About Me

Ross’ Interests

: The older I get, the more I realize how little I know about everything and how excited I am to learn and experience more. I prefer the mountains to the beach, high-fives to handshakes and I’m told I make a mean mix tape (yes, I said mix tape … y’all know I’m old skool). My biggest pet peeve is when you type in something to search on Google, and you’ve misspelled it, and Google is all like, “Did you mean Puppy calendar?”–seriously, who the fuck searches for a puppy colander anyway? I’m a sloppy typist, not a complete dumbass.

Interests: Movies, music, tarot-card reading (I’m not sure if the future is actually in the cards, but it sure is fun doing some tarot after a couple of beers) and reading books on personality type and career choices (I’m addicted to these books–what is wrong with me?). I’m obsessed with making lists and organizing things (I don’t understand this either … ). I dig making mix tapes for folks who “are so sick of all their music” and I love it when folks make me mix tapes and when people trip or fall down, I think it is hilarious (sorry).

Music: I really have a broad range of favorites, but I think my heart will always belong to those indie rock bands (that most everyone thinks sound the same) on the tiny record labels. Some of my favorite bands/artists are Devotchka, Le Tigre (first album only), My Bloody Valentine, any band with Stephin Merritt in it, Wilco, Led Zeppelin, Mirah, Grandaddy, Built to Spill, Neko Case, The Stooges … you get the picture. I also have mad love for old skool hip hop (Grand Master Flash and the Furious 5), 1940s-50s Indian music (female artists only), and lately I have really gained an interest in jazz (Coltrane and Miles Davis). Oh, and going on a long drive listening to Danny Elfman is always a good time.

Movies: I love documentaries (From Thin Blue Line and The Eyes of Tammy Faye to Salesman), my favorite movie is Jumpin’ Jack Flash with Silver Bullet as a close second (Cory Haim playing a kid in a wheelchair being chased by werewolf–genius!) … To Kill a Mockingbird, any Tennessee Williams play turned into a movie. My favorite documentary is The Celluloid Closet–an incredible film documenting the representation of gays and lesbians throughout the entire history of film–a must see!

Books:Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris, A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn; anything Ray Bradbury and anything on personality profiles.

Heroes: David Sedaris (hilarious writer, you must read Me Talk Pretty One Day), Bayard Rustin (civil rights activist; he was African-American and organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, one of the largest non-violent protests ever held in the United States).

Groups: Alliance of AIDS Services -Carolinas: Their mission is to “serve people living with HIV/AIDS, their loved ones, caregivers and communities at large, through compassionate and non-judgmental care, prevention, education and advocacy.” Almost every month they host drag bingo (so much fun!), raising thousands of dollars in a single night to help find a cure (www.aas-c.org).

Equality NC: “A statewide advocacy organization that works to secure equal rights and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender North Carolinians.” They worked relentlessly to prevent an anti-LGBT, anti-marriage state constitutional amendment from passing in the legislature (www.equalitync.org).