July 2, 2008

• Everything you NEVER wanted to know about me!

  I am a mother, a wife. 
  I am a sister, a daughter.  I am a
  friend, and probably an enemy.

  I am a writer.  In
  high school and college, I used to write poetry and prose, once in a while an
  essay that was politically motivated.  I
  can't say many of them are very good, though I'm my own worst critic.  I did, however, once write a short story
  during the end of one of my high school classes that I'm still proud of.  It was my senior year, and I'd finally
  decided to take typing - I figured I'd use it more frequently in college than
  in high school, so it was a skill I wanted to remain fresh.  It was a good idea, too.  It was 1992, so we were using electric
  typewriters with small LCD screens. 
  Small.  I was the only senior in
  the class, and I excelled amongst freshman and sophomores; it wasn't hard,
  because most of them just wanted to goof off. 
  I really wanted to learn to type, so I would typically work ahead in my
  lessons.  One day, toward the end of the
  school year, I just so happened to run out of lessons, so I decided to start
  writing a story.  I had about 30 minutes
  left in class, so it had to be short.  I
  had no real concept in mind, just an electric typewriter and a few minutes to
  spare.  I got to typing, and finished the
  story within the timeframe, with a few minutes to spare.  My teacher had seen my typing furiously, so
  she came over to inspect my work.  Was
  the story 3 pages?  1 1/2 pages?  I don't remember, but I think it was
  three.  I'll find it later.  At any rate, she was impressed at the length
  of the piece AND the fact that there were no corrections made.  Corrections would have been made using
  correction fluid or tape, and I'd not used any; in fact, the story had no
  internal edits, either.  It was typed all
  at once, and I never went back to make any edits to content, grammar, spelling,
  usage, or punctuation.  Ever.  It's probably not the world's greatest story,
  but it was a challenge I issued to myself that I enjoyed.  Remind me, maybe I'll think to post it
  someday.

  I like to swear. 
  My favorite words are "fuck" and "asshat", though
  "shitfire" is high up there.  I
  also like to drink, though I don't do it often. 
  A beer every once in a while, maybe some wine.  I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about
  craft beers, enjoy dry red wine, and top shelf liquor, including vodka,
  tequila, and Irish whisky.  I blame the
  whisky on my husband.  I also enjoy
  throwing theme parties.  Ask any one of
  my friends about my Halloween parties and the fabulous spread of food I put
  out, including cookies that look like severed fingers.  Totally disgusting, but delicious.

  I love cooking.  I
  wouldn't mind going to culinary school, but mostly just to refine my
  skills.  I don't think I could handle
  owning a restaurant, or managing people. 
  Well, I could do the "bossing around" part, but the other
  stuff?  Forget it.  I also wouldn't mind getting some pastry
  experience.

  I like computers and technology.  A lot. 
  I bought a Pocket PC a few years ago when I sold a domain name for quite
  a bit more than I paid for it.  My laptop
  was better than Craig's until he decided to upgrade some parts.  (Damn him!) 
  I love learning about new gadgets and technology, and really miss
  working in the field, though not enough to really go out and get a job.

  When I make good friends, I keep them.  One of my oldest friends (and I mean oldest
  as in "I've known her longer than any other friend" and not "she's
  older than any of my other friends") and I met when we were eleven years
  old.  She and I have been friends for 23
  years.  That's over half my life!  We don't keep in touch as well as we should,
  probably, but I count her as one of my best friends.  I'd say the only friend from grade school
  that I've kept in touch with, but that's not entirely true.  There's one other girl I knew from grade
  school, and she and I will be seeing LOTS of each other come fall, as her son
  and my son will be going to school together at the same place *we* went to
  grade school.

  Then there are my high school friends; there are only two
  that I've kept in touch with, and one moved north, so I see her a few times a
  year.  The other one and I lost touch for
  a few years, but we reconnected a few years ago when Bran was little.  She and her husband are our children's
  extended family....well, actually, she's Brandon's
  girlfriend.  He says he takes care of her
  while her husband is away.

  I've got two great college friends I still hear from -
  one is, in fact, coming to visit us on Sunday. 
  She was my drinking buddy, my "let's cut class and get into some
  trouble" buddy, and the one who got me out of my damned dorm room and out
  into the world.

  The other one is one who shared my interest in online
  gaming.  Back in 1992 I played MUDs -
  multiple user dungeons.  Basically, a
  text-based version of MMORPGs.   She was
  also from my hometown, so I had someone to share a ride with when coming home
  for a visit.  We sadly "broke
  up" over lots of stupid stupid things, but have recently reconnected, and
  I'm glad of that.

  Of course, there are all the new friends I've made in
  recent years - the one who is the most awesomest pastry chef ever, the ones who
  we used to work with at our previous job and who has sewn a Halloween costume
  for Bran and taught him how to shoot a bow, and then given our daughter
  crackers *while we weren't looking*!; the one who spearheaded our daughter's
  beautiful blessingway; the ones we've met while working on a web project; the
  one who belonged to the same local stay-at-home-mom group as me for years and
  we never really got to know each other UNTIL she moved out of state....and each
  and every one of you who stops by to say hello and check up on me and tell me
  my kids are beautiful and that I'm just plain weird....and I really forget
  where I was going with this one.

  I love music.  Just
  about any kind.  I have an extensive
  collection that I started at exactly the same time I gave up smoking.  Funny how that works.  I love Pearl Jam, Tool, Metallica,
  Soundgarden, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Bee Gees...do you see where I'm going
  with this?  I'm learning to like Led
  Zeppelin, though I still have a hard time listening to Robert Plant.  I don't guess I get Pink Floyd, really. Maybe
  that's because all I know about them I heard on the radio.  I am starting to get into AC/DC.  I can't say I'm a huge fan of country music,
  but that's perhaps not completely fair. 
  I like Johnny Cash, but does that count? 
  Alison Krauss is good, but isn't that bluegrass?  I won't single out any particular genre,
  because there's always going to be something I like.  At least, I think so.

  I've never tried any illicit drug in my life.  Never. 
  I've had prescribed pain medication, but that's it.  I just never got past drinking and
  smoking.  Besides, none of my friends
  wanted to take responsibility for getting me addicted to something else, as
  they did with drinking and smoking!

  I used to want to be a veterinarian, until I decided that
  I wouldn't be able to put an animal to sleep when I couldn't save it.  I also wanted to be a teacher, until I worked
  some inside local school districts.  I have
  a hard time with people who feel entitled to something without earning it, and
  it seems that sentiment runs rampant in many parents.

  I don't spend a lot of time with other moms.  The little time I have spent with groups of
  moms tend to go like this:

  "Johnny can count to 100 and he's only 2 1/2."

  "Really? 
  Well, my Patty has been doing that since she was 1, in English AND in
  French!"

  "Oh, my. 
  That's all?  Susie came out
  singing her numbers the day she was born, and can recite them backwards while
  hanging upside down underwater with both hands tied behind her back on the
  second Tuesday of next week."

  So that's why I don't hang out with moms.  I'm not saying they're *all* like that.  It just seems to happen when moms get in
  groups.  I try very hard not to talk
  about my chitlins to many people, and the only reason you hear about them in
  this blog is BECAUSE IT'S MY BLOG FOLKS!

  I have been coloring my hair since I was 18.  My hair has been purple, blue, green, yellow,
  orange, magenta, pink, red, and black. 
  It has also been a rainbow.  I
  haven't stopped coloring my hair, either. 
  I did start using normal store colors when I had a job, but when I quit
  to be a mom, I started back up with purple. 
  Brandon
  loves it.  *I* love it.  It looks good with my green eyes!  My mom once dyed my dog blue with Kool-aid to
  impress my friends.  It worked.

  What else do you want to know?  I think I've gone on about myself for long
  enough!

  • 10:48 pm
  • 3 Comments