Omi

NOTE! I send my swaps out early, so if you don't get them, let me know before giving a bad rating! Also, if you feel disappointed in what I sent, let me know here first and I'll send something more to make sure you're satisfied! I can't always keep track of who has rated me or not to make sure things arrive, so I'm afraid I'll just have to wait till you message me to clear things up, but I am happy to work things out ASAP!

I'm a 24 year old Graduate student in English Literature. My primary scholastic interests are literature and history, and I have a habit of buying more books than I could possibly read. I am also interested in samurai and am researching Zen Buddhism. My cat owns my soul, because I cannot resist his cute face. I have a love of dressing up in strange period costumes, but never have anywhere to wear them. I collect Asian Ball Jointed Dolls, and have been having a wonderful time taking photos of them, as that's about the extent of my artistic ability.

I tend to incline towards Alternative/Rock music. Favorite bands are Placebo, The Cure, The Killers, Within Temptation, Nightwish, VAST. I am also really enjoying Rufus Wainwright of late. I enjoy classical music, and celtic music from time to time. I would like to say I listen to a little of everything, or with only one or two exceptions, but I'm beginning to think I outright reject more than I accept (country, rap, R&B, modern pop, Christian...) I do have a thing for campy 80's music, of what was then the alternative/rock variety.

I read. A lot. Anything from the classics to fantasy, historical fiction, non-fiction, philosophy... Favorite authors are Oscar Wilde, Neil Gaiman, Jane Austen, Edgar Allan Poe, Nabokov, Tanith Lee, Storm Constantine, Poppy Z. Brite. I adore the Harry Potter series (total Slytherin junkie), 'Phantom' by Susan Kay, 'Shogun' by James Clavell, and Thomas Mann's 'Death in Venice'. Am also known to completely worship various characters from Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles.

Campy samurai flicks bring me pleasure (Seven Samurai, Samurai Fiction, Taboo), as do the campy but beautiful martial arts dramas (House of Flying Daggers, Hero). I like period movies, primarily for the costumes as the historical inaccuracies make me cry if I think about them too much. I like movies where people fight and die for a cause, like 300 and The Last Samurai (pity about the Tom Cruise being in it though). Other favorites for purely shallow, aesthetic reasons are Velvet Goldmine, Interview With the Vampire and Moulin Rouge.

Battlestar Galactica, House

I enjoy knitting and crochet, and though I've been knitting for years I can really only make scarves and blankets, and can't manage anything too fancy. I take pleasure in needlework, because I like how tedious it is. Lately I've been taking photos more as well, and hope to try my hand at painting.

If you're in a swap with me and recieve a package or letter from 'Robert', that's me. My father just recieves a lot of those address labels and I 'help' him use them up.

How to get Hearts from me: The fastest way is to include something Slytherin or something Samurai/Zen. Absolutely will get you hearts every time.

Here's a few favorite things for those of you sending me items.

Hogwarts House- Slytherin!

Colors- Black, silver, violet, burgundy, emerald. Combinations I like are silver/green.

Animals- Lions, cats, dragons, owls, foxes.

Teas- I prefer white or green teas.