10 Random Facts!

Sometimes, people hear random stories about my life and tell me I need to write a book. My basic attitude about it all is that life is an adventure, and every moment should be treated as suchWith that, I give you 10 random facts about me and my life that may help you to get to know me a little better.

1. In addition to being a photographer, I am also a paranormal investigator (“ghost hunter”). Yep, you read that correctly. I’ve been seriously involved in it since 2006, and have been featured in newspapers and on the news. My team is the New York Paranormal Society. And yes, I do have strange stories, and if you want to hear more, I’d be happy to share!

2. My last name is super rare – anyone in the world who has it is a direct relative of mine. It’s also consistently misspelled and mispronounced as “Pennance.” I even went so far as to have pennancephotography.com redirect to pennacephotography.com! It’s kind of like the Italian word for a type of boat (Pinnace) and also apparently the name of some sort of delivish creature in Italian literature. Yup.

3. I love, love, love history. When I was in high school I did an internship at Old Sturbridge Village. I love David McCoullough books and owning “old” things. I majored in history in college (along with journalism) and would be happy spending much of my time in a library (if I had time!!).

4. Relatedly, I love genealogy. I am actually kind of obsessed with it – I have about 2000 people in my family tree. Geez!! Ancestry.com is an amazing resource and I’ve learned so much about my family because of it. Plus I recently found a photo of my great, great, great grandparents!!

5. I am a pretty independent person. I’m not afraid of doing things on my own, and have taken two roadtrips out west by myself only with vague idea of where I’d go

6. During the month of August 2009, I managed to get into arguments. With deer. In three different states. It reminds me of the time I was 18 and was attacked by a flock of geese. Yup. Or swarmed by ants. Maybe I should stay out of the woods. Hmmm!

7. I have this really illogical fear of sharks – to the point of where I used to be afraid to go into chlorinated pools. I’m still iffy about freshwater ponds though…

8. I’m definitely a “cat person.” Growing up we had 3 cats, and so far as an “adult” on my own I’ve had three cats. My first cat post-college was named Turbo and I got him off of Craigslist. He was older and so I only had him for a few years before I had to put him down. My next two, Phineas and Macarena, come from Craigslist and Puerto Rico, respectively. They are really, really awesome at letting me work without interruption (see photo).

9. I’ve always wanted to have long hair, but it won’t seem to grow past a certain length.

10. New favorite show: the Tudors!