ANDERSON, elizabeth ann

[ELIZABETH ANN ANDERSON]

ELIZABETHANNANDERSON

a new bell to ring, a new song to sing

A READINESS OF THINGS I DO

name -- Elizabeth Ann Anderson
nickname -- She has a very wide range of nicknames, but most people call her Beth. Her husband calls her Ellie to be both affectionate and flirtatious.
gender -- Female
age -- Sixty
birthday -- 22 June
group -- Staff
occupation -- Guidance Counselor
clique --
orientation -- Heterosexual
hometown -- Summerset, SC

your blood, your bones, your voice

AND YOUR GHOST

hair color -- Naturally brown, but dyed blonde and now graying
eye color -- Dark blue
height -- 5’6”
weight -- 137 pounds
build -- Medium stature, average height and weight, minimal curves
distinguishing features? --
01. Her eyes, because of the color and the fact that they tell you exactly what she is thinking and feeling.
02. Her nose, because it is slightly crooked from a genetic mutation known as a deviated septum. Her nose is along long.
03. Her smile, because she always has a bright, genuine smile.
04. Her body, because it has no particular shape as far as anyone case see. She has few curves and makes no effort to maximize them.
05. Her sense of style, because she really doesn't have one.
06. The plainness of her overall appearance, because she does not glamour herself up or make herself dazzle

overall --
Elizabeth is not a natural blonde. She was born with medium brown hair and dyed it in high school in a desperate attempt to gain popularity among her peers. Ever since her sophomore year in high school, Beth has tried to maintain the blonde color of her hair. Now that she is getting older and her hair is no longer growing in with its natural color, she has stopped dying her hair. Instead of trying to hide her age, she welcomes it with open arms. It is barely visible in the roots of her hair because the white-gray coloring blends with the blonde. As for hairstyles, Elizabeth does nothing spectacular with her hair. She usually wears it down, which usually causes her to mess with it out of habit. If she wears her hair back, it is usually in a clip or barrette of some kind. Her hair is almost always messy, which matches perfectly with her disorganized, messy, and chaotic personality.

One thing that has remained constant throughout her life is the color of her eyes. Elizabeth was born with deep blue eyes and managed to keep that same coloring throughout her sixty years of life. Sometimes the blue looks dull due to the lack of light or because of what she is wearing, but the idea of blue is always there. The color of her eyes is probably the most intriguing part of her physical appearance due to the fact that her eyes are the shade of sapphires. But despite the intriguing part of her eyes, she cannot deny that her eyes are what give her age. On the outside corners of her eyes, wrinkles are present in the form of “crow’s feet.” When she smiles, the wrinkles only make themselves more apparent. She used to cover them with make-up but soon learned that make-up could not and would not cover every imperfection. So she wears very minimal amounts of make-up and sometimes none at all. She still looks good for her age, though, and people sometimes compliment her for it.

Unless you are looking Elizabeth directly in the face within close range, you will not be able to see the slight physical mutation of her nose. She was born with something called a deviated septum. Her nose is slightly crooked, leaning more towards the right than the left. Because of her deviated septum, she tends to have trouble breathing when she is stressed out or rushing around. Her deviated septum is also the cause of the breathiness in her voice when speaking or singing, the snorts in her laughs, the snores at night, and the nosebleeds she gets when she is stressed or the weather is unusually cold or hot. Sometimes her sinuses get the better of her because of it as well. She is used to it and has learned not to stress over it.

Looking at Elizabeth, you assume that she is severely overweight. At one point, this was probably true. She eats a lot of food but tries to go on long walks to keep an excess weight from gathering on her body. When she actually wears clothes that fit to her body, one can see that she is not a fat woman and that she actually has a curve to her body. Other than walking, though, she pays little mind to her body and does not otherwise worthy with dieting. As for curves, Elizabeth has very few. Before she had her five children, she used to have a completely curve-less body. She used to hate her boyish body. Now, thirty years after having her first child, she still has a boyish looking body. She has broad shoulders, and her hips are not exactly curves outwards to give her an hourglass appearance. And her chest is almost entirely nonexistent. The only time she wore anything larger than a B-cup for bra size was when she was pregnant, but her breasts automatically shrunk by the time each of her children was one or two. She used to hate not having curves, but now she’s not too upset (less to worry about, you know).

Elizabeth’s overall physical appearance is girlish, but not exactly special. When she was younger, she looked like most of the girls her age. There was nothing special about her that made her stand out from the rest of the people. That was one of the reasons why she dyed her hair. That, and she felt like it would make her more attractive. Elizabeth has never had a high opinion of her physical appearance and still does not, even though she is more confident now that she is married with children and grandchildren—and she does not have to worry about keeping up with her physical appearance.

As far as Elizabeth is concerned, style and fashion are the last things on her list. She does not pay attention to what is popular or what will compliment her body. She often gets clothes because it is the first thing she seems when she enters the store. She has an unconscious sense of style that is likeable to a certain extent, but some of her clothes are gaudy and appear to be thirty years old—and some of them actually are thirty years old. Elizabeth is not afraid to reuse and recycle clothing over decades as long as they fit her, and some of them still do. Some of her favorite things to wear are loosely fitting shirts with a belt around her waist to fit the shirt to her body. She very rarely wears a belt in the belt loops of her pants. She likes to wear dress slacks, usually black, although she will wear a skirt on occasion. She much prefers wearing flats or tennis shoes, though she wears heels to work for the sake of being professional like the employee handbook suggests. On Fridays, when the faculty and staff are allowed to dress down, she will wear jeans and one of her usual shirts. Again, sometimes her clothes are okay and sometimes they are just ungodly.

When it comes to accessories, Elizabeth is not one to over-accessorize. She actually wears the least amount of jewelry possible. When she was younger, she used to wear more jewelry because she felt that it added to her physical appearance, but she has learned that it just takes away from it. So, instead of wearing loads of jewelry, she just sticks to wearing a pair of earrings, her leather wristwatch, and her simple gold wedding band. Her earrings vary based on what clothes she is wearing, but that is about the extent of her accessories.

i was a hero early in the morning

I AIN'T NO HERO IN THE NIGHT

likes --
Disorganization and controlled chaos
Moderate levels of noise
The feeling of home
The sound of rain
Meeting new people
Diverse groups of people
Spending time with family
Having the family over for dinner
The Christmas holiday
Listening to and creating music
Being a hostess for whatever reason
Cooking food for the heck of it
Eating food of almost any kind
Dark, caffeinated drinks (Diet Coke)
Black coffee & iced tea with lemon
Intimate moments with her husband (ehem…)
Knitting blankets, shawls, and scarves
Most animals, but dogs and cats mostly
Having pictures of family (house & office)
Chewing on restaurant ice after finishing her drink
A nice alcoholic drink every now and then
A bad habit, but smoking Marlboros
Sleeping in late on the weekends

dislikes --
Organization
Complete silence
The idea of perfection
Having to give discipline
The taste of dark chocolate
Not having anything to do
Having pictures taken of her
Being left-handed at times
Trying to keep up with fashion/style
Light-colored caffeinated drinks
Immense amounts of snow
Unbelievably warm weather
Having hair shorter than her shoulders
Getting stuck in traffic and driving slowly
Being underestimated by those around her
Being rushed, especially by her husband or kids
Having to wear contacts
Losing and/or forgetting her glasses
Heeled shoes, but she wears them to be professional
Trying to type and send text messages
Discrimination or supremacy of any kind
Awkward silences herself and another person
Getting lost in unfamiliar places

fears --
Thunderstorms, because she has an irrational fear of being struck by lightening
Losing any of her five senses, especially the abilities of sight and taste
Heights, and for this reason she refuses to fly in an airplane and especially not a helicopter
The loss of a loved one, regardless of who it is


habits --
Clearing her throat
Running a hand through her hair
Misplacing things
Smoking cigarettes
Snorting when she laughs

secrets --
She was a virgin until the age of twenty-nine, when she got married.
She hates being seen naked, even by her husband of almost thirty-two years.
She secretly had her naval pierced in high school but got rid of it before college.

overall --
There are many sides to Elizabeth’s personality. Possibly the most common side of her is the quiet side. When she is around people, especially at work, she tends to be very quiet and to herself. She will talk to anyone who talks to her, but she does not talk to people for the sake of talking. She does not exile herself from people, but she does not thrust herself into the realm of coversation. Most of the conversations she has at work are with her students. The converstaions she has with her colleagues are often short and have no particular meaning to them; they are usually about misbehaved students or meetings they have after school. It never bothers her that she rarely has “normal” conversations with people at work, but that is only because she is not a great conversationalist. The only times when Elizabeth successfully has conversations is when her colleagues and/or students ask her about her family. She loves talking about her family and never turns down a chance to do so.

When she is at home, Beth reveals a completely different side of herself. Obviously she is around family and close friends at home, so she is able to be more open and much more energetic. She is more willing to laugh and have long conversations. The most obvious part of her home life is her relationship with her husband, children, and grandchildren. She is very loving towards them. She and her husband have a close relationship; it is almost playful. He enjoys joking with her and making her laugh. He often carries his camera around the house and takes pictures, even though she absolutely hates having her picture taken. That is part of his playfulness towards her. As for her children, Elizabeth has a mixed relationship. When her children were younger, she used to be very maternal and spent most of her time teaching them right from wrong. She continues to give them such guidance, but it is in a less mature way. She jokes with them and tries to speak to them as adults. As for her grandchildren, she acts as a second mother towards them. Like most grandmothers, she spoils her grandchildren and spends a lot of time playing with them and buying them things they like. Her grandchildren have made her more of a softy. Sometimes being at home can be a little depressing though. Her three oldest children are all moved out and live with their families. Her youngest son is in college and has rented an apartment near the campus. Her youngest daughter (and youngest child) is always busy with school activities.

If you throw Elizabeth into the party scene, she will not turn down the chance to be wild. She likes the idea of getting moderately drunk for the simple fact that she can let loose and not have to worry about the major things in life. She goes not get wasted, but she does not remain sober (that would be her husband). The effects of alcohol show a slightly different side of her that most people have never seen. She does not tell her students about her drunken tendencies, simply because she wants to be a good influence, but she will occasionally talk to her colleagues about them since they tend to be funny stories.

There are a few things about her personality that are always present. The biggest one is probably her tendency to be completely disorganized and chaotic. This is present in her appearance as well as the way she does things. She likes the idea of chaos and disorganization; it makes her feel comfortable and at home—and she likes feeling at home. (If you walk into her office at school, you will find a big jumble. Her desk is often untidily stacked with papers. The small shelving area in her office is in no particular order. She has trouble finding things when people ask for it.) Another part of herself that is always present is her awkwardness. She tends to be very awkward, oftentimes leaving silences during conversations or stumbling over her words. She does not do it intentionally; it just happens.

found eighteen reasons i can't

PICK UP ON THE PHONE

mother -- Sylvia Denise Wright (deceased)
father -- Liam Harvey Wright (deceased)

siblings --
Karen Jane Turner (65)
Charles Lee Wright (58)

significant other -- Michael Alexander Anderson (63, photographer)

children --
James Michael Anderson (30)
Margaret Anne Bennett (27)
Claire Elizabeth Anderson (25)
Benjamin Thomas Anderson (21)
Allison Grace Anderson (17)

in laws --
Amanda Lynn Anderson (28)
Jeffrey Allen Bennett (35)
Kyle Francis Taylor (29)

grandchildren --
Carleigh Emma Anderson (7) [James&Amanda]
Matthew Jacob Anderson (5) [James&Amanda]
Adam Harvey Anderson (3 mo.) [James&Amanda]
Sarah Marie Taylor (3) [Claire&Kyle]
(Margaret & Jeffrey do not want children. Period.)

pets --
Sasha, a golden retriever (2)
Gabriel, a Maine Coon cat (13)

history --
Elizabeth Ann Anderson is the middle child of Sylvia and Harvey Wright. She has an older sister, Karen (65), and a younger brother, Charles (58); they were all very close throughout their childhood but grew apart as they all went off to college and started lives of their own. Sylvia passed away at the age of fifty-seven and Harvey at the age of sixty-nine, nine years after his wife.

Elizabeth had a normal childhood. Her father worked as a drug company executive, and her mother was an artist-turned-housewife. She maintained a studio in the shed behind the house; she mostly went there when she was angry or upset and needed to get away from the chaos of her home. Both Sylvia and Harvey were loving parents to their three children.

It was at the age of five that Elizabeth began school; she was five years old. She was an intelligent girl for her age, having ready many of the children’s books her parents kept in the house. She had dark brown hair and horn-rimmed glasses; for that reason, she had trouble making friends with her classmates. But it never seemed to bother her; she preferred spending her recess near the fence, reading a good book. This is one of the reasons why she was academically successful throughout her entire school career.

After her years in elementary and middle school, Elizabeth went to high school, which happened to be at Jefferson Heights. She remained alienated from most of her classmates, especially when it came to parties and school-wide events. She very rarely got invited. Most of the popular people argued that she was not pretty enough or too smart for her own good. This only lowered her self-esteem. She felt ugly compared to the rest of the girls in her classes; she was just a Plain Jane. For that reason, she made some drastic changes to her overall appearance. At the start of her sophomore year, she put peroxide in her hair and made it blonde. Then she used all of her allowance money to buy contacts so that she no longer had to wear glasses. Afterwards, she joined the cheerleading team. Sure, it seems like a great feat for someone like her, but she was strong-willed and determined in her youth. She wanted to be liked by her peers. Doing all of that gained her some popularity, and she went on to win homecoming queen in her senior year.

After graduating from the school, Elizabeth went off to the nearest college. She had first gone in with the intention of majoring in music but changed her mind the following year. She wanted to become a high school guidance counselor. She was a year behind and therefore took five years to complete the first part of her degree instead of four. She spent a lot of time studying because she really wanted her degree. She finished the first part of her degree at the age of twenty-three. She completed her degree two years later, at the age of twenty-five. While she took classes at the college, she worked as a waitress in a small restaurant near the school. She enjoyed the waitressing job, aside from the fact that she spilled drinks on people at least once a week. After she got her degree, she thought she would easily find a job. That was not the case. She did not want to move from her studio apartment in Summerset. So she continued working at the restaurant while searching for a high school counseling job.

During her days working at the restaurant, she met a man by the name of Patrick Fitzgerald. He was fourteen years older than her and successful. The two talked during their evenings together in the library and eventually started to date. Three years after they began dating, he asked her to marry him. She said yes. Their engagement never became anything more than that. Shortly after they became engaged, he was diagnosed with bone cancer. A year after he was diagnosed, he succumbed to the cancer. Elizabeth was left fiancé-less.

She did not stay that way for long. Two months after Patrick passed away, she met a man named Michael Anderson. He was three years older than her, had never been to college, and was a small-time photographer for a local studio. They went out for dinner the same day they met and continued to date. Four months later, the couple was engaged to be married. Their wedding took place two months later. It was the most spontaneous thing she had ever done, but she is glad she did it.

Less than a year after they got married, Michael and Elizabeth were expecting their first child. Elizabeth gave birth to a baby boy, James. Over the next twelve years, the couple had four other children. Margaret was born three years after James; Clair, two years after Margaret. Then came Benjamin four years later and their final child, Allison, by accident four years after Benjamin was born.

Elizabeth received her first job the year after James was born. She worked at the public school in Summerset, helping students who needed it the most. She talked to them about their classes, college options, and about their personal lives. She went on maternity leave for a few months before and after the birth of her five children. She enjoyed working at the school and taking care of her children. But after the school got closed down, Elizabeth transferred to Jefferson Heights. She has been working there ever since.

i keep my head up high i know my plans

I DON'T SLEEP TIL IT'S LIGHT

alias -- Amber
age -- Nineteen
other characters? -- Not applicable
experience -- 6 May 2005 - present
other -- Not at the moment.

it's gotta last to build up your eyes

AND A LIFETIME OF RED SKIES

this here application was made by quinn, who is rather impressed with herself for making it. and therefore, it should not be stolen. however, if you ask her nicely she'll probably be so flattered by the idea that someone wanted to use it that she'll surely hand it over. lyrics by wolf parade.

[Admin 101]

i like the detail it was well written

approved