Secret Life of Bees: Mongoose Edition

Hey there hive!  I've been getting the bloggin' itch while patiently awaiting the pro photos from our wedding photographers.  So since I can't really start my re-caps without those, I've decided to get in on some of the ongoing bee blogger series.  I thought it would be fun to share some little known facts about me with you guys so...here we go!

1) Hi, my name is Mrs. Mongoose and I'm addicted to music.
Okay so I know this is no where near a little known fact if you've been reading my posts these past few months.  But I'm not sure I've accurately explained the full extent of my obsession with music.  It all started when I was a little Mongoose and used to record music off of the radio using cassette tapes (where my '90s peeps at??  You KNOW you used to do the same thing!).  The first CD I ever owned was Pocahontas--my sister bought it for me when I was 10.  The first concert I ever went to was Madonna in 2004--and that's when I became addicted to live music.  When I met Mr. Mongoose in 2005, he introduced me to most of the indie rock artists I know and love today (Arcade Fire, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bloc Party, etc.). 

I've been to six 3-day music festivals (one in Austin, two in Chicago, and three in NYC) and would still like to make it to Coachella before we have kids.  Besides the festivals, I can't count how many shows I've been to--I've seen some of my favorite artists as many as 6 times live.  I listen to music while doing everything (in fact, I'm listening to a Lost soundtrack right now--that show had some beautiful instrumentals which I consider good writing music).  I listen to music while cooking, cleaning, working, blogging, in the car, on a train, on a plane, on the beach--I listen to music pretty much all the time.  In short--I.LOVE.MUSIC. 

All photos personal.

At All Points West (a short-lived NYC festival) in 2008.  Right before seeing Radiohead for the first time.

At Lollapalooza in 2009

At Austin City Limits in 2011

2) I am a lefty.  And DAMN proud of it!  Even if I always get those annoying ink stains on the bottom corner of my hand.   Supposedly my mom tried to make me righty when I was younger, but I was VERY persistent on being a lefty.  Must be that stubborn Taurus in me :)

Remember this episode of The Simpsons? Classic! / Image via Leftorium

3) I am a Taurus through and through.  Speaking of being a Taurus,  I know most believe that astrology is bullshit but I am a firm believer of how being born under certain astrological alignments shapes who you are as a person.  Pretty much everything described about the sign Taurus is me to a T...and it's freaky.

Images via Zodiac Society

4) I lived in Italy for 5 months. During the second semester of my sophmore year at NYU, me and my best friend (Bridesmaid M) studied abroad together in Florence, Italy.  It was the most life-changing experience for me at the time--while I didn't fully appreciate the immensity of living in a different country at the young age of 19, in hindsight doing that expanded my world view and also started my obsession with traveling.   

The Mansion at NYU's Florence campus called Villa La Pietra / Personal Photo

Me and Bridesmaid M in Pisa (Leaning Tower in the background) / Personal Photo

Me and BM M on a weekend trip to Venice / Personal Photos

5) I went to Space Camp when I was 12.  Remember when you were younger and would see all those commercials on Nickelodeon for Space Camp?  I fell in love with all things space starting around the age of 8 (my parents bought me space books for kids, telescopes, star maps--basically anything space related they could find for me because I truly thought it was my calling).  So LOOONG story short, I begged and pleaded with my parents to take me to Space Camp for a year until they finally said yes. 

We took our annual family trip (with my sister who was NOT a space nerd like me, so she invited her BBF along to keep her company while I was at camp) down to Florida where I spent 6 days/nights at my first (and last) camp.  And while the discrepancy between the number of boy campers and girl campers was astounding (I think there were five cabins that housed seventy-two kids each--only one of those cabins was for girls), it was still an AMAZING experience.  We did flight simulations and other activities (god this sounds incredibly nerdy but I swear it was SUPER cool at the time!!)  At the end of camp, we even had a graduation and received our wings (like pilots--don't laugh!)  And now it's embarrassing picture time--this is from graduation day.

I'll give you one guess to see if you can spot me (hint: one of these things is not like the other LOL) / Personal Photo

 Sadly I did not follow my dream of working for NASA one day (instead I ended up in advertising--random much?) but still to this day I wonder what my life would have been like if I had become an astronaut or aeronautical engineer.  

6) I love fantasy/sci-fi shows.  My favorite shows of all time are Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Alias, Lost, and Game of Thrones.  I could write a novel about why I love each of these shows but I'll spare you my musings and just share one little factoid.  I own all seasons of Buffy and Alias on DVD and have probably re-watched each season at least 5 times each.  Yup, pretty much obsessed.

Hopefully by this time you've recovered from laughing at my nerdy Space Camp picture.  If so, would love to know who else out there shares any of these experiences/passions/nerdiness!