Middle Name Meme

... sigh, I really should be going back to lecture-writing, however ...

This little meme was taken from King Snark himself, Brian Michael Page.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, includes the following:

1. You have to post the rules before you give your answers.
2. You must list one fact about yourself beginning with each letter of your middle name. (If you don't have a middle name, use your maiden name or your mother's maiden name).
3. At the end of your blog post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged.)

(Lyn's addendum: if you use a handle, and you do not desire to reveal your real name, then go ahead and complete the meme using your handle ... in my world, it's just as acceptable as the item in #2 above.)

I actually have two middle names. Well, I suppose it depends on what one would consider "middle." I consider that I have two given names (Maria Elena), and my middle name is mum's maiden name, Yalong. So considering that, I shall use what I consider to be my middle name.

Y - Yalong is mum's maiden name, and my middle name.

A - Analytical is an adjective with which some of my friends like to tag me. Sometimes, it works to my advantage ... sometimes, not. I've been accused of being overanalytical at times, and I suppose it can be a source of annoyance ... but I certainly hope not. :-)

L - Long Hair - and believe me when I say Long. At this point, it's long enough that I can sit on it. I don't keep it down an awful lot of the time (it goes well past my rear end) as it gets in the way. I generally tie it up in a knot that lies just above the nape of my neck.

O - Organist - a description that came to me later in life. I started off thinking of myself as an Organic Chemist, doing Research and Development at RTI International as a Synthetic Organic Chemist. It was challenging ... frustrating when things didn't work out ("But it looked like it would work on paper!") and exhilaratingly wonderful when things worked out with a percent yield greater than 50%. But alas, those days are behind me, and for now, so too is my career as a research scientist. Perhaps some day, I will return to the lab ... but only under the right circumstances.

N - Night Owl ... some of the time. It's strange - I used to think of myself as a morning person. I was generally at my best when I first woke up in the morning. When I was an undergrad, I used to get up early in the morning and start studying, and I was at my most efficient then. Naturally, as I progressed through my academic career, I started shifting more toward night-owlish hours. For some reason, I do most of my best organ practising at night. Paradoxically, my best piano practising comes in the morning. Go figure.

G - Geek! I know, it has negative connotations; however, I've always told people that I was 100% Geek and proud of it. If my nose isn't in a book, I'd be puttering 'round in the kitchen, or sitting at my piano or at an organ console in a church near me. Such an exciting life I lead ...

Let's see. Taggage. I'm to tag six people. My obvious choices are taken, mainly because I took this off of Brian's blog, and I'm sure he's probably (informally, or by association) tagged his Brother-In-Snark, Jason (and with his 9-letter middle name, I'm sure he'll have lots of fun trying to fill that in). So here are six. I hope they reciprocate, but the world won't end if they don't.

Scelata
Ebeth
zeegrindylows
JunoMagic
Mark and Sara A.-G.