My name is Melissa, and if you don't know me, I'll try to boil it down to the essentials.

Born in Jacksonville, Florida.

Lived in Atlanta, Georgia, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Henderson, Tennessee, and now Huntsville, Alabama.

Interests:

1. Reading - favorites include Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Cormac McCarthy, Jane Austen, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and many, many others.

2. Art - favorites include Gaudi, Klimt, Vermeer, Rodin, Pollock, and Degas.

3. Music - favorites include Vampire Weekend, Regina Spektor, Kate Nash, Savages, Young the Giant, A Silent Film, Japandroids, the Civil Wars and so, so many others.

4. Food - Southern, Authentic New Mexican, French, Indian, Japanese, and bread in general. I also love to try my hand at cooking and baking, and I'm pretty good at it.

5. Fashion - the fact that I have no money prevents me from getting any of these, but favorites include Jenny Packham, Christian Louboutin, and Burberry.

6. Travel - been all over Europe and seen a good swath of the U.S. Next on the list are New York City, India, Japan, Scotland, Spain, Morocco, Egypt, and Madagascar.

7. Economics - I minored in economics in college, and try to keep up with economic theory and current economic circumstances.

8. Political Theory - I majored in political science in college, my favorite courses were my political philosophy courses and comparative politics classes focusing on the politics in various world regions.

9. Current Events - I read a lot of news from various media outlets. Don't really watch television news because it's mostly garbage.

10. Swimming - been doing it since I was little.

11. Knitting - Random, I know, but super fun.

I've been at my current job for a year and a half and love it most days.

I love animals, my family, and my friends.

And I believe in God.

So, that's me.