Theresa in the middle

Thanks to Rachel for the post title, this is how the pic of me in Wednesday's slide show is labeled. Catchy, I thought!

I'm a first-year PhD student (originally from San Francisco, just moved here from Ann Arbor), focusing on Project Narrative and I already love living in Columbus with my pup, Lili. She is a blue-eyed cockerpoo with a super mellow personality unless an annoying dog gets in her face or anyone messes with me.

One of my major passions is painting. 2009 is my first major exhibition year. You can see my art web site here: TheresaRojas dot com

I'm Mexican-American (Chicana) and fluent in Spanish, though fairly out of practice. My family back in California tells me that I have a weird accent after 11 years in Michigan. I miss really good Mexican food!

One of my pet peeves is not having a pen handy when I need to write something, so you'll find cups full of them all over my home. I still write longhand letters and love to get fun care packages in the mail (who doesn't?). I also put a high value on family and friendship. I always return pens when I steal them. Borrow. I meant to say that I borrow them.

I am fabulously excited to be here!

Here's a better pic of The Lili:

ways to remember me.

I hate icebreakers as much as the next person, but one of those lame activities that has always helped me remember people and their names is when folks share random, memorable info about themselves. Writing Analytically might call this information "interesting and strange." So, in a desperate attempt to be memorable (and I've found I'm fairly easy to forget), here are my interesting and strange qualities:

I have a twin brother. (And a younger brother. But that part is less interesting, right?) People (and often highly educated ones) frequently inquire if my twin and I are identical. I want you to think about this for a moment before you ask me, too.

My left eye is both brown and blue. Seriously. It's wild. Sometimes people know me for years, and they never notice....they assume it's a glare, I guess. Other people notice this the moment they meet me and are fixated on it. I like to tell people it's a genetic mutation. This always made me a big hit in high school biology.


My boyfriend and I have two big ol' dogs. I obsess over them. It's sort of a problem. Sometimes, too, I pass on my insecurities to my dogs and counsel them about it: "Oh, Lucy. Don't worry. You're just curvy--that's your body type. You look GOOD, girl!" Or, "Buckley, don't be stressed. You're doing fine. Hang in there--you WILL make it!"