February 22, 2002

• Here's my list of 101 things about myself.
  
  1. I was born in Arkansas.
  2. I think Arkansas is the armpit of the United States and you couldn't pay me to ever live there again.
  3. Since I was 12 years old, I've never lived in one place longer than 6 years.
  4. I'm 38.
  5. I'm usually the youngest grown-up in any random group of adults I find myself in.
  6. Unless Terri is around.
  7. I haven't lived in Arkansas since I eloped when I was 18.
  8. I have visited relatives there.
  9. But not in the past 10 years.
  10. I cannot think of one thing my parents ever told me that was true.
  11. I have a wonderful husband.
  12. I have three beautiful children (teenagers).
  13. Sometimes I wish I'd never married or had children.
  14. I'm glad I don't have to work to support myself.
  15. Except for about 6 weeks during the summer that I turned 18, I've never lived alone.
  16. The first time I ever played piano before an audience I was 4 or 5 years old.
  17. I remember it being a huge audience.
  18. The last time I played piano for an audience I was 12 and that audience was pretty big, too.
  19. The first time I read my writing before an audience, I was 28 years old.
  20. The last time I did so, I was 30.
  21. I wish I found more opportunities to read before an audience.
  22. I teach creative writing to children.
  23. I make it up as I go along because this is my first attempt at teaching anyone creative writing.
  24. I'm very careful with what I say to them.
  25. I have a strong tendency toward putting my foot in my mouth or opting for sarcasm, so I bite my tongue instead.
  26. It is easy for me to be bitter and hurtful without my realizing it.
  27. But I'm less a bitch than I used to be.
  28. I say nothing, people assume I'm wise. I talk too much, they usually still think I'm smart, but unkind. It's easier and more pleasant to be considered wise.
  29. I don't know how wise I am. My dictionary says that 'wise' means: "having the power of discerning and judging properly as to what is true or right." Since trueness or rightness is often relative and subjective, I can't say how closely I come to this mark. Perhaps I am wise, but I am not always kind.
  30. I do not hold kindness for kindness' sake very high on my list of goals to be sought.
  31. I don't strive for meanness for meanness' sake, either.
  32. I hold truth above all things to be sought.
  33. I despise hypocrisy, though I recognize it is occasionally unavoidable.
  34. I am not perfect, nor do I expect to be, nor do I strive to be, nor do I expect anyone else to be.
  35. Neither am I imperfect.
  36. Like all else in the universe, I simply am.
  37. I am a pantheist.
  38. I am fascinated by all things supernatural, but have vast doubts as to their existence.
  39. I used to be a soccer mom.
  40. Now I'm just a suburbanite.
  41. I write horror fiction.
  42. I like arts cinema.
  43. I love musical theatre.
  44. I like all animals.
  45. I love my dogs.
  46. The more I know people, the more I love dogs.
  47. I have always felt like a misfit.
  48. I was (and still am) a tomboy.
  49. I am a Gemini on the Taurus cusp.
  50. I am always surprised when someone shows an interest in me.
  51. I am continually surprised that people like my writing, music, or paintings.
  52. I cannot know how many suitcases (or dead bodies) will fit in the trunk of the car without actually trying them.
  53. I'm very slow at working jigsaw puzzles.
  54. I easily lose track of the time of day or the day of the week.
  55. I love to spend money, but I hate having to.
  56. I have a BS in philosophy. (My middle daughter thinks the BS stands for bullshit.)
  57. I have a BFA in creative writing.
  58. I am a published author.
  59. I am writing a novel.
  60. I am fascinated by medieval English history.
  61. I study for fun.
  62. My kids question my sanity.
  63. My fondest wish is that a novel of mine will make us disgustingly wealthy and my husband will never have to work again.
  64. I have attended only 2 weddings in my life, and 1 of them was mine.
  65. I have attended 3 funerals, and none of them was mine.
  66. I do volunteer work: teaching English to a man from Somalia.
  67. I enjoy teaching people about language: its uses, quirks, and downfalls.
  68. I admire precision coupled with eloquence in prose.
  69. I can quickly learn a new language.
  70. I love playing Scrabble.
  71. I sometimes break 300 points.
  72. Sometimes I read the dictionary.
  73. My deftness with language is a double-edged sword with which I am not always careful. (see #25)
  74. I'm still about 75 pounds overweight.
  75. I've lost about 50 pounds since 1998.
  76. I would someday like to participate in a triathlon.
  77. I love Mexican food.
  78. I drink more coffee than is good for me.
  79. I eat more sugar than is good for me.
  80. I have overcome compulsive eating.
  81. I get very cranky if I miss a meal or don't get enough sleep.
  82. I like soap operas, especially the scheming villains.
  83. I prefer classic jazz to most of the new-fangled jazz.
  84. I also like swing, blues, bluegrass, and gospel music.
  85. I don't like thick novels.
  86. I think Misery was Stephen King's scariest novel, with Pet Semetary being a close second.
  87. I think George Santayana is my favorite philosopher.
  88. I think Joseph Campbell was one of the smartest men who ever lived.
  89. I wish I could read as fast as Terri.
  90. I collect shoeboxes and like to keep my old journals in them.
  91. I have big feet, so I get big shoeboxes.
  92. I'm 5 inches taller than my husband.
  93. I usually have to buy men's shoes to get shoes that fit.
  94. I was once told I looked like Candace Bergman. (The guy was drunk.)
  95. I think my computer is the most useful tool I own.
  96. I don't understand people who are afraid of computers.
  97. I'm not afraid of death itself.
  98. I do, however, wish for a painless death.
  99. I believe biology always wins. So does physics.
  100. I would gladly give up enchiladas and books and warm autumn days and white sandy beaches and even sex, if it meant gaining pure understanding of the true nature of the universe.
  101. I am grateful always.
  
  
  
  

  • 11:59 am
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