Got tagged in one of those endless email/facebook "Share 25 random things about you" notes. I'm game, but short of 25 at the start. So I'll add things here as they occur to me (and as I can get on the computer), then post to facebook when magic number is reached. Here goes...
1. In high school I made up a moon prayer one evening during marching band practice. It was nonsensical and nonrhyming, but it has stuck and become quite special to me. I recite it at the first glimpse of the moon. And no, I won't be sharing it with you.
2. I'm a sucker for the Delilah radio program. It reminds me of listening to Casey Kasem's Top 40 countdown as a kid, which I also enjoyed with secret glee. Sappy, sentimental, and thus so very unlike me, but I can't tune away when I come across it on the radio dial.
3. I am a volunteer with the local open space district. Most of the work I have done there over the years involves removing non-native plants, but on occasion I've also helped count wildflower species, clear new trails, construct fences, and plant trees.
4. My second grade class protested the hunting and killing of whales and baby seals. We watched a Greenpeace film, then made signs and t-shirts and picketed at a mall (my first but certainly not last protest experience). Mrs. Davis, our teacher, also taught us meditation (possibly the greatest skill I learned that year). Yes, it was a public school and yes, it was the 70's.
5. I am fairly superstitious. This mostly takes the form of needing to knock (preferably on wood) whenever I say or hear a dire prediction about a loved one. I know this is irrational and not related to changing any outcomes, but still I must knock or else I become rather anxious.
6. There are moments when I feel quite strongly that the world is just a figment of my imagination. On many such occasions I have informed David, "You're another person," and he has nodded his head in chagrin.
7. During my first week at a new school in 4th grade I severely tore the ligament in my ankle while playing Chinese jump rope. That was my first of many stints on crutches due to ankle sprains.
8. I came this close to being named Michalene Angela.
9. I hyperventilate when I am anxious.
10. I have tinnitus, no doubt due to my love of loud music and rock concerts as a teen. I have since made a habit of keeping the volume down, although every once in a while I crank it up for a song or two. Alas, I pay later.
11. I only applied to one college. Thankfully I was accepted. Better yet, I have never once regretted my going there.
12. I love balloons and can become unnaturally attached to them, which makes their inevitable demise hard to take. I still lament the loss to the skies of an enormous balloon which got away from David as he emerged from his car on my 18th birthday.
13. My traveling companion's name is Pavel. He is a 13-year old stuffed animal; I identify him as a reindeer, but others point out he looks more like a moose. Head poking out of my backpack, Pavel has traveled on trains, planes, cars, boats, and bicycles. I buy souvenir t-shirts (size 6 months) and socks for him. He is my Wilson. My dad has expressed concern over my attachment to Pavel. He's probably right to be concerned.
14. I love pumpkin baked goods. Muffins, scones, breads, mm mm good. I make a point of going to IHOP each fall, as often as David will tolerate, to enjoy their pumpkin pancake special.
15. I enjoy reading fanfiction based on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Yes, some of it is bad (and some is quite racy), but the good stuff makes perfect pleasure reading. I'm not generally much for real life hypotheticals; however, in reimagining a beloved story, fanfiction "what ifs" are something I can happily ruminate on for hours on end.
16. The creepy clown doll in Poltergeist scares the bejeesus out of me.
17. I am "allergic" to aspartame. That's not a medical diagnosis, just an experiential lesson. I can consume small quantities but prefer to avoid it altogether.
18. I do not like the taste of coffee in any of its forms, including mocha. I also don't like beer, blue cheeses, capers, artichokes, avocado, or bell pepper. I will pick onions out of anything I detect them in.
19. Thus far in my genealogical research I have identified 144 of my direct ancestors, 14 generations' worth dating back as far as the late 1500s. "My people" are from Virginia, New Jersey, England, and Italy.
20. I lived in a four generation household for a time when I was growing up. The experience, frustrating as it occasionally was, is one I cherish. It's one reason I am so happy my child gets to live with his great grandfather.
21. I have a fondness for squares and prime numbers and other number patterns.
22. In another lifetime I would go to medical school, although I have no desire to become a doctor.
23. As a kid I liked to read encyclopedias. The internet, as useful a resource as it is, will never replace my love of reference books.
24. I love playing board games. Challenge me to a round of Clue and I will drop everything. In truth if you request my presence for any sort of board game I'm likely to jump at the chance, even the usually tedious Monopoly. Alas many good games, like Eurorails, require more time and willing participants than I generally have access to. I'm not much into computer games, but my favorites over the years have always been puzzle-related. Fools Errand and The Lost Mind of Dr. Brain immediately come to mind. I also enjoy The Sims, although I am clearly a far more casual user than the game is designed for.
25. ?? You'll have to go to my facebook page to check out the last item.
