the alyssa alphabet

ambition: “i go to seek a great perhaps” – francois rabelais
bad habit: wishing i were always somewhere other than where i am.
city: keep austin weird – not that it needs any help.
drink: my mom’s black tea with a teaspoon of cream. somehow i always end up drinking it even when i have my own cup in front of me.
education: should be freeing

food: is art. my style of cooking is impressionism. or at least that is what the mess that is left afterwards looks like.
guilty pleasure: long, hot showers…the kind where your skin is red and puffy afterwards.
hometown: nothing like the sweet taste of grapes off the vine.
ice cream: must be a perfect melty-solid combination…
jonesing for: camp life, no camp champs like camp champions camp champs!

kryptonite: andrew jackson, or andy as i refer to him; sexy men of history in general look-a-like: brown hair alyssa: apparently resembles nancy clutter. blonde hair alyssa: amy phoeler. black hair alyssa: sometimes catherine zeta jones. red hair alyssa: ginger spice?
movies: melvin goes to dinner, spirited away, the godfather, the royal tennenbaums, lost in translation, amelie, once
nicknames: court!! brought to you by jak farson
obsession: diners, drive-ins and dives, uma thurman’s dance scene in pulp fiction, eyebrows, a southern season, transition of seasons in general
perfume: daisy by marc jacobs
quirk: always end up telling multiple stories in order to finish one story

regrets: to have danced more…just for fun.
starbucks: i may have been there before…during fall, especially. pumpkin spice latte, anyone?
talents: rolling down hills, turning unhealthy dishes into a nutritionist’s wonders, forming relationships with inanimate objects – plummy my phone, chandler my jeep, fitz my rock.

university: and i’m gone to carolina…
vacation: requires a good mix tape.
wine: geisenheim, germany: the ubiquitous vineyards tucked into the hills overlooking the rhine river provide the area with sweet sustenance good for an eternity.

x: i’ve always been abysmal at math. what does the x do exactly?
years: how have 19 already passed? inconceivable!
zen: sitting in the rainbow chairs watching the last of the sun’s rays fade from
orange to pink to purple over lake lbj, feeling the relief of cool breeze blowing graciously by me on a june evening in marble falls, tx.

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thanks alyssa {court} for sharing! if you care to contribute an alphabet, simply answer the following and send me a few photos!

peace.

the jasmine alphabet

ambition: learn a new language every decade i am alive.
bad habit: being a little too loud…a little too honest…a little too open.
city: read: cities. dresden, nice, boston, new york city
drink: cheerwine in a glass bottle. or, a mojito.
education: for now, a school in a tiny southern town.

food: döner kabab, curry, citrusy anything (specifically lemon), pork tamales, my mother’s cheesecake (it’s famous.)
guilty pleasure: i don’t believe in guilty pleasures. if you like something, you like it. just accept it and enjoy it.
hometown: tre-fo reppin’ up in this piece, y’all.

ice cream: chocolate chip cookie dough.
jonesing for: an afternoon in loschwitz sitting on the elbe, a night out in the neustadt.
kryptonite: guys who give really great hugs and have a special voice for baby animals.
look-a-like: kat dennings (or so i’m told.) i don’t know if i agree, but i’m flattered nonetheless.

movies: “the nightmare before christmas”, “grease”, “bend it like beckham”, “mean girls”, “im juli”, “baader meinhof complex”, “amelie”, …so many more.
nicknames: jas, jazzy (a very select group of individuals, however), jazzy fresh, jassy cuervo, peanut girl
obsession: sächsisch accents, provencal food & lifestyle, corgis
perfume: the pink bottle i got from my host-parents christmas 2009 & miss dior cherie

quirk: i’m a big fan of order and symmetry. clean lines, blocking, chronological sizing and order. everything has a “right” place and space. my walls are covered with things, but everything is very methodically laid out.
regrets: i don’t believe in regret.
starbucks: is never worth the money unless you truly have no other options.
talents: acting (not real acting: mimicking, quoting, and doing really great accents), sarcasm, snarkiness (sorry I’m not sorry), playlist making/soundtrack-ing various situations, impromptu dancing, loving with my whole heart.

university: of the old north state. for now.
vacation: none in the near future, but for the future: peru/chile/argentina/bolivia & india/nepal/thailand
wine: top five greatest discoveries. also, elbhangfest 2010-learning (and serving!) wine with my host-family during my last weekend in dd.
x: XX
years: twenty-one…four months from today.
zen: climbing trips with mom, dad, and sister.

the anne alphabet

ambition: everything. right now, to write a killer short story, to master cruising on my skateboard, to build a table. ultimately, to share my deep love for this earth by telling stories that foster compassion.
bad habit: procrastinating, being late, not using test strips in the darkroom and wasting paper.
city: paris beckons!
drink: water and coffee, wine and beer.
education: is constant.
food: is something to behold & a way to show appreciation for the earth. local is sexy, y’all! oh, and i love cheese.

guilty pleasure: having staring contests with confused strangers, skipping class to be in the arboretum
hometown: winston-salem
ice cream: i have so many ideas! imagine: vanilla bean with fig and goat cheese, milk with a honey swirl, black coffee sorbet. patents pending, by the way (not actually).
jonesing for: MORE VITAMIN D ALWAYS
kryptonite: boys on cool bikes
look-a-like: my grandmother
movies: quiet ones are my favorites
nicknames: AG, annie, annie poo, anton, anthony, gilb

obsession: trees, the sun, coffee, riding my bike barefoot
perfume: should be noticed in subtle wafts as a sort of nice surprise.
quirk: an obsession with light and consequent hyperconsciousness of it; i always laugh when i make jokes; i’m terrified of cops.
regrets: not familiar with the term…
starbucks: is probably best avoided.
talents: defying the presumption that all tall people play basketball, maintaining ability to function without sleep
university: go heels y’all!

vacation: dreaming of a roadtrip to graceland à la paul simon
wine: tastes & feels real nice. one day I’ll know all about it.
x: thoroughly enjoying the perpetual search for it
years: are the most precious thing. i want a hundred of them!
zen: is on a bike, riding north on ocracoke island’s highway 12.

the nadine alphabet

ambition: i better like to enjoy the moment than bother myselfe with dreams and illusions that maybe never will occur
bad habit: i am realy, realy impatient. i hate waiting… for the train, to leave the train (when you have to wait for the doors open and you can get off), when i have to wait on the escalator, waiting for a friend who’s late, waiting on the copying machine, waiting for food in a restaurant,…
…and i often use the f-word
city: the big apple – love at first bite

drink: tea (i know, – boring!)
education: professional maturity certificate
food: fish, mussels, lobster, crab, shrimps,… let’s say: seafood!

guilty pleasure: i like to tattle… but just for myselfe, in my head… when i walking through the streets and see a girl in too tight, or too pink, or too ugly jeans… then I analyse it and think: hallo? fashion-police!
hometown: basel, switzerland
ice cream: pistachio (definitely)

jonesing for: touching david beckham for only one time and one little secound!
kryptonite: credulity
look-a-like: me , don’t know… someone said i look like rachel mcadams … thank you! But I don’t think so…
movies: i like movies from luc besson !! and movies with battles, like braveheart, or gladiator
nicknames : gosh… ! One of my friend calls me “georgette” what is my grandmothers name, another friend calls me “muddi”, like: mummy in swiss-german. and my family calls me: “inchen”.

obsession: travelling. It’s my dearest wish to see as much countries as possible.
perfume: miss dior cherie – dior

quirk: i cordial dislike “4”… don’t ask me why, but i just don’t like 4. it would be a much better world if i could count like this: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6,… i never sit in row 4 at the cinema, or on seat 4. i would never eat 4 gummi bears. i never wear 4 fingerrings. it’s a problem for me that a car has 4 wheels, so i also count the steering as a wheel. i have a bad feeling if i take the 4.40pm train. i always say : one month, but never 4 weeks…
regrets: missed travelling when i was younger, my english is not as good as i like it to be…

starbucks: skim tall lactose-free chai tea latte to go, please!
talents: in switzerland I am a famous singer ! NOT! i think my talent is to cheer people up, with my special kind of humor.
university: none

vacation: last stop : nepal/ tibet/ the emirates, next stop : china/ philippines
wine: spanish wine like… rioja – las flores
x: i always messed up math… but i think (whitout asking google first!!) that X is a variable that has to be defined. but before you can define you have to crack a indescribable hard mathematical equation… right?

years: that’s soooo american, in europe you never ask a LADY for her age ha! turn 29 this summer.
zen: sitting on my balcony with a good book and a glass of wine.

the diana alphabet

ambition: i want to love people, i want to listen to people and it only because I’ve been loved by a greater love.
bad habit: procrastination, i care what others think of me, i over analyze a lot of things, i’m getting better at journaling, but that could always improve.
city: beautiful chapel hill
drink: orange juice/ mango lassi’s/ colombian hot chocolate
education: psychology and communication at chapel hill
food: blackberries, paella, sea food, and soup-taco soup and “indian soup” are two favorites!
guilty pleasure: colombian soap operas, and white chocolate, so much white chocolate
hometown: i consider the sweet small town of statesville to be my hometown.

ice cream: butter pecan and anything with fruit in it.
jonesing for: i wanna go skydiving one day! also I can’t wait to have a home with bay windows and a family, that’s the truth.
kryptonite: i couldn’t decide which one it wanted so I’m going to go with…things that just make me wobbly at the knees. kids, smiling eyes, carolina in the spring and scarfs.
look-a-like: dora the explorer…or so I’ve been told
movies: “o brother, where art thou,” “finding nemo,” honestly, i’m a huge disney fan and i love cheesy movies
nicknames: lady di, songbird, ashanti, d, d-cast, and mariposa

obsession: pit sitting
perfume: “so pretty” by cartier
quirks: i scrunch up my nose, and i tend to mumble and speak supa fast randomly, the spanish in me comes out.
regrets: being shy for so long, wish that I hadn’t stopped playing piano, that I had learned how to Salsa, wish i could water color, oh and if I could only wink..
Starbucks: white hot chocolate or pumpkin spice decaf(i go OFF THE WALLS with caffeine)
talents:  i can roll my “r’s”, and i remember names and faces.
university: university of north carolina-chapel hill-what a blessing!

vacation: honestly, anywhere I can sit for hours with friends. though new zealand and denmark would be fun!
wine: oh you know, welch’s sparkling grape juice
x: x marks the spot…? thats my attempt at being witty : )
years: 19, going on 20 in august.
zen: a sunset and my friends’ smile- i wanna see smiles and hear laughter-makes my heart happy.

the max alphabet

ambition(s): become emperor of canadia. make sure women get rights, or something.
bad habit: my bed is an early morning seductress…
city: vienna and bamako – bamakienna?
drink: long island iced tea, trémblay, steamwhistle pilsner.
education: the world is a classroom

food: smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers and a fresh montréal bagel
guilty pleasure:
hometown: toronto, ontario / prague, czech rep.
ice cream: moosetracks
jonesing for: can you translate this into canadian for me?
kryptonite: cockroaches, specifically of the flying and/or hissing variety.
look-a-like: seth rogan?

movies: american history x
nicknames: ‘that tall canadian guy!’, moose, captain canuck, cîroc obama, snookie.
obsession: arctic sovereignty, making sure those commies in russia don’t take over.
perfume: polo black.
quirk: while on the phone, i often take a piece of paper and doodle on it absentmindedly. when the call is over, the paper looks like salvdaor dali took hallucinogens and experimented with bad poetry.

regrets: not writing more often
starbucks: tough guy chai (daily grind)
talents: reaching things on high shelves, maple-syrup related activities, beer pong.
university: carolina, that priceless gem.

vacation: an adventure of some sort — maybe on an exotic island somewhere in the South Pacfic…
wine: carm, douro reserva 2007.
x: xxx
years: 1/5 century.
zen: long roadtrips, preferably to somewhere snow-bound and ringed by pine trees.

the abigail alphabet

ambition: help others embrace their potentials. have a house with a front porch and a swing. travel the world and experience, meet, and learn in every place i go.
bad habit: staying too much in my head. talking too loud. forgetting to reciprocate people’s questions.
city: small/ medium sized but with a big one not too far away. near some mountains but not in a landlocked state. asheville? outside portland? somewhere in maine? international? just too many great options.

drink: sweet tea. chamomile. english breakfast. cheerwine.
education: my passion. the root of the worlds problems and also the worlds solution. what I hope to one day fix.
food: macaroni and cheese in every variety and form. boxed, baked, mixed, leftover, with fixins… doesn’t matter at all to me.
guilty pleasure: britney spears. finding plane tickets on kayak.com. googling middle eastern food.

hometown: charlotte but before that rooted for 100 years in the north carolina mountains.
ice cream: chocolate, which reinforces the fact that i am turning into my mother.
jonesing for: ice cream after that last question. but in reality doing nothing in montana for spring break and finalizing my summer plans.
kryptonite: (is this supposed to mean 1.things that get to me or 2.things that kill me? i’ll answer both) 1. bookstores. mountains. smiling faces. 2. extremism. wallowing. ignorance.

look-a-like: i have heard reese witherspoon. i feel like i identify more with cindy loo hoo though…
movies: everything that is neither obsessively scary or bloody. however i describe myself as more of a tv girl- i like the continuing story lines.
nicknames: abifail, afilaflail, crabigail, abisnail, abikale, abijail, abimale, cookie, bite sized, snack pack, cookalook, abs, abbie (to only be used by immediate family members)

obsession: knitting, hearing gap year stories, making future travel plans, taping things to my wall, maps, talking about the south.
perfume: own some and probably should wear it. if i bottled the smell of new books or campfires and wore it would guys still like me?
quirk: smiling a lot? arguing about things that don’t make sense (but really, the sun is going to explode in 2.5 billion years. why are we doing nothing to stop it??) ?
regrets: being scared to jump of the assembly line. not saying yes more and breaking more rules.

starbucks: like the smell, hate the drink. CARIBOU FOR LIFE!
talents: talking. smiling. head rubbing. knitting. bouncing.
university: of north carolina at chapel hill. if anything has taught me to stop planning and left life run its course, it’s the fact that I ended up here. most humbling experience of my life and thank God every day for bringing me here and helping me to meet the wonderful people that have made this experience what is has been.
vacation: in 25 days (as of the day this is written) to montana to make blanket forts and drink wine and sleep and watch tv and make new friends and spend time with my best friend.

wine: don’t know anything about it but would love to snob one day.
x: missing the days of algebra when it was still fun to find.
years: keep on getting better. being old must be incredible.
zen: hiking. no i am not angry, its just the only time when i don’t talk and think.