Cross-posted from FaceBook... the 25 Random Things About Me meme
OK... I was tagged by 17 people, figure I'll return the info-sharing favor. Also figured I'd put it here, for a somewhat different audience. Bonus thing #26, I habitually do not respond to chain letters or memes...
25 Random Things About Me
1. I am blessed to have the most amazing and wonderful husband in the world (for me). Mark and I have been together for 17 years, married for 12. I love this man!!
2. I have a great many amazing children in my life whom I adore, and by whom I am constantly awed. I have not given birth to any of them (though some of the people tagged on this list have).
3. I was a little goth girl in the 80’s. I wore black leather and nail polish and lots of eyeliner, and listened to lots of mopey bands I thought were brilliant at the time. A typical summer evening involved hanging out on the SU hill with the other little goth kids until everything closed, then going to Oakwood Cemetery until the sun came up. I remember those times fondly, and am amused to dye my niece’s hair and buy her the Nightmare Before Christmas stuff she wants...
4. I first dyed my hair red in 1986, because that’s what little goth girls did in the 80’s when they weren’t dying it black, and because I wanted to gently torment an ex. I have been a slave to the bottle, in one shade or another, ever since.
5. I spent a semester in London in 1989. In retrospect, I focused far too much actual schoolwork (couldn’t afford to lose my scholarship after a semester of C’s), but I loved almost all of what I was able to do while I was there. A notable exception being: I was in Europe when the Wall came down, and I couldn’t afford the $30 or whatever to travel from England to Germany to be there for a huge moment in history. This spawned my obsession with never being poor again. Which leads me to:
6. I love having money. Money, money, mmmmmoney. I like being able to go to the grocery store, buy comics, go out to dinner, and buy a bookshelf in the same week. I like having a retirement fund. I like knowing my 30 year mortgage will be paid off in less than 15 years. Money lets me not fight with my Husband. Money lets me help my friends. I put up with a lot of crap at work to have the money with which to enjoy that security...
7. I have worked with Tarot cards for almost 30 years. I got my first deck in 5th grade when I was 11, but started really taking it seriously when I was about 14. I started reading professionally at the Sterling Renaissance Festival since 1986 (my 3rd season working there). “Professional” just means someone paid you to do it. IMHO, anyone who’s ever traded a reading for anything is a professional reader. :)
8. Many years ago, I allowed something terrible to happen to me in order to protect a child I love. While I regret my own actions that put me in that position, and the ways in which it has shaped me since, I do not regret the decision and I still love the child.
9. I had a fabulous 40th birthday party last year, and hope to do it again at 50, 60, 70…
10. I LOVE LOVE LOVE male a capella groups!! I first heard real, post-puberty, male voices in high school, All-County Chorus, and fell irretrievably in love with the sound. On the other hand, my response to most female a capella groups varies from ambivalent to disdainful.
11. I am a Pagan. I find more comfort and strength for myself in a polytheistic, female/male balanced, nature-based worldview than I ever have in a monotheistic, male-dominated, punishment/reward-based worldview. But I think no dogma is “right”, not even mine. A quote from a comparative religions class that has stuck with me is “Religion is a candle inside a multicolored lantern. Everyone looks through a particular color, but the candle is always there.”
12. I believe love is love, regardless of gender or genitalia. I believe as a human and an American in the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, with the caveat of “no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.” I have some strong personal opinions about “harming none”, consenting adults, and monogamy as it relates to my personal relationships - BUT, even though I may not agree with or understand all of your beliefs and choices, I believe in and will defend your right to have and make them.
13. In that same vein, I have had to invoke my First Amendment rights in an official setting, to avoid getting kicked out of my dorm in college… not for being Pagan, but because there were people who apparently believed that I tried to summon a demon from Hell to be my playmate, but ended up with a cherry Pop-Tart, instead (and a kick-ass roommate!!). You just can’t make this shit up…
14. I live with two cats: Kitty Quatermain the intrepid explorer, and Skitter. Yes, those are the names on the vet's records.
15. I am a Disney Vacation Club member - meaning that yes, Virginia, I bought into a timeshare. I love Disney World that much!! I also really like vacationing with my Honey...
16. My family celebrated Groundhog’s Day when I was a child like a major holiday. My Mother was of the firm belief that we needed a festive occasion in February, so we didn’t go all “The Shining” on each other. She baked a bundt cake a few times, and filked up some Groundhog’s Day carols, and sent Groundhog’s Day cards while I was in college. Now, we send e-Cards.
17. I love the smell of coffee, but can’t stand the taste.
18. I had a college radio show with my friend Margret, and really enjoyed doing it. “Thank you for listening to WMNJ 88.9FM, Madison/Chatham, the Voice of Drew University”.
19. I’m a devoted Elfquest fan. I still read the comics (many series worth) when I have a chance. I shared this love with my Father and my niece
20. I was once presented with the severed head of a pet by someone I was expected to continue to treat as “family” afterwards. I define family differently than that.
21. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 1997, after a series of wacky escapades with the Syracuse Gastroenterological medical community that included throwing up bloody-coffee-grounds-looking stuff on my doctor’s expensive shoes (which apparently finally proved I was sick, not just fat). I spent my first wedding anniversary in the hospital, wondering if I was going to die. I had bowel resection surgery in 2003 - lost 18” of small intestine in exchange for a release from excruciating chronic pain… I’d do it again if I had to.
22. I am apparently very funny while under general anesthesia.
23. I keep a “Death List” each year of those who matter to me, or who matter to people I care about, who have died during the year. In 2007, the count was 34. In 2008, the count was 26. In 2009, the count so far is 2.
24. I hope I am a good friend, but I know am a lousy correspondent. I don’t keep in touch with people well, I’m not good at casual phone calls, and it can take me months or years to answer an email. I have conversations with my friends in my head all the time, which seldom translates into actually speaking to them. It doesn’t mean I love you any less, but I know it makes me more difficult to believe.
25. I am profoundly grateful for the people in my life that know me and still love me.