The Introduction

1.  What is your name, and what do you prefer to be called?
Me nombre es Allie, and I would rather you call me by me nombre than anything else, with the exception of "Martini," which is my nickname.

2.  How old are you?
14.26 approximately. I was bored so I did the math.

3. How did you come across our community?
coin, one of my friends at school and a membe of this community, who is a self-declared 104% Harry Potter fan.

The Canon

4.  Choosing one character from the following list, explain what house (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin) you think they would have been in and why.  Cornelius Fudge, Amos Diggory, Gilderoy Lockhart, Viktor Krum, Fleur Delacour, Rufus Scrimgeour, Rita Skeeter)
I say Rita Skeeter would be a Slytherin. I came to this conclusion after considering exactly how she would fit (or not fit) into every other house:
Obviously, Rita doesn't have the moral code of a Gryffindor, eavesdropping on people and all without a guilty conscience, and she doesn't seem to get along with people as Gryffs do. She's certainly got the Gryff guts, but she'd be out of place in that house.
Ravenclaws are intellectual people; Rita is street smart but not much otherwise. Ravenclaws are witty, but Rita makes pointed comments but they are more prying and offensive than they are funny.
Hufflepuffs are solid characters who are loyal, righteous, and all that jazz. That right there kicks out all possibility of Rita being in their house.
A Slytherin--cunning, determined, and assertive--is closest to Rita's personality. She'll do just about anything to get a great article, even if it's not true. 

5. What character do you most relate to?
Initially I was going to say Hermione, being towards the top of my classes, but the thing is, I don't work as hard as she does. I may push myself at times, but Hermione does it ALL the time.
I now think I'm a Ron Weasley. I love humor (Ron's funny), I need my friends (Ron needs Hermy and Harry), I have a couple weird buddies who are surprisingly like Fred and George in personality, and sometimes, I'm a blundering little kid, in the way Ron is occasionally. He's also impulsive (remember the slugs and how he accidentally got them?), defensive of his friends and family, and somehow is always dragged along on some crazy escapade by Harry. I also find myself in weird situations, wondering exactly why it was that I decided to come on this one limo ride, or see this one stage show, or drive three hours with a busload of math geniuses and attempt to compete alongside them in a state championship.

6. Choose one aspect of the story as told by Rowling that you dislike, and tell us how you would change it.  (Please avoid the subjects of romance and shipping.)
Hmm. Interesting question. 
I'm not a fan of Rowling's simple language and blunt telling of the story. Personally, I lean towards more florid literature like Nabokov's Lolita and stories by Edgar Allan Poe. I would find Rowling's text more interesting if it had more ornaments and artistic value to it. However, I do realize that Rowling's wording makes Harry Potter universal, and also that she aims towards creating a believable world, not a literary masterpiece. And to make my answer longer, I'd also like to point out how the most recent volume, HBP, seems to have been somewhat randomly arranged. The other five books fit together and the plots were written to slowly climb to an impressive face-off between Harry and Voldemort in some way, but HBP flatlined for a long time before coming out with horcruxes and Dumbledore's suddenly dragging Harry around to find them. I always saw Dumbledore as a godly guiding figure,  a bit too high and untouchable to act as he did in HBP, kind of spoiling Harry by virtually telling him he's very important. I mean, I know he's important--the series revolves around him--but enough is enough. Dumbledore should act in Harry's best interest and make sure he's able to keep a non-inflated (I can't think of another word) head. I see and hear about parents doting on their children so much that it annoys me now when similar situations occur in movies and books. 
Reading HPB, I thought Rowling may have needed to draw a few flowcharts and look back on the previous books to keep her style and pacing consistent.

The Person

7. If you could put a memory in a pensieve for the specific purpose of viewing it later, what would it be and why?
All my little chats with friends at school. They're so entertaining! Sometimes I feel like recording them, but that would be sheer weirdness on my part. A couple times I've gone home and written particularly memorable quotes ("It's VOODOO FRUIT!" ...Don't ask.) on a sheet of paper and kept it. Come to think of it, I don't know where those papers are. A pensieve would be far more practical and have ornamental purposes as well, if made from a pretty material like marble. Hee. 
I'd also really, really, really love to put the time where Kevin put salt in Richard's lemonade at a San Antonio Golden Corral. That was entertaining, too.

8. What are three traits that define you? How has each trait had positive impact and negative impact on your life?
I am highly ambitious--while I do not aspire to impossible positions (specifically, President of the United States and/or Secretary of State and/or the next Bill Gates), I distinctly recall telling some friends that for me, in the future, a career would come first. I like jobs that bring a nice fat paycheck and secure respect and some sort of social standing for me, which would rule out just about everything but a job in law, in business, or science. A while ago I briefly thought about working in fashion design, but it's a tough world in that field, and your life will entirely depend on the opinions of the market--do people like your style? Do they like your materials? Is it the golden age of the type of coat you're going to sell, or did the trend die out a year ago? Do people think you have a big name in the fashion world? Logos count. Heavily. If you're not Chanel, you lose business. So a life in the design field is out the window, on account of its subjectiveness.

I am proactive--I hate having to stand by and watch something as it happens. I don't like to wait for the couture shows in NY and look at the pictures, I want to be sketching the clothes or sitting in the front row. I don't like to be hearing about global warming, I want to be in the streets passing out GO GREEN T-shirts like mad (and hopefully keep one for myself). I see things happening, for instance, people putting up posters for an event, and I'll want to be making the posters for them. I constantly have the feeling that only I can do things right, and take the lead in group projects, which...now what I think of it, doesn't sound very good of me...to be thinking everyone else is wrong...oh, well. But hey--I have to take the lead sometimes. Otherwise I'd have to sit and watch my ELA group attempt to freestyle rap while the assignment is rotting on the table. It's happened before. The rapping ELA group, I mean.
Negative aspects: just mentioned it: "Now what I think of it, doesn't sound very good of me...to be thinking everyone else is wrong..."

I am artsy--sometimes I'll read a book or watch a movie and adore it not because of its actual content, but because I see a lot of original "vision" in it. I love Neil Jordan's short stories not because I understand them, but because the feeling he creates is very dreamlike and fluid. I love Baz Luhrmann not because he is the next Stephen Spielberg, but because his film direction style is so theatrical and unique. And I admire Karl Lagerfeld not because every dress he creates is gorgeous, but because they are unusual and so creative that you realize he probably has the capacity to design an entire galaxy on his own. Negative aspects: this makes me obsessive about movies and designers. 

9. What is one specific thing that you have never done but strongly wish to do sometime in your life?
Eh...go on a road trip across the US of A. I buy calendars of Yosemite and other national parks and never use them. Instead I cut them apart and stick the pics all over my walls. The U.S. landscape is as diverse as its people, and I want to see all the different places. I don't always love to meet people, but forests and lakes are different. Obviously.
I'd especially like to see the Rocky Mountain region. Why? I just saw the movie Brokeback Mountain, set in Wyoming's mountains. The place looks beautiful.

The World

10. What is your biggest pet peeve and why?
When people talk and they don't need to. Example: you're sitting in class, and the teacher holds up a nameless worksheet. She calls, "Whose is this?" The whole class jumps to its feet, and ten different people scream "NOT MINE" at once. Did the teacher ask you to say if it was yours? No, she only needed one person to say "mine." ONE person--the owner. That was all that was needed, but ten people have interrupted quiet worktime and spoiled the atmosphere. Another example: the teacher is calling roll call. Raleigh is absent, so when his name's called, Carolyne and Keith and three other people all say, "He's sick." Carolyne said it first, and everyone heard it. The teacher heard it. There was no need for Keith and three others to repeat a point that was already made. Rawr! Next question. Just typing this is making me angry.

11. Describe the people you admire most.  What do they have in common with each other?  How are they different?
Keep in mind they're people I admire, not necessarily people I want to be like.
a) Buddhist Master Cheng Yen--virtually singlehandedly, she brought up a worldwide organization of volunteers devoted to disaster relief, education, culture, medicine, etc. The master was born into a wealthier family but gave it all up without a thought to pursue a life of helping others who needed it. She is peaceful and forgiving and selfless...and...and...completely amazing. The world needs more people like her. I'm just about entirely her opposite, and that has made me painfully aware of just how apathetic people can be about helping the Earth because I'm somewhat apathetic.
b) Edgar Allan Poe, but just artistically. From what I know about him, he was extremely depressed and at times suicidal. ...Still, he was a great writer. Very...eh..visionary.
c) Nicole Kidman--she's classy, beautiful, and to quote her character Satine in Moulin Rouge, "A real actress!"
d) In general, people like radical abolitionist John Brown and masked revolutionary V from V for Vendetta. People like them risk everything for what they believe in most. They go their own way in life. Even though their actions are justified in ways that some people are unable so see, they don't let it discourage them. Sometimes I wish I had that kind of freedom, the freedom to fight for your cause like there's no tomorrow, dress head-to-toe in black, AND scare some people as you do it.
In review...these people are in no way related, except maybe that B and C are artists, and A and D work to help humanity...yeah, that's it.

12. How do you think people see you? Does the person you show to the public differ from the person you are on the inside? Explain.
People think I'm bouncy, smart but not Hermione-like schoolwork-obssessed, and at times too self-assured. I can see where they get this vibe from, because it's the image I am able to consciously project. I kinda have to "project" it because I'm worried they might place me in therapy if they knew everything. Hee. Explain? Do I have to? All right: I'm claustrophobic. I'm a sucker for tragic stories where someone dies a horrible death. I think those storylines are beautiful. I'm highly pessimistic. It bugs me when kids say they want to be president because honestly, what chance do they have? How many kids want to be president? Millions, probably. And how many CAN be president? One of them every four years, once they're all about age fifty, rich, and gifted politicians. Really, can all those kids get there? No. Maybe five of them. Five out of millions.
Pssh. And some people think I'm so sunny.

The Community

13. What do you believe you bring to this community?
...A cautionary voice of reason warning people not to get obsessive, perhaps. I can get really obsessive myself and now consider myself a warning to others. My mom used to say that--use other people as mirrors. When you see someone being stupid/obnoxious/weird/generally very repulsive, instead of getting angry and beating them up, consider them a little red flag saying, "Look at me! Remember, don't EVER do what I'm doing right now, which is parading around in the locker room half-naked."
...Maybe graphics. I use Photoshop a lot. coin and I have recently discovered that with some movies and books, it's possible to "sort" characters into hybrid houses, like Lex Luthor into Slytherclaw or Slytherdor (I can't remember which). We intend to build on that--we sorted Moulin Rouge, Corpse Bride, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and Pirates of the Caribbean characters--into a series of hybrid house sigtags for LJ use.
...One more person with a love of sorting people.
...Energy! I have quite a surplus on most days.
...One more username to add to the community's members list. If I had a community, I'd love when people join and are active. It would give me that tingly, proud, happy-ish, floaty feeling...oh, come on, you know what I mean.

14. Which hybrid house do you believe you are the most like? Make a case for and a case against your placement there.
Slytherdor. Though it seems like an oxymoron, I really feel I belong there. I have the ambition, drive, temper and the reasoning of a Slytherin (do unto others as will benefit yourself), but the energy, disposition (sometimes) and bold streak of a Gryff. Well, at least when I've gotten enough sleep, which hasn't happened in the past ten days or so.
Case against me as a Slytherdor: not much, really, apart from how I feel I should be braver sometimes, as befits that Gryffindor aspect. I want that Gryff bravery! Roar!

15. Which hybrid house do you believe you are the least like? Make a case for and a case against your placement there.
I had to look at the banners to decide which one, and it's Ravenpuff. I am intellectual, to a degree, but not willfully so--I don't study my heart out. I hate studying. People tell me if I studied more I'd be higher up in my Math Counts class, but I don't want to be higher up in that class. I just have zero interest in it. It would be great to be at the top in my art class--I like art. But math? Eh.
Am I Ravenclaw witty? No, if you're witty, you make smart, calculated remarks are also funny. What I do is make weird comments that happen to be funny...occasionally. And am I loyal? I don't know. I haven't been in a situation yet where my loyalty has really been tested, so I can't say.
But overall, Ravenpuffs strike me as hardworking, stubborn, and very solid types of people. I contradict all three of those qualities.

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...The end.