More from Melissa
- Cruising on empty
July 9, 2008 - Desperate measures?
July 9, 2008 - Soaring above it all
July 2, 2008 - Inspired by the classics
July 2, 2008 - We’re not in Conway anymore
July 2, 2008 - Light lunch
June 25, 2008 - Easy gourmet
June 25, 2008 - Making a killing
June 18, 2008 - Kids in the kitchen
June 18, 2008 - Peabody Hotel awards first ‘Power of a Dream’ scholarship
June 11, 2008 - See full list of stories by Melissa Tucker...
Melissa Tucker
Call Melissa at 501-378-3532.
Melissa Tucker, 26
Where are you from? Where have you lived?
I’m from Haughton, La., (Go Bucs!), which is outside of Shreveport — land of riverboat casinos.
Where did you go to school? Was it easy to pick a major?
I headed east for my college education and landed in Ruston, La., (Go Bulldogs!). It was tough to pick a major. I started in architecture but found that boring. I switched to psychology, and then my family had the mother of all cows (guess they didn’t want me analyzing their neuroses or something…), so I switched to Computer Information Systems. That was a wash when I couldn’t pass accounting. By then I was a junior and desperately needed to graduate in four years, so I went with something I could finish quickly: Journalism.
Dream job?
To work for The Daily Show.
When you were a kid what was your favorite toy? What happened to it?
My favorite toy was my puppet dog Mr. Wrinkles. He’s like a normal stuffed animal except he has a hole in the back of his head you can stick your hand in to make his mouth move. I still have that dog and he’s suffered many indignities at the hands of my friends.
Do you feel like a “grown up”?
I’m 26 years old and I don’t feel like a grown up. I don’t think I ever will as long as there’s Pop Rocks in the world.
If you could live anywhere in the world...?
If I could live anywhere in the world, I would live somewhere where they speak Spanish and eat enchiladas… so La Hacienda on Cantrell…? No, probably some country in South America with great beaches and plenty of governmental stability. I’m still doing the research on that one.
What kind of music do you listen to? Best concert?
I love all kinds of music. Except jazz. I cannot get into jazz. For me, music is all about the lyrics.
The best concert I’ve ever seen was The Wallflowers at Tech. I got up early to get in line for tickets when the box office opened and made it in time to beat the only other person on campus who got up early to get tickets. But the concert was fantastic because it was so small and we yelled out for Jakob Dylan to sing “Josephine.” He did, but he forgot the words. So he came over and asked me what they were. I just remember him bending down and those huge blue eyes looking right at me. Somehow I managed to remember the words while staring at his gorgeousness.
What is a story your family always tells about you?
One time when I was about 12 years old, my mom and sister and I were riding in the car. I was in the backseat all by myself. No one was talking. Then all of a sudden I started laughing uncontrollably. It took them forever to get me to tell them what was so funny. But when I finally did, I said, “I was just wondering if you could smell boogers.” They have never let me live that down. But it still makes us all laugh.
Any hobbies?
I love taking pictures. I took a photography class at the Museum School at the Arkansas Arts Center, and I highly recommend it. As soon as I get some more money, I’m going to take pottery.
Do you have any interesting Sync-related stories?
Why did you apply to work on this publication? I learned today that the IT guys here at the paper “affectionately” call us the “Sync-hole.” I applied to work here because it sounded like the most fun job ever. And so far, it has been. I’m hoping it stays that way.
