These last few nights I’ve been having some of the wackiest dreams I’ve had in a long time, and for me that’s saying a lot. Once I dreamt that I lived in a world filled with chinless people. It was as a dream could be. The one I had two nights ago beat that one in weirdness and and so I must share it.
In the dream my Mom, two sisters and I were visiting a farm. I was aware that I was much younger than I am now, like 19 or 20. This farm was supposed to be a friend’s family farm, but it didn’t look like it did in real life. We went into the house. The walls were painted drywall, black. There were 4×4 beams showing and it looked like the interior of a garage. There were tables all around littered with stuff, like a garage sale. And random people were walking around. I set down my keys, sunglasses, etc in random places around the house. There was this really nice looking guy walking around. Apparently his name was Ashley, but how I knew that I don’t know as I never spoke to him. (I don’t know anyone like him in my real life). We just walked around glancing at each other, while I kept leaving my stuff around the garage/house. There was a tv in the corner of one room that was playing old black and white tv shows. Matthew Sweet’s Sick of Myself, was playing somewhere:
But I’m sick of myself when I look at you something is beautiful and true. World that’s ugly and a lie it’s hard to even want to try. I’m beginning to think maybe you don’t know.
Suddenly the Emergency Broadcasting Signal sounded on the tv and made an announcement that we were under a Tornado Warning. They showed the radar on tv and it was heading right for us. My sister, Jackie asked if it was real. I said I would check my phone. Sure enough it confirmed what the tv stated. A girl I knew from college suddenly appeared, wearing a cowboy hat barged in and yelled that we needed to head to the basement/cellar and she turned and ran off. Mom told us to get our stuff so we wouldn’t loose it to the tornado.
I’m running around picking up my keys, sunglasses and iPod (and a bunch of other stuff that wasn’t worth saving that I can’t quite recall now, but at the time I was thinking, “Really, you’re risking your safety for that?!” I couldn’t find my phone, which if you recall I just had when I looked at the radar. Panic set in. I don’t know if I ever really found it or if I just decided to let it go…because tornado! I found my Mom and sisters. My sister Jackie said that she was ready to to to the cellar because she had her embroidery kit. I was worried because I didn’t have mine and asked if I should go get it.
I heard my college acquaintance scream from outside that we needed to hurry. At this point in my dream I gained a superpower, seeing through walls. Cool, huh? I could see her running and opening up the cellar doors, which were out in the middle of a pasture filled with cows and buffalo. I took off. Apparently my family was behind me, but I didn’t look back.
Meanwhile, Matthew Sweet was still singing away.
My college acquaintance was standing near the cellar doors holding the halter of this angry attack horse,”Hurry up, I’ll hold back Two Kicks until you get in!” Let me take a second to describe this angry horse because, boy oh boy, I think I was laughing about it in my dream. The horse was a white/dapple gray and was kicking wildly. On his face, he had eyebrows. Yeah, eyebrows! That alone would be funny but he had these big, angry Groucho Marx eye brows angled down in fury. He was baring his teeth like horses do when mad. He looked like a scary cartoon.
So I take an athletic jump into the cellar, far more graceful than I would in real life. I was surprised that the cellar wasn’t a room. Instead I had jumped into a kind of a tunnel slide made of mud. It was quite terrifying. I kept sliding down into the earth until I got stuck and I couldn’t breath.
That’s when I woke up. I was quite terrified and it took me a bit to realize that I had fallen asleep on my couch and wasn’t stuck in a mud tunnel with Matthew Sweet song blaring overhead, the only point of escape blocked by an angry horse with eyebrows.
“The past is done. The future is uncertain. All you’ve got is this one moment, right now.” – Dirty Like Zane Jaine Diamond
The quote above is from a Romance series that I discovered this past year by Jaine Diamond. Please don’t laugh too much. This quote is from one character speaking to another about addiction and finding sobriety, and while that’s not what this blog is about the quote still fits. I’ve been an avid reader the majority of my life, my favorite genres being Sci Fi/Fantasy and Historical Fiction, and I’m not referring to historical romance novels here. I’ve read my fair share of non-fiction and I do delve into classic literature that isn’t assigned to me to read by a college professor. The reasoning is because I needed to know things. Yeah, I was that girl who read Shakespeare’s The Tempest and The Holy Bible all because I wanted to. I’m a great big dorky nerd.
Oh, sweet Fabio…
That’s not to say I didn’t partake in my own fair share of trashy Romance novels, or smut books as I like to refer to them, back in my youth. I was a big fan of the historical romance novels by Johanna Lindsey that always featured hyper-chiseled Fabio on the cover. I’m not going to lie and say that I read those books for more more than the sexy bits (or so I thought). They were predictable: Extremely beautiful innocent girl meets over-the-top handsome dude in some impossible situation, like being sold into his brother’s harem or being kidnapped by pirates. At first they hate each other, innocent girl loosed virginity to handsome dude and eventually fall happily-forever in love and live perfectly ever after. The End.
Sometime this past winter I accidentally fell back into reading smut. I had a hard time focusing on the current Fantasy series I was reading. I am not blaming the book, because it was well written and a great story but with everything going on around me in my real life I needed something that didn’t take much effort. Amazon has this great thing for their Kindle called Kindled Unlimited, where basically for a very small monthly fee you have access to more books than you can ever read in 20 lifetimes. One day I stumbled upon The Boy I Hate by Taylor Sullivan, which was basically what I know now as a second chance/best-friend’s brother/roadtrip romance with a HEA (that’s Happily Ever After). I thought, “What the hell?” downloaded it, opened it and got sucked into the tale of an awkward, not very self-assured heroine and a (seemingly) moody asshole hero who hated each other over a misunderstanding that happened way back in their youth. Much hilarity, more misunderstandings, steamy sex and heartache ensued before the two worked their heads out of their arses and found their HEA. Entirely predictable. Entirely certain and entirely what I needed at a time when in real life my Dad was dying from a terribly ugly disease and my husband’s depression/maybe borderline personality disorder was again in full bloom. My life was anything but happy and predictable. So I kept on reading those Romance novels to find the balance I was lacking.
(Side-note: Romance novels today are very different from those I read in my youth. There are so many sub-genres, some that intrigue me and others not so much. The heroes and heroines have faults, traumas and surprisingly there is not always HEA ending in sight. Not every book has a Fabio and super-beautiful innocent maiden anymore. I’m quite fond of the ones that usually involve some darker issue(s) but still have a HEA have a humorous streak about them, like the Cake novels by J. Bengtsson or the Dirty series by Jaine Diamond).
My life still is still full of uncertainty and it can be uncomfortable. But that’s life, isn’t it? Some seriously sorry stuff has happened over the course of this year; my Dad’s death and funeral, his younger brother’s death a mere 3 months later and the passing of two people who for a time where my surrogate parents. There’s been stress involving work and the ever present stress of my husband’s disease and what, if anything, he’s willing to do about it. I care deeply for my husband, but I’m not going to lie, this is very hard on a relationship, on me and the future is full of uncertainty.
I have made a concentrated and completely conscious effort this spring/summer to not let all the sadness consume me. I cannot let it. I went in search of finding some “joy”, sometimes by myself or with my daughter in-tow. I rediscovered my art, or rather dusted-off because I don’t think I ever really lost it. I brought music back into my life. I’ve made reconnections with old friends who I missed way more than I realized. Walking through my old college campus with two important people from that time was gloriously sentimental. Going to see my best friend from High School was the best medicine I could have asked for. We could still talk and confide in one other like we only seen each other yesterday, instead of over a decade. With other friends, forgiveness was given and received, which just might be the greatest feeling of all. I have great co-workers that make me laugh and value my quirky humor. The trip out East to see my beloved niece graduate and time spent with my family just…being, was greatly needed.
My current work. Very much in progress.
My life isn’t predictable, it never was nor likely will it ever be. Nothing is ever certain, but oh, there is happiness to be found. I didn’t end up with a HEA like they do in the romance novels and that’s okay. I had a stinking awesome youth and quite frankly a fun time trying to navigate through my 20’s and 30’s, even if I didn’t always seize every opportunity I coulda/woulda/shoulda. I can’t change any of it anyway. Predicting the future is something I cannot do, it’s uncertain, instead I’m going to do what I can today. Focus on the now.
I’m still going to read trashy romance novels however.
**Note I am currently without my laptop so I am writing this on my iPad. It’s not ideal, and really weird to type on, not to mention the formatting is not user friendly.**
It may come as not surprise but I have a weak spot for journals. It’s quite dangerous for me to go into that section at Barnes and Noble because guaranteed I will find some pretty little book with a dragon or fairy on it begging for me to buy it, take it home and deface it’s pages with my chicken scratch. Then there are the journaling books that offer inspiration or suggestions on what to write. Last spring I came upon on of those entities One Question a Day. The journal poses one question per day for a year. When you finish the year, you repeat the process, same questions, for 5 years. I suppose its to see how your answers change over time. The answers are to be short and sweet. Some questions are silly and others a bit more serious. I thought it might be kind of interesting to choose 10 questions randomly and answer them here.
What colors do you wear most often?
Being that blue is my favorite color I tend to lean towards blue clothing. Shocker. I also tend to pick up a lot of green as well.
What is your biggest fear?
I have a couple phobias but generally I can work my way around those, except pigs. They give me the creeps. As for my biggest fear is something awful happening to my daughter. An accident where she gets hurt or even worse, someone harming her. Everything else I can conquer, even nasty pigs, but harm befalling my daughter scares me.
When was the last time you cried?
Yesterday. I was driving home listening to music on shuffle and Blue October’s For My Brother, from their live album Argue With a Tree came on. Like every other time I’ve listened to the song I was wiping away the tears. I think it’s one of the most achingly beautiful songs I have ever heard. I wish I could find words to explain this song, but everything I come up with is woefully inadequate. I’ll include the YouTube link. Please give it a listen to the end and you’ll understand.
What do you wish you could tell your younger self?
There is probably lots of advice I could give my younger self. Mostly, I think I’d want to tell myself back then, to stop being afraid of what others think and take some chances. I wonder if I could just take the attitude, knowledge and experience that 48 year old me has and put it in 23 year old me what that would have been like.
What is one item on your bucket list?
There are still many things I want to see which require some travel. But experience wise? This is tough for me. I really can’t say I want to do anything daring like, sky-dive or drive a race car. I just have no desire for that kind of stuff. I might have to put some thought into this later.
What issue do you tend to rant about?
The general stupidity of humans. This can be anything from politics or terrible drivers.
What is your usual breakfast?
Hot tea, green or black varieties are my preference. Scrambled eggs and fruit, or out meal if I’m feeling not very energetic. I’m not a morning person but I do need my breakfast to be a decent human being.
Who are you surprised is still your friend?
I have many good friends and I’m blessed to have several “best” friends that have been with me for decades. I’m very lucky and I’m also quite surprised that we are still friends. No, its not that I think I’m some unlikable person but I’ve moved around a lot and its quite hard to maintain relationships long distance. There have been times, before social media and texting, where I haven’t heard from one of my friends for a very long time. Writing is hard. Phoning for a phone-a-phobic like me, and some of my best friends, is downright scary. I have discovered this weekend and the last few weeks of visiting with old friends that you pick that relationship right back up where it left off.
What is the oldest thing in your home?
I think it would be the portraits of my 3x Great-Grandparents Caroline and Heinrich Biebeshimer. They came to the United States from Germany, settled in New York for sometime before moving to Iowa. Heinrich was brewer and grocer. He also was a musician. As the story goes, he bought a wooden flute soon after getting off the boat. I don’t know too much about Caroline other than the basic biographical facts. As for the portraits, I’m not sure on the exact date, but I can deduce that they probably were painted in New York around the 1860s.
What part of your body do you like to show off?
I was tempted to pick another random question because this one is just so…bleh. Currently, nothing. Except maybe my fingernails. I recently started growing them out and they are kind of pretty. Other than that I’m really kind of self conscious about my looks. When I was younger I still had confidence issues regarding my body (who doesn’t?), but I was told I had nice lips and I felt kind of good wearing a crop top.
I’m rewarding myself this upcoming weekend with a road trip with my oldest friend back to the place we went to college. It’s been a trying last couple of years and I deserve this time away to focus on my own happiness. Selfish maybe?
We’ve made some tentative plans with a friend who still live in the area. Other plans may develop, or not. I plan on an early morning walk around campus and see what’s changed. I haven’t been back on campus since the year after I graduated 20 odd years ago and I’d like to see if I can find my old dorm. I think it’d be a trip to visit the painting lab. Maybe we’ll have breakfast at Mike’s Cafe or some late night cheese balls at Perkins. I’d even drive out to Trailways if it was still open.
Also, the agenda is some Chicken Connection. I don’t know how long this place has been around and if I had to guess I’d say its near forever. Its a simple place that serves basic fried chicken with a side of broasted potatoes with the most delicious sour cream/onion dip. I’m drooling just thinking about it. Simple, inexpensive but tasty college fare. I still dream about those broasted potatoes.
Later on our way back we’re planning to stop and visit other college friends (one of my closest friends and her husband) at their home for dinner. It’s been too long since I’ve seen those two beloved people. I hope to stay better connected with them and all the others who mean so much to me.
It will be a good weekend, no matter what’s accomplished.
I saw this challenge on another blog I came across the other day. It’s an older challenge but it seemed like a fun thing to do. So, me, liking fun things, accepted the challenge.
Who in your opinion is the sexiest man or woman who ever lived?
I thought this would be an easy question. Find someone who you think is attractive and BAM! Question answered. Not so easy, if you’re me I guess. I first decided not to name anyone that I know in my real life, to avoid any embarrassment and this is just supposed to be a bit of fun. So I limited my scope to celebrities. Initially I was debating over Chris Hemsworth or Chris Pratt. Thor or Star Lord? Both equally delightful to look at and are funny individuals. (Humor is something I’ve always found extremely sexy, more so than delicious abs, you know?). But there was that word, ever. That’s a lot of pressure because there’s my old, longtime celebrity crush, Val Kilmer. Back in the days of Real Genius or Willow there was nobody finer. That nose…those curvy lips. *sigh* But these days, I’m sad to admit, Val is looking a bit weathered. He did not age like fine wine. So sad. Should I choose baseball players, Anthony Rizzo or Javy Baez? And Kris Bryant has such dreamy eyes? In the end, I think I settled on an actor, who is not widely known, who embodies many of the features that I find most attractive in a man. Warm brown eyes, dark, dark, wavy hair, a beautiful, but imperfect smile. He’s a funny, humble and supposedly nice dude. I chose Aidan Turner. An Irish (and the sexy Irish accent doesn’t hurt either) actor. He once broke the internet. No kidding. Just look up Aidan Turner Scything and you’ll so totally understand why. I believe some British mag posted behind the scene pictures of the scything scene from Poldark the day after that episode showed in the UK. Apparently enough people clicked on it that it did crash websites and the internet went down and all sorts of general mayhem commenced. Ok, I exaggerate a bit, but it did happen.
2. What food do you rarely eat and why?
I never, ever eat olives because they are simply vile, disgusting, smelly, vomit-inducing slimy balls of salt. I rarely get to eat crab cakes although they are one of my favorite things ever. I live in the Midwest and finding fresh, good seafood is next to impossible, unless you are willing to pay a fortune. So when I do get a chance to go out east to visit family and crab cakes are on the menu, that’s what I order and enjoy every single second.
3. What would your closest friends be most surprised about you?
Honestly, I don’t know. There’s plenty of things about me that most people I know would be surprised at, but with my closest friends, I’m pretty much an open book anymore. I guess maybe about my struggles with learning disabilities as a kid? It never was a secret, but then again it wasn’t something that I really talked about.
4. Who is the most famous person you’ve met and what were the circumstances?
I’ve been to many concerts as live music is one of my favorite things to do. I’ve met many musicians (Don’t go thinking “groupie” thoughts at me. Never have because I think it’s gross). Some were very famous at one time (Brett Micheals, Vinnie Paul, Sebastian Bach, etc.) but there’s just nothing special about a “Hi, can I have an autograph or a picture?” I have a friend who worked at a music magazine and I was her +1 when she got tickets for meet and greats. Again, nothing special. I once had a pretty intense stare down with Chris Cornell, a very funny story, but I didn’t actually meet him. Once I ran into Jack Blades, my middle school celebrity crush and lead singer of Night Ranger, in an antique store in La Crosse, WI. I did go up and have a conversation with him, but as I was internally freaking out like a 13 year old so I don’t recall much of it. Afterwards I would make an attempt to get in my car and start it, only to discover the key wouldn’t fit and my seats were white and no longer black. Yep, I totally got in someone else’s car and attempted to start it. My car, in my defense, was right next to the car I tried to steal and on the outside they looked exactly the same. This happened years before Caroline’s Spine came into my life so run ins with fame tended to make me loose my mind. Tulsa was Caroline’s Spine’s home turf, but they had a large regional following in Wisconsin. Often they would bring their friends’ bands up to open for them. Mad Verb, Jenny LaBow, Phil Marshall, Midwest Kings to name just a few. The first time I saw Midwest Kings they were just kids and they had some line-up changes over the years. The last time I saw them they brought along a guy named David Cook. He had been in a band that was part of the Caroline’s Spine/Tulsa scene and though I didn’t know him, he was friends with many of my friends. I can’t remember much about the circumstances meeting him, I mean he was just another guy in a band at that point. I purchased his CD and I do remember being part of a conversation with him, but that’s about all. Not very many months later it was revealed that he was going to be a contestant on American Idol. He won his season and made a successful career following his win. Sadly, I ended up having to sell the CD I bought that night for $500. I had been reduced to part-time at my job and needed the money.
5. What famous person would you most like to have as a close friend and why?
I could choose Anthony Rizzo or Javy Baez because I think they are probably nice people and could get me a season pass to all the home Cub games, but that just seems weird to me. I really don’t know how to answer this one. Maybe Chris Pratt because he’s so funny. Still weird.
6. What is your biggest regret in life?
As my life is far from over (knock on wood) and I assume there might be more regrets up there hanging out to mug my future, I’ll go with my life thus far. I guess, it would probably be my ability to hold a grudge. Life is really too short to let stupid stuff get in the way of friendships. At the time it might seem important, but really, most of it has just been stupid. I’m trying to be better at letting stuff go.
7. What is the strangest pet you’ve ever had?
I’ve not had many pets in my life, and this might not really be strange or exotic overall, but it was the most unique pet I’ve had. For a few months I took care of an iguana named Nine, named thusly because it was missing one toe.
8. What is the item of clothing you’ve owned for the longest period of time?
Mine is a t=shirt but the design is the exact same.
I went to visit my college roommate one Spring Break at her home in the Chicago area. We went shopping at an outlet mall one day and I found the greatest Cub shirt I’ve ever seen. This would have been in 1992-93 and the Cubs were smack dab in the middle of their epic World Series drought. The shirt said, “If it takes forever” along the top and on the bottom it said “Loyalty, Faithfulness, Dedication”. I consider this my good luck shirt.
9. What object in your house holds the most sentimental value to you?
I know that I’m an overly sentimental person. I have lots of stuff to prove it. However when it comes down to it I think my photos and scrapbooks probably mean the most to me. After all they are the snapshots (pun intended) of my memories. I have pictures of my youth, of my own daughter, from my days in college and my “Spine Box” of photos and mementoes from my days going to shows and hanging out with my friends.
10. What question do you wish you’d asked a deceased relative but didn’t?
Having been interested in my family’s stories, I’ve asked plenty of questions from my grandparents so I’m not really sure what I’d ask. Maybe I’d ask my Grandpa if his parents liked the Cubs too? If they did that would make me a 4th generation Cubs fan.
11. Who in the world (relative or not) do you most resemble?
Margaret Albert, my 2x Great Grandmother. I got her nose!
It has been said that my daughter is a mini-me. Other than that, I don’t think I really resemble my parents all that much. If I had to pick someone, I would say that I look a bit like my Great-Great Grandmother Maggie Albert. We have the same nose.
12. What is your favorite footwear and why?
When I was younger I would have said it would be my black leather boots, because they were cool and made me taller. These days though, my poor old feet rebel if I wear anything with any sort of heel. Today, it’s comfort over fashion, so my Nike tennis shoes would be my current favorite.
So many people have voiced an opinion about the series finale of Game of Thrones in the past week or so. Nothing makes my opinion more important than any other, but as I loved both the books and the show, why not?
Many years ago I was pursuing my sister’s bookshelf. I picked up this big Fantasy book that had caught my eye. It was the first book in the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin. “Was this any good?” i asked. She let me have the book and I once I found time to read it, I could not put it down.
It was everything I loved about the Fantasy genre; rich in detail, a imaginative world in which I could immerse myself and characters that felt like they could be real. As I was reading the book I thought I knew what was going to happen, because let’s be honest, as creative as the Fantasy genre is, most books follow a reluctant hero arc, similar to Tolkien’s books. Three fourths of the way through the book Eddard Stark, the seemingly apparent main protagonist gets his head lopped off by teenage tyrant Joffrey. I couldn’t imagine how this story was going to move forward.
I tore into the next book, Clash of Kings. Not only were new characters introduced but new views were introduced to the characters from the first book. Characters who I thought were villains in the first book no longer appeared like they could be. The same could be said for who I thought were “the good guys”. Full-fleshed character development! Nothing was certain and anything could happen.
Years later I heard the rumor that HBO was developing a series from these books. I was hesitant to hope that it would be any good. Historically, the Fantasy genre has not been transitioned well into the big/small screen. True, The Lord of the Rings, books had been received well by the general population and were beautiful movies that remained true to the spirit of Tolkien.
Overall I this HBO did justice to Martin’s story. Westeros was alive in all of its horrible violence. My beloved Jon Snow, in all of his sad-sorry-self was real. Peter Dinklage was absolutely perfect as Tyrion. My stoic Breanne was flesh and blood. It was excellently cast and I don’t think I could have asked for more from the series. As a whole I feel the entire series, seasons 1 – 8, were well done. My only complaint, which I feel is small potatoes, is that I wish the last season was fleshed out a bit more. I know many were disappointed with the ending, but I was half expecting it.
A co-worker and I were discussing GoT one day. He asked who I thought was going to sit on the Iron Throne. I explained that initially I thought it would be Jon Snow because that’s who it would be if this was story followed the traditional Fantasy reluctant hero arc. I mean, all signs were pointing at him, like a flashing neon sign. I said that this was George R.R. Martin’s story, the one who brought us The Red Wedding, Ned’s execution and other WTF moments, so it’s going to be someone we don’t expect at all, like Bran.
I feel sad to see the show end, though I am happy that it appears that I have Winds of Winter to look forward to sometime next year. I fully expect some things to be different, yet the same, and hopefully I’ll get my wish of a more fleshed out story. And by the looks of it, if the spin-offs are half as good as GoT was I’ll be subscribing to HBO now for years to come.
Remember how on Facebook how your friends would post Notes (remember that feature?) and make lists on topics such as 50 concerts you’ve been too, how many states you’ve been too or my personal favorite If You’ve Read More Than 6 Books, You’re Like So Super Smart! I wrote my fair share back in the day but I ran across one I never finished in an old journal. So I thought, eh, why not finish it? So here are 25 Random Facts About Me. (I have a bad feeling that this might get all long and wordy and probably not all that exciting. Apologies, I guess.)
1 . I love filling out forms. Like seriously, filling in the blanks is so satisfying.
2. My first album was Sonny and Cher Live! that I got for my 3rd birthday from my family. The first album I bought for myself was Olivia Newton John’s Greatest Hits, though my first 45rpm was Rick Springfield’s Don’t Talk to Strangers. In 6th grade I bought my first rock album, Quiet Riot’s Mental Health. I guess it was all uphill (or downhill) from there.
3. I have swinophobia. Yes, I am terrified of pigs. My heart races, and I panic if I come face to face with one. I think it’s such a stupidly weird phobia to have and I laugh about it, but the fear is real.
4. I never went to my High School Prom or any of the reunions.
5. I have 12,445 songs in my music library, but this does not include anything on vinyl. My taste in music is pretty eclectic but most of my music is from various rock genres, the blues and folk music.
6. The smell of olives makes me nauseous.
7. I have dyslexia (and a few other specific learning disabilities). It’s not something that bothers me any longer but when I was younger it was very bad. So bad in fact that my 1st grade teacher told my Mom not to worry about college for me because it was likely I’d never learn to read well enough to even graduate high school. (Nice, huh?) Well I did graduate high school, and I have two BA degrees as well as a Master’s degree. I can read just fine, probably better than most people. Maybe I sound like an egotistical jerk-face right now, but you know what? I worked very hard to overcome my obstacles so a little bragging isn’t amiss. I do feel that my struggles has given me an unique perspective that benefit my students.
8. I absolutely hate being told that I can’t do something. Example: My high school counselor said that I wouldn’t do well in a certain class that I wanted to take, because “you know, that’s a college prep class”. Oh really lady? “And where to you think I’m going?” I replied full of indigent anger. I took the class anyway and I got a great grade.
9. I absolutely hate a dirty bathroom. The rest of the house might be a total wreck but my potty room is squeaky clean.
10. I once sat front row center for a Weird Al Yankovic concert. I purchased the ticket the day of the show too. Also, I could have met Al just before the show. It’s actually an amusing story.
11. I go to a lot of events alone. Movies, concerts, etc. It didn’t used to be that way and I’m not really sure why its that way now but it really doesn’t bother me all that much. I guess I don’t have to share my popcorn.
12. The song Wildfire still makes me cry.
13. I remember making the decision to be an artist when I was in 3rd grade. However I really got into computer programing in high school and I almost went in that direction.
14. Pain medication doesn’t work on me like normal people. (Think Novocain, epidurals). Found that out when I went in for the c-section I needed when my daughter was born. That was so much fun! Yay me!
15. I love the smell of vinegar.
16. The first time I saw Star Wars I was 6. My folks took us girls to see it in the drive-in theater. I thought it was the greatest thing ever and I’ve been a fan ever since. I have just about every action figure released from the 90’s through the early 2000’s, though none of my vintage figures survived childhood.
17. I find abandoned buildings interesting. In particular urban spaces, like malls. There are some really good people who explore these “dead” malls and post them on YouTube: Retail Archeology and This is Dan Bell being my favorites. I kind of doubt that I would go exploring any of these abandoned malls myself but I could watch these guys for hours.
18. I once broke my hand in a mosh pit. Ok, so it was only a hairline fracture near the palm of my hand, but still!
19. I’ve only had two speeding tickets in my life, and one of them was a warning (so that doesn’t count, right?). I’ve only been in one accident. My Caravelle was totaled.
20. As a kid my Mom took us to meet Darth Vader at a local store (from my understanding it was David Prowse dressed up in costume). He was escorted into area by 4 stormtroopers and lots of security of the human sort. I remember being scared, thinking he was going to force choke me. I was 6.
21. I’ve lived in a lot of places. My folks moved us 4 times growing up. (It wasn’t any fun because being the new kid sucks). (Waukee, IA to Sioux City, Iowa to Worthington, MN to St. Joesph, MO to Austin, MN.) I’ve moved several times on my own as an adult for jobs (Henderson, MN, Caledonia, MN, and Mankato, MN). If we include the times I moved away for college we’d add two more towns for that. That makes 10 places I’ve lived. Sometimes I wonder if I’d not have been so insecure and shy if we hadn’t have moved so much growing up.
22. I’m superstitious, as in I believe in ghosts, spirits or whatever you want to call them. I’ve seen and experienced too many things in my grandparents house that really have no realistic explanation.
23. Can’t watch horror movies. Why? See #22.
24. I like video games, but I’m not very good at them. The exception being MMORPGs (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games), such as Everquest and WOW. On Everquest I played a high level wood elf druid and a dark elf necromancer. I feel like the best days for these kind of games is over and its been many years since I played one, however I miss playing them.
25. My favorite painting is Large Blue Horses by Franz Marc. My favorite artist is probably Vincent Van Gogh. He achieved so much in so little time and while he received almost zero recognition when he was alive he kept pushing on.
So there are 25 possibly random things about me. Kudos for you to making it to the end of this silly list.
Yesterday's Tomorrow Today 