I say that with love. Complete, total, infatuating love. My friend Megan lives down in the Virginia Beach area, but she visits LoCo from time to time and we always have a blast. She is, truly, one of the smartest people I have ever met and I don’t say that lightly.  I have very high intelligence standards. Beyond the brains, however, beats the heart of a true creative and an equally formidable woman.

Your name, age and where you are from originally?

Megan, 30, from Kailua Hawaii (O’ahu, not the Big Island)

Your website(s)?

I own Moves in Curves – a personal blog, and Durrah Belly Dance – my belly dance business site

Tell me about your immediate family.

Married almost 8 and a half years, two kids, one cat.

What makes you a LoCoWoman?

Well sometimes I visit my hanai sister up in LoCo Technically I’m in Virginia Beach area.

What are you famous for?

I’m a jack of all trades, master of none. I sew, knit, embroider, quilt, make jewelry, and try out many and varied hobbies of the crafty variety. I have been belly dancing since I was a teenager, and am the costume director of Les Fleurs Ebenes, a local tribal belly dance troupe.

What defines your motivation in life?

Style-wise, I’m pretty eclectic. I’ve many times been called a hippy or told I was born in the wrong era. My motivation is mainly to keep my brain alive. I’m constantly researching new topics for my own edification.

What is your favorite quote and/or mantra?

You can’t expect a Pisces to have just one favorite, so:

“It is setting a high value upon our opinions, to roast men alive on account of them.” — Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, 1580

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” — George Eliot

Where in LoCo do you love to spend your time?

I particularly enjoy biking along the power lines. The crackle of electricity in the air makes the view even better! Heh.  (editor’s note: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!) Well I don’t know LoCo terribly well, but I like to spend time chez MeliaLore.

What do you do when you are not sleeping?

Mostly I play with my kids and on the Internet. Or go to the beach.

Describe your perfect meal.

It would probably involve a whole lot of fattening foods and very little meat. Lots of cheese. And rum. (editor’s note: ARRR!)

Are you spiritual, religious, neither or indefinable?

I’m a bit religious, in a spiritual sort of way. Indefinable I suppose.

Describe your best friend.

She’s a wacky Aquarius who is about 80% flaky and 500% fabulous, and a fellow belly dancer.

If you were to march in D.C. for a cause, what would the cause be? What kind of shoes would you wear and why?

Hawaiian sovereignty. I would wear sneakers, cause I’d be on my feet all day and as a dancer I take my feet pretty seriously. I need my feet to keep going for many more years, so I don’t mistreat them in uncomfortable shoes.

What is your passion in life?

American Tribal Style belly dance. Hawaii. Archaeology. Feeding my need for knowledge.

Are you the same person you were five years ago?

No. My kids were born 5 years ago and I think that utterly changes who you are.

What is the last thing you did just for you?

The last thing I *did* rather than *bought* would probably be going to a dance class while on vacay in San Diego. I don’t really deprive myself just because I have kids. I make sure they enjoy the same things I enjoy. We hang out at the beach, we read books, we listen to a lot of music that’s not sung in English, we wear a lot of tie-dye.

Favorite entertainment?

Reading.

What is your greatest accomplishment?

My master’s degree. I’ve also finished five novels now, none of which are published, but one of these days I hope to do that as well.

How do you describe yourself politically?

Cynical. (editor’s note: nuh uh.)

What is the best thing about being a woman?

The fabulous make-up. Hey, I’m a belly dancer.

Describe yourself as a superhero.

Oh jeez. I never aspired to be a superhero. I did aspire to sleep with many of them, particularly after Hugh Jackman played Wolverine. I suppose I would have to be an Aquaman variety who could breathe underwater and had powers mainly relating to the ocean. And of course, I’d wear blues and greens in a revealing Lycra. No capes. (editor’s note: The Piscean Paladin?)

What do you do that is “out of the box” or “breaking the mold?”

I probably should say the belly dancing, but about half the people I know are other belly dancers, so that seems normal to me. Shall we say, I occasionally dress as a 14th century Frenchwoman – we play in the Society for Creative Anachronism.

How do you see your retirement? How old will you be, where will you live, what will you do?

I’d like to be cruising around the US in an RV with the husband, seeing everywhere and never staying anywhere long, and sometimes going overseas. My other possibility (because I’m a Pisces, and we never have just one answer) is that I’d be living in a small cottage overgrown with local flora somewhere on the North Shore of O’ahu. Within walking distance of the beach. And driving a 1960s VW Beetle.

How do you get physical?

Oof, laundry Olympics, yes that. Dancing mostly. I sometimes get the urge to work out, but usually I just make elaborate plans that I then never follow through on.

Thank you for your time, Megan!