Rebecca's Biography and Such
(Complete With Links)
My name’s Rebecca Lloyd. Despite the Hebrew-Welsh etymology, I’m mostly Italian and Scots-Irish. I am a little round pale-skinned woman with long strawberry blonde hair and eyes that can’t decide whether to be green or amber at any given moment.
As of March 4, 2001, I am 29. It’s a good age to be. My childhood wasn’t
great, my teenage years definitely sucked, and my twenties were difficult thanks
to some mistakes I made along the way. Now I am heading into my thirties and
am definitely looking forward to it, since I feel like I’m finally getting
my life on track. Thirties look like they’re going to be old-enough-to-know-better
and still-young-enough-to-do-something-about-it territory for me. I’m hoping
to stay there as long as I can.
I am straight. Experimentation has proven this conclusively. Unfortunately,
I seem to attract a lot more women than men. This frustrates me—not because
women hit on me, but because men don’t. I don’t take it out on the
women, though. Being flirted with is flattering. Except, of course, when the
woman in question (this has happened to me twice) gets it in her head that she
can "convert" me from a friend to a girlfriend no matter how much
I tell her otherwise. That pisses me off. Another thing that pisses me off are
the smug, sanctimonious declarations of idiots who either assume I am bisexual
and in the closet about it, or that my insistence that I am straight is simply
a sign that I am sexually repressed. Hello? If you believe that bisexuality
is humanity’s natural sexual preference it is simply because it is the
natural sexual preference for you. Leave me out of it.
I am, as I mentioned above, single. Am I looking? I have had a few dates with
a few nice guys of late. but nothing’s caught fire of yet. I would classify
myself as lonely, but not desperate. Certainly not desperate enough to settle
for just anyone. I’ve come to the conclusion that being picky about the
men I date is the only way to go. In the past, I turned a blind eye to things
that bugged me about a guy from the get-go, and every time I ended up with someone
with whom I was incompatible. A few of them turned out to be criminals, a few
turned out to be hopeless and incredibly annoying dweebs, and a few turned out
to be emotionally unstable and/or abusive. One prize specimen was all three
at once—one wonders how he had the time and energy for it all. This isn’t
just a bitter ex talking, either; I’m the one who ran from these relationships
every time. I still think wistfully of the one guy who was incompatible only
because of distance (he lived in LA). Unfortunately, we lost touch, and he is
probably married with eight kids and an enormous server farm in his garage by
now. Le sigh…where was I? Oh yeah, compatibility. You might ask what exactly
gives a plus-sized woman like me the right to be picky about the men whom she
dates. Of course, then I’d have to draw the conclusion that you’re
an asshole. But seriously, since we’re living in a world where fat
prejudice is an accepted part of the culture, here’s my answer:
it’s all about your priorities. You see, any given guy on the street might
automatically rule me out as date material because of the size of my belly,
giving that priority over personality, brains, sex drive, compatible interests
or whatever. Me, I’m not that shallow. Now sure, I’d love to go out
with a Ray Park
or a Gerard Butler—but
only if the guy in question met criteria that are much more important to me
than looks. Things like, do we have interesting conversations? Is he kind? Does
he have integrity and strength of character? Is he balanced? Does he have a
brain? Do we have compatible interests? Can he pay for his half of the date?
Is there chemistry? The hottest lover I ever had was about eighty pounds overweight
and kind of plain. That’s reality. Only in the movies are muscularity and
good cheekbones a guarantee of good character. So I’m going to give a good
hard look at any potential mate I come across before making any kind of decision.
I’m worth it, and no media-brainwashed idiot can tell me otherwise.
I am a writer and editor by trade. Currently I’m working as a copy editor
for a business technology magazine. The pay sucks, but my manager’s great
and I’ve learned a lot. I also make jewelry, and hope to have some stuff
up for sale on the Net within a few months. I am very slowly putting together
my first novel; I’ll be putting progress reports up on my page eventually
under the writer’s diary section.
I am Pagan.
I am eclectic—my first teacher was a Harner-method
shaman, my second was Wiccan,
my third was a Reiki
master and my fourth is a High Priestess in NROOGD.
I also study Taoism
and Zen.
I call myself a Witch; it’s a simple term, and it gets up the nose of all
those right-wing bigots
and liars who
think I’m evil (or crazy, or a flake, or all three) and want to take my
right to religious freedom away.
(Good Morning, Mr. President!)
I’ve been practicing for about six years now. I am generally solitary,
but have sort of come out of my shell since Pantheacon
two years ago. Now I am going to events and meeting people like crazy. Still,
the bulk of my work and practice is done alone. I do candle magick, work with
totem
animals and other spirits, journey,
do Reiki healing and do some divination. I also
make wands, rattles and other ritual tools. I am lucky enough to live with Pagan-friendly
people, though sometimes I feel a bit intruded upon because a few of my housemates
are overcurious.
I am childfree. This differs from the term childless
in that I really don’t think I will ever want children. It’s not for
me. I have the wrong temperament for motherhood, I don’t have any interest
in it. I like kids, but being around any one child for more than a few hours
wears me out. Nor do I think I’ll change my mind if "the right man"
comes along. If the right man walks into my life, it will make me want him—not
kids.
I would call myself a radical, but my time at UC Berkeley taught me that the far left is just as sanctimonious, irrational, rigid and generally annoying as the far right—and ultimately they are just as dangerous. So that’s not for me. I would therefore have to classify myself as a "free thinker" and leave it at that. Occasionally my political and social views appear paradoxical at first glance, but hey, if something I say confuses you, feel free to ask me about it.
I am absolutely for freedom of speech, religion, and self-expression in general. However, I really wish someone would duct tape Pat Robertson’s mouth shut for good.
I am against animal cruelty. We have the technology to conduct experiments without torturing animals, and we can supply the world with meat without condemning our livestock to an agonizing existence. And fur should be banned simply for the horrifying way that fur farms operate. At the same time, I eat meat. I love meat. Meat gives me energy, it gives me iron which I desperately need, it gives me protein which I can’t get from vegetables (I’m allergic to soy) and it tastes good. I tried being vegetarian. It made me sick. And if I run across another pasty, flatulent vegan telling me to swear off animal products "for my health" I’m going to laugh my ass off.
I believe strongly in marijuana legalization. It has too much medical and therapeutic (and ritual) value, cops have better things to do, and everyone does it anyway, so why keep it illegal? That said, diehard stoners—the kind who sit around baked all the time, don’t bathe enough and live off of other people’s money—annoy the Hell out of me.
I believe that people should be allowed to marry whomever they please and have sex with whomever they please, male or female, in twos or threes or sevens or whatever, with two rules: the structure of the relationship must not be harmful to anyone involved in it, and there should be no question of consensuality. In other words, pretty much anything except for rape, pederasty, incest, infidelity (defined as going behind a partner’s back instead of getting their consent) and other forms of abuse is OK, and nobody’s business.
I am pro-choice. The thought of getting an abortion horrifies me, but forcing a woman to let a baby grow inside of her for nine months effectively robs her of the control of her own body, dehumanizing and belittling her, all for the sake of some hazy moral concept. Chances are she’ll end up either killing herself, visiting a back-alley abortionist (thus risking death) or raising a child she doesn’t want, who will have to live with that his whole life. This is clearly a case where individual moral and spiritual values must apply. The far right has no business attempting to make this decision for women, and any woman who supports them in this effort is a damn fool.
I am also pro-death penalty. This may seem strange in someone who is basically liberal, but the truth is, what good are we doing anyone by giving them a life term in prison? How is that merciful? The perp has no hope of ever getting out, and he spends his day taking his rage out on others, making them more damaged, unstable and amoral—and teaching them tricks of his trade as well, more likely than not. In other words, he might be safely behind bars, but his continued existence in prison society helps make others who are getting out worse. And we pay for it! No, I’m sorry. Horrified as I am by the chance that an innocent man might be executed, I strongly believe that there are a lot of offenses that a convict deserves to die for. For example, what right does someone who rapes and murders a child have to live even one more year beyond his victim? A husband who beats his wife to death? A mother who strangles her child? Explain this to me.
I am pro gun-control, but I believe that current gun control laws are clumsy and ineffective. I think that gun safety should be taught in school, EARLY, that screenings for firearms ownership should be lengthy and strict, and that anyone who allows their children access to their firearms, through negligence or stupidity, needs to pay for it, and needs to have their firearms license revoked. And if your kid kills himself or someone else with your gun because you didn’t lock it up or gave him access? You belong in jail. Also, for the record: I am all for responsible firearms use. You want to hunt for your table or go to the firearms range, or keep a gun for protection? Go for it. Just make sure you know what you’re doing and are super responsible about it. Never forget how easy it is to kill someone with one of those things.
I believe in conservation, recycling, alternative fuel and all that good stuff. But if you scream at me for tossing a toilet paper roll in the trash instead of in the paper bin, don’t be shocked when I tell you to get a life.
Enough politics. I love movies, especially good
suspense, good serious anime and good horror, read
voraciously, and have two gorgeous kitties whom
I spoil. I love music, especially Dead Can Dance,
Peter Gabriel, U2,
Loreena McKennitt, Dave Matthews
Band, and Metallica. My current favorite
song is "Corrupt" by Karissa Noel. The
fall of Napster didn’t break my heart, but
I have my share of MP3s floating around on my hard drive. I like chocolate,
sushi and most foods involving melted cheese. I live in a big hardwood-floored
room in a creaky old Victorian in the San Francisco Bay Area, and my room smells
of scented candles.
Well, that’s me in a really big nutshell. I may elaborate later.
Go back to the welcome page.
What is Lot 13?
Take a look at my writer's resume.
Sneak a look at my online journal.
Check out my for-pay works-in-progress.
Read some of my fan fiction.
Scroll through some of my poetry.
Examine my online art gallery.
Peruse and respond to my essay section.
Surf around my list of cool and informative links.