7 Things About Me

Okay, Randal tagged me for this meme ages ago and I am FINALLY getting it posted. I will not bother to list the full rules or tag anyone else for this meme (hanging head down). Essentially, the meme was to post seven things about myself/yourself that others might not know about you. I've done something like this before and had the same problem then that I do now: what seven things to post that are remotely interesting or even odd. There are plenty of oddities, believe me, but each time I tried to compile a list, I repeatedly found myself feeling bored or dissatisfied with what was chosen. I fear the list below is a product of such but here they are:

1. I use men's deodorant. I don't know exactly when this started but it was likely back in the early days of living with my ex-husband. I have always disliked women's deodorant. It seems that they all have this disgusting unnatural baby powder smell and leave a white residue (yes, even the non-scented and clear ones!). So, one day, I just started using his Old Spice deodorant and I've never gone back to women's. I've heard that women's deodorant has come along way since then, but still, I'm not buying it. I'm quite content with my Old Spice Red Zone Pure Sport.

2. As with Randal, I too wanted to be a fighter pilot when I was about 9 years old. My father had been a flight deck supervisor in the Navy and my uncle a pilot in the Airforce. I loved listening to their stories and the thought of soaring through the skies. My uncle would send me all these posters detailing the Airforce air fleet and I would hang them up all over my room. Flying has always appealed to me in general. I think it has to do with my love of the sky and my head being perpetually in the clouds! More than anything, I think it had a lot to do with my natural wanderlust. Anyway, yes, the reality of warfare, politics and conformity eventually put me in check. That and the absence of a decent hair colorist and extensive makeup counter on an aircraft carrier!

3. I am infatuated with the moon. I'm sure I've mentioned it repeatedly on this blog but I am just so enamored with the moon. It has such a powerful effect on me. I love it when the moon surprises me, which it often does. I'll be driving through the windy hills and without realizing it, the moon just appears right before me. I love full moon nights when the moon just lights up a dark roadway. Harvest moons are my favorite... those huge, low in the sky, round moons that are yellow-orange. The moon never ceases to captivate me, either. Even at home, in the various places I've lived, I will sometimes be laying in bed and feel a faint light upon me. I excitedly go to the window and sure enough, there is the moon! In fact, just last night, I was driving home from feeding my sister's ferret while she was out out town, and as I was headed back towards my place, the moon surprised me... there it was... full and mystical, a really pale yellow, low moon. I had a rough day and was really tired out. But as soon as I see the moon like that, everything else just dissipates so easily.

4. My younger sister and I ate a whole HUGE bottle of Flinstone chewable vitamins in one sitting when we were young. When my older sister found out, she freaked out. The three of us were home alone and this was back when cell phones were non-existent for the most part. My older sister's panic started to freak us out and I vividly remember sitting on the bathroom counter with my younger sister, waiting for my mom to get home and thinking that maybe we were going to die or at the very least, be violently ill. Neither of us really wanted to cough up the vitamins by throwing up, so we just sat there, very still, waiting for something that never came. I think my mom took us to the doctor when she got home but I really don't remember anything happening after being in the bathroom for what seemed like an eternity. I just have this vivid recall of sitting in the bathroom and having this very ominous feeling.

5. I hate mayonnaise and ranch dressing. I think I am the only person in the United States that does not eagerly anticipate ranch dressing for salads, fries, onion rings, veggies, etc. I really, really dislike mayonnaise and ranch dressing. I also dislike tartar sauce (naturally). My dad still gives me a hard time about this because when I was a child, anytime we would go to McDonald's after mass on Sundays (this was a treat!), I would order a fish fillet with no tartar sauce. Each time I would order such, we would always be asked to "pull forward" to a grill order parking spot, to wait longer than usual for them to make a fresh fillet sandwich with no tartar sauce. My dad still jokes in a whiny voice, "please pull forward."

6. My mom enrolled my sister and I in a young nuns club. I can't remember exactly how old I was at the time... perhaps I've blocked it out? Maybe 10 years old? But I do remember how agonizing the experience was. We didn't choose to join this "club" either. My mother really immersed herself in Catholicism when my younger sister and I were growing up and so we went to mass and Catholic gatherings quite often. Truly, I do think my mom wanted us to become nuns. Anyway, for this young nuns club we mostly did dishes and cleaning at a convent and had to listen to lectures on Catholicism, etc. And to make this experience even more miserable, we had to wear these horrible brown nun outfits. I did like the architecture of the convent. I enjoyed wandering off into the chapel, exploring little nooks and archways or meandering down the long corridors leading to rooms for people that came to the convent on retreats. I always hoped that I could have the convent to myself for a day. Alas, neither my sister nor I became a nun!

7. I love, love, love Edward Norton. Okay, this might be a sad way to end this already sad list but I really do love Edward Norton. His movies are brilliant for the most part and he is just so damn sexy to me. Do I need to say anymore about this other than... please strand me on a desert island with him?!?!