical or theatrical.

favorite ice cream flavor: i'm weird at the moment. soft serve vanilla. or strawberry.

favorite stress reliver: listening to music, driving, writing.

favorite car: red, my trusty green saturn. or a lil' suv-like vehicle - i'm a big fan of rav 4-like vehicles. and i have a constant place in my heart for jeep cherokees.

favorite song: there's no way i could provide a simple answer to this. too many songs i love. but i can say particular favorites at this very moment of time are "jesus bo bezus" (mraz & bushwalla - hahaha), "galaxy," "unfold," and "no doubling back" (all mraz).

favorite album: studio? hmm ... i might have to, surprisingly enough, go with radiohead "the bends" on that one. but my favorite favorite albums are live cds i've acquired.

favorite concert to date: so many concerts hold special memories for me, i couldn't pick just one.

favorite show: sex & the city or west wing

favorite vacation: haha - this summer. kidding. um ... i'm not sure really, i guess it would have to be one of the vegas trips, as those are the only real Vacations i've taken in the recent past.

favorite word: lately, quasi.

favorite saying: if you will, but i digress, yo, crikey.

favorite quote: one of the millions of song lyrics i write down constantly and love.

misc...
future occupation: arts journalist/critic as well as a novelist.

person i want to be like when i'm older: myself. only, like, older.
i'm not sure - i think i'd want to take bits of a lot of people and create the bionic vickie.

person i hope i will meet someday: there are many.

places i've been: the only times i've left the country are to go to montreal, and even that was rare - never for the reason i should have gone ... i've been all up and down the east coast, traveled to texas and more recently traveled out to western time in utah/vegas.

places i want to go: london, la, san fran, colorado, london, new zealand, australia, italy, france, germany, IRELAND.

most emberassing moment: ifar too many exist.

vices: pizza mart/nectar's gravy fries. ;)

car accidents: 1. none that i know of ... there was the time my timing belt died and i was stuck on the side of the road, but that wasn't an accident per se ...

my inspirations: many of you.

oh my god. i almost fell asleep at the keyboard. this will continue tomorrow. now i sleep.