FROM "A LITTLE BIT ABOUT LIS," a biographical essay on Riba Rambles:

The other day, I got to thinking about what I would do if I didn't have to worry about money.

If my material needs could be provided for, I'd become a perpetual student for the next ten years or so. There are just so many things I want to learn. I'd start by finishing off my Library Science degree, in part because I see that as learning how to learn (or, at least, learning how to find and evaluate information, which is an important part of learning in general). Then, I'd go on to dabble. I don't think I'd pursue another degree, but just take classes that interest me from nearby colleges (which does include Harvard and MIT, so I'm hardly selling myself short). I'd like to learn a bit of Law, just to gain a grounding, and I'd spend some time studying Talmud. I want to become fluent in Yiddish, Biblical Hebrew and Latin. I'd definitely take more classes in History and American Studies, including in-depth readings of Alexis de Tocqueville and Elizabethan and Jacobean writers (not just Shakespeare and Marlowe, but their lesser-known contemporaries like Nashe and Harrington). And Ian's communication studies raised some interesting ideas that I'd like to explore. Mostly, I'd just flit about like an academic butterfly, exploring whatever whims catch my eye.

I'd also like to travel, across the United States and around Europe. I definitely want to spend some time in Washington, DC, and would try to time a trip so I could attend a Supreme Court session or two. Just for fun, I recently put myself on the mailing lists of several cruise lines. Ian rather likes Cunard's 100+ day Voyage of Six Continents World Cruise, but I think I prefer the itinerary of some of Seabourn's cruises to Scotland and Scandinavia. But those are merely daydreams -- I doubt I'd ever actually blow $40,000+ on something like that. Instead, we'd be more likely to just drive and rail around where the whims take us. I've enjoyed the Rick Steves' Europe series on PBS, so might be tempted to take one of his tours across the Continent. At the very least, I'd never miss a WorldCon again.

Chills are going up and down my spine. Maybe there really is something to this "everybody has a double" idea. Seems there's a clone of me living in Boston. She's even Jewish, too.