How on earth did it get to be February already? Two-thirds of the way through, at that, and I haven't posted anything since New Year's Eve. Yikes!
Well, it HAS been busy. "Prelude to a Kiss" took up a lot of my time. But that's been over for two weeks now (I think), so I shouldn't have any excuses, should I?
I'm going to take a page out of Gail's book and set this up to do my Facebook notes. Consolidation is a wonderful thing! And further, I'm finally going to do the "25 Random Things About Me" thing that my co-workers have been doing. I might be late to the party, but that doesn't mean I can't have a good time, right?
Okay, here goes:
1. I have always loved to read. Even before I actually learned to read, I would see my parents reading, especially my mother and I wanted to do it, too. My mom told me that I would learn when I went to school, and I looked forward to that day so fervently - when I came home after the first day of first grade (I didn't go to Kindergarten) I was crushed because we hadn't learned to read that first day!
2. In spite of the fact that I don't have any issues in telling people facts about myself, I am really a pretty private person. There are only a very few people in my life to whom I have ever really opened up and shared my deepest, most private thoughts and feelings.
3. My mom has been dead for almost 15 years and I still miss her every day. She was one of those to whom I referred in #2...
4. Most people think of me as a cat person, and I DO love my cats, but I grew up with dogs and really didn't like cats all that well as a kid. That was mostly because a) my dad hated cats and b) my great-aunt Mary had a cat that was old and cranky and scratched me once because I was trying to pet her. (The cat, not my Aunt.) It wasn't until I had graduated from college and moved in with my friend Terri and her cats that I discovered that I really did love cats! But if I were home more, I'd have dogs, too. I'm glad that John shares his dogs with me!
5. My obsession with giant pandas is actually a fairly recent phenomenon...within the past 4 years or so, and it grew out of my love for cats. I had been watching a litter of cheetah cubs at the National Zoo on their webcam and discovered the Pandacam by accident; they were watching Mei Xiang for a possible pregnancy at the time. A few months later Tai Shan was born...and I was hooked!
6. I love computer and video games. Once I start, I have a hard time stopping!
7. I have two entire shelves of a bookcase devoted to books by and about J.R.R. Tolkien.
8. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a writer. My best friend was a very talented artist and we teamed up - I wrote, she illustrated. Somewhere I still have some of those stories - could be scary!
9. In addition to wanting to be a writer, in 6th grade I knew I wanted to be a teacher. But it wasn't till jr. year in high school that I decided for sure I wanted to teach music. Up to that point I couldn't decide whether I wanted to teach biology or music.
10. I learned how to play chess in the 7th grade to impress a boy. (Don't laugh; he's probably a nuclear physicist or something like that now!) That didn't last very long, but I still remember how to play chess...
11. When I was in college, my friends and I had Canasta tournaments on Saturday nights. (Yes, I was just a wild party animal.) Hmmm...I DON'T remember how to play Canasta.
12. I am easily startled, but not easily frightened.
13. I have never lived alone, but I know I wouldn't mind it at all. I actually rather enjoy being alone.
14.I started drinking coffee on a regular basis when I was about 12. It was a bonding thing with my mom.
15. I have three sisters and no brothers, but I have always wanted a brother. When I was little I usedto ask Santa for an older brother every year until I figured out the logistics of that...then I decided that a little one was better than nothing. Never got one, though, even though I offered several times to trade one of my younger sisters with a good friend for one of her brothers.
16. When I was in 4th grade my best friend went home sick from school with what we thought was a cold. That was on a Monday, I think...by Wednesday she was in the hospital; Thursday evening my mom went to visit her for me (kids weren't allowed); Friday morning my mother told me over breakfast that Claire had died. I remember that it was Friday the 13th of October and she apparently had some rare disease that no one had ever heard of before.
17. I don't walk properly. I walk toe-to-heel instead of heel-to-toe unless I'm really thinking about it.
18. My first "real" job was as a clerk-typist in an insurance company. I have also worked playing background music in a men's club (listen, it was the club my dad went to, so there was nothing shady about it), as a waitress, as a cashier/sales person in women's clothing and children's shoes, as a music teacher, as a computer lab manager, as an instructional support person. That's pretty much it...but interestingly enough, all my jobs have required working with some sort of keyboard. Too bad I never took typing!
19. The first show I was ever in was "Oklahoma!" when I was in 10th grade. Up till that point I was much too shy to audition for anything, and only did it because my best friend talked me into it. (If she'd only know what she was starting...)
20. Although I got my driver's license when I was 16, I never really drove much till I was 21. ( Of course, I didn't pass the driver's test the first time, but that's a whole story in itself.) I just didn't really have any need to drive till I moved away from home, and I didn't really like it all that well. In fact, I never really felt comfortable driving till I was about 30 - when I had to drive back and forth from Albany while I was working on my Master's degree.
21. Pet peeves: people taking up two parking spaces, leaving cabinet doors open, rude and inconsiderate behavior in general. Want to send me over the edge? Mis-shelve books...
22. I love shoes and hats, but I seldom wear hats and I only wear about three different pairs of shoes most of the time.
23. I don't mind bugs, snakes, or most rodents. Mice don't bother me, though I don't particularly care for them in the house, but there's something about rats that creep me out. I think it's the tails...I don't like possums, either, and they have the same kind of tails.
24. Up until I was about 40, I had an unreasonable fear of bridges. I couldn't drive over one without a racing heart and sweaty knuckles; I was practically paralyzed walking over one (and I had to walk over one to get to school); I had nightmares about them. I'm not sure why the fear went away, but it did...now I barely even notice if I'm going over one.
25. When I was in college I studied harp. Wish I still played...though I don't really know where I'd put one if I did!
So there you have it. Happy New Year, a month or so late, and happy February!
