Being a relative newcomer to the blogging community, from time to time I come across some aspect of blogging that is unfamiliar to me. This week, it is the concept of the “meme” (apparently not pronounced the French way, much to my frustration). It’s like an extended game of internet tag, wherein each person who is “tagged” must fulfil the requirements of the meme and then pass it on to a prescribed number of people.
Moral of the story: I’ve been tagged. The task: name “Five Things You Don’t Know About Me,” and then tag 5 others. Response, I’m told, is not optional. This is a somewhat difficult task for me because this blog tends to be read by two kinds of people: those who know me very very well, and those who know me very superficially or not at all. Anyway, I’m rarely one to back down from a non-life-threatening challenge, so here goes:
1 - I was once a hard-core proselytising Christian. When I was about 6 years old, I would go over to my best friend Peter’s house to play, and when I tired of “boys’ games,” I would go downstairs to the kitchen and talk to his mom at great length about how she should really go to church on Sundays because it was “God’s house” and he really wanted them to come visit him. This lasted for a few years, but don’t fear, I definitely grew out of it.
1.5 (correlative to number 1) - I also wanted to be a nun. I was heartbroken when I learned I couldn’t be a nun because I wasn’t Catholic and of course becoming Catholic was not an option because Catholics didn’t go to heaven anyway (yes, that kind of crazy religious person), so then I decided to become a missionary. Like I said, I grew out of it.
2 - I worked at a ski resort one winter while I was in college. I would get up while it was still dark outside and drive up the mountain with my brother’s then-girlfriend, Bunny (yes, it’s her given name) to go to work, and we’d drive home together after the sun had set again. My job was in the accounting department and I sat in the attic of the lodge and dealt with all of the cash that went in and out of the place. The main incentive for taking the job: free season passes. Oh, how I loved the lunch hour, and a stolen run or two at the end of the day!
3 - I have an insane weakness for things that sparkle. I suspect somewhere way back, I must be part magpie. Jewelry shop windows, white lights on a tree, the glint of the sun off of water or sand or snow, certain sidewalks in downtown Spokane, sequins and beads on clothing, black galaxy granite - all of these draw my attention like crazy and I can’t help but be totally drawn in. It really is completely pathetic.
4 - When I was little I loved to get all dressed up in my frilliest dress and lace tights and patent leather shoes, then wander out of the house and go sit in a pile of sand or dirt and play. It was the perfect world: I could look all pretty and play in the dirt and catch snakes or whatever at the same time. In some ways, it still sounds great, but I’ve learned how difficult lace and expensive fabrics are to clean, so you won’t find me out in the garden weeding in a ball gown or anything. Besides, the shoes I wear with my fancy outfits now are far less comfortable.
5 - I have a few “Suzie Homemaker” types of tendencies. I have always wanted to learn to sew well enough to be able to make my own clothes and have them look like they were professionally made. I love cooking a nice meal, but I abhor trying to do it just for me (I don’t appreciate me enough, I guess). I love gardening and the satisfaction that something that I put into the ground is growing and looking beautiful (or tasting great, or both), though I’m the first to admit that weeding gets really old really fast.
5.5 (bonus, because once you start, you can’t stop) - One that’s not quite as “Suzie Homemaker” but still kind of “pioneer woman” is the urge to delve into carpentry. I have quite a weakness for beautiful wood (bird’s-eye and quilted maple and koa wood are particular favorites) and I love the idea of making things out of it with my own two hands.
Okay, now for the “tag, you’re it!” bit: next up are Andy, Mike, Phil, Anna, and just to break out of the Foreign Service crowd, my Peace Corps colleague Julie. No tag-backs!
