Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Tagged Tuesday



Tag! I'm it!






I've been tagged by ahna at iguana banana to do a

10 Random Facts About Me Meme

thereby confirming what has been long suspected - that pretty much everything about me is random. I can do this. Just don't ask me to do anything where I have to take off my It's All About Me handle.

1. Almost none of my friends know that I blog. And of the ones who do, almost none of them read it. Some family and friends in LA follow along, but to the best of my knowledge o
nly two people I see on a regular basis read it. Three if you count the Film Geek. To be fair, I think I've only told three other people in Kansas, so it's not like they're avoiding me in droves. Or are they?

2. My big High School rebellion was with, of all things, the Bay City Rollers
. My step-father (at the time) was a fairly hotshot studio and touring musician who often ended
up on prestigious lists of acoustic guitarists. We even had the Teac/Tascam test studio in our house. It was crawling (sometimes literally) with really excellent musicians who were all perfectly happy to talk music with a teenager. This truly messed with my ability to rebel properly, as all the bands that had my friend's parents up in arms were bands that this crowd thought very highly of. Enter the BCR. My step-father would grit his teeth and say Do you think they could hit even ONE note in key? in a very tortured tone of voice. I played them constantly and sang along (off-key) at the top of my lungs.

Mission Accomplished.

3. I had three negative pregnancy tests with Sasquatch before one finally came out positive.
After the third one I was really upset and my husband and a friend thought they would take my mind off of it at a blow-out birthday bash we were invited to. After two glasses of wine I suddenly developed the urge to get up and dance with the fire-eater who was performing. There was photographic documentation. And the next day there was a blue line. Sigh.

4. I consider myself a good cook but I cannot cook a piece of meat right to save my life.
Every roast I've ever made has been slightly tougher than my sho
e. And don't get me started on chicken. I'm so afraid of poisoning my whole family that I cook it until it smokes. When the smoke detector goes off, it's dinner time.

5. I really think I have low level OCD.
I'm a checker. Check to make sure things are locked, check to make sure no kids are crouching down behind my car in the driveway, check to make sure we never run out of chocolate in the house.

6. I reread all the Little House on the Prairie books depending on my mood. When I need a kick in the pants I read The Long Winter. When I'm upbeat I read These Happy Golden Years. When I'm hungry I read Farmer Boy. I almost never reread the first one. I have no idea why.

7. I can eat caramels until I make myself sick.


8. I came thisclose to going into psychiatric nursing. Working
in an ER is pretty damned close though. When I get totally burned out on critical care (hopefully a long way off) I want to do hospice nursing. Talk about a complete 180.

9. When I was growing up my mom had a sachet and potpourri business that I helped out with. We did huge craft shows up and down the West Coast. It was a lot of fun, but for years my nose was so overloaded it was completely out of whack. Everything smelled exactly the same.

10. I hate ants with a passion.
A burning, white hot passion. It could be from living in a house for eleven years that was built on an anthill. It could be from the fire ants in Alabama. It could just be that they're absolutely disgusting. Whatever the reason, they awaken my inner sadist every time I see their cute little selves on my kitchen counter. I cackle madly, Raid in hand, grinning like a crazy woman.

I'm supposed to tag 10 people, but what I'm going to do is make this a free for all. Anyone who wants to do this meme can go to town with it. It'll be fun.

Come on. You know you want to.

22 comments:

willowtree said...

This is much more interesting than yesterday's post!

ped crossing said...

Invest in a meat thermometer. It has improved my cooking. The meals I prepare always have a temperature on them. I add 5 or ten degrees for good measure, but it still tastes good.

Caramel, yum!

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

Ditto to the preg test one, the caramels one, the ant one, and the Little House on the Prairie I do the same thing except with Anne of Green Gables.

You're cool. It's official.

Flowerpot said...

always fascinating to hear about personal idiosyncracies!

Potty Mummy said...

The meat thing? Go veggie. Or, just buy the ready cooked from the rotisserie. Not so 'domestic goddess' I know, but at least you have someone to sue...

Jo Beaufoix said...

Ditto on the OCD and the meat cooking.
I double check that I've locked up, the oven is off, that there's no pet behind my car (never thought of kids - bad Jo), and, being veggie, I'm a little wary of cooking meat as I can't taste it to check it's done, soI do what pottie mum suggests and buy ready cooked chickens if I'm doing Mr B a roast for tea.

I like ants, but you know by big thing is slugs.
Bleurghhhhhh, slugs.

Jo Beaufoix said...

Ooo, and I reread The Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter books quite regularly.

laurie said...

i do the same thing with the little house books AND anne of green gables.

also, my secret favorite book of all time, "Greensleeves," by eloise jarvis mcgraw.

Stepping Over the Junk said...

We not only READ Little House, when the mood is right, we watch the first three seasons and the pilot on DVD on occasion. And the Waltons!

Anonymous said...

A psychiatric nurse, now that sounds interesting. Bugs in general make me crazy except for butterflies. The BCR was your rebellion? I’d hate to tell you what I did to rebel.

Kim said...

Hubby and the kids know I blog, but he's never asked for the url, and the kids will not get it EVER, seeing as how I write about killing them. Ha.

My mother thought Michael Jackson was the devil incarnate. (Maybe she had a point.) So I went out and bought Prince. I used to sing "Darling Nikki" at the top of my lungs in my car. My rebellion was a little passive aggressive.

The books I keep going back to from childhood are "A Little Princess" and "Little Women". There is also a less famous one called "Jane-Emily" that's kinda creepy. I love them all.

And the fire ants, I'm with you. I developed my severe aversion to them in South Carolina. Ewww.

Jen said...

Psych nurse, eh? What's that old joke about inmates and jailers?

I agree with ped crossing about the meat thermometer. I have one that stays in the meat/chicken while it cooks, and then it beeps when the food is the safe temperature.

the rotten correspondent said...

willowtree - thanks. I think.

ped crossing - I really should do that. I had one but I think the kids buried it out in the yard.

kimberly - it has been years since I read Anne of Green Gables. Guess I need to add it to my list.

Officially cool? Sweeeeeeet.....

flowerpot - stick around. I've got a million of 'em.

potty mummy - well, I am veggie. kind of. that's the problem. I've just gone back to eating chicken because it's been such a huge production cooking for three separate factions. Ugh.

jo - that's been my problem too. I just have to kind of eyeball it and it never works. I can get a sort of decent roast in the crockpot. Sort of.

I reread HP too. Often.

laurie - I've never read Greensleeves. Is that an official recommendation??

stepping over the junk - I tried reading it to my kids but there wasn't enough Ninja action for them. Little Ninja on the Prairie. Has quite a ring to it, doesn't it?

auntie barbie - I'd love to know what you did to rebel.I had a little bit of an odd upbringing that made rebelling difficult. I should blog about it, but my mother might kill me.

kaycie - Oh my god. I LOVED Jane-Emily. It was my favorite, even though it was pretty creepy. Do you still have a copy?

And Prince...well, Prince was the subject of one of my more horrifying Arsenio Hall stories and I haven't been able to listen to him for years. I used to love him a lot!

jen- and what's your point DEAR?? And why do you think I decided against it? *smirk*

Kim said...

I do have a copy, RC, I bought it for my daughter. I don't think she ever read it, but I have, several times.

ped crossing said...

Ikea has a great thermometer that is on a cord, stays in, beeps when it reaches your set temp. Love it!

I loved all the Little House books (I was Laura Ingalls for who knows how many Halloweens, maybe that is why I can't even think about picking up the books again.) and the Green Gables books.

I'm too busy reading new kid's lit to reread the old stuff. My new favorite kid's series is the Gregor books by Suzanne Collins. Boys and girls alike love them. I didn't think I would, but they are great books. Your boys might love them, lots of fighting action, giant bats and rats and cockroaches. Just really good stuff.

Akelamalu said...

LOL #4 made me laugh, I think I'm #5 as well!!

Dancing with the fire eater??? :0

laurie said...

greensleeves is definitely a recommendation but good luck finding it because it's out of print.

also: "witch of the glens" by sally watson. (the story of a teen-age gpysy wandering through scotland in the days of bonnie prince charlie; what's not to like?)

i read that every year or two, as well. she also wrote "mara: daughter of the nile," which i also recommend.

you can see that i felt that growing up in the 1970s in duluth, minnesota, i felt as though i had been badly treated by history. i really belonged in ancient egypt or possible the highlands of scotland.

Anonymous said...

My rebellion years started when I turned 14 and ended somewhere in my mid 30’s. All you had to do was suggest that I shouldn’t or couldn’t do something. I occasionally have a relapse. Most people who meet me now are surprised at my past until they get to know me.
Maybe I should start a blog, or maybe some things should be left to old friends and flashbacks.

Mya said...

Bay City Rollers? Did you wear the tartan flares too? I think they're still going somewhere on the planet - singing Bye Bye Baby to some poor unfortunates without means of escape! My favourite was Derek. Go figure.

You got 56 comments on your last post! Woo hoo!

Mya x

menopausaloldbag (MOB) said...

Litle house on the prairie was a favourite to watch when we were students at uni. All these 'tough' Glaswegian guys used to sit with tears in thier eyes. As for the Bay Shitty Rollers as we called them in Glasgow, it was to my family's eternal shame that my youngest sister walked around with a mullet hairstyle and short trousers hemmed in tartan. They should have been shot by a marxman when they hit the scene!

the rotten correspondent said...

kaycie - where did you find it? eBay?

ped crossing - well, isn't that convenient, as I plan to lie down and kiss Ikea's floor just next week. Note to self - add meat thermometer to already ungodly list.

akela - yes, you read it right. Dancing with a fire-eater. Not one of my finer moments.

laurie - I don't think Duluth had anything to do with it. That's how I spent my teen years too, and I was in Southern California, mecca to ...well, something.

Books and imagination, baby. Books and imagination.

auntie barbie - I'm going to start a Draft Auntie Barbie to write a blog movement. Come on ladies, help me out!

mya - I did wear the flares, as a matter of fact. And my favorite was Woody. Derek, eh? Even after all your comments on drummers in the past? Peeing in sinks and all?

Is there a story you'd like to share??

menopausaloldbag(mob) - Welcome! And I love your name! I think in fairness that the Bay Shitty Rollers was quite appropriate. But remember I said I did it mostly to drive my step-father nuts? Here's fact #11 - I secretly liked them. And I still listen to them on my iPod sometimes and feel like I'm 14 again.

Now I'm going to pretend that I never admitted that.

pursegirl said...

I DO read your blog, I just don't always comment. Geez! And I think I knew all of those things about you, which makes me happy. I love you, you OCD Bay city Roller fan. Of course, they were WAY before my time, and I moved MANY of your BCR albums, so I'm allowed a little ribbing on that topic. :)