8 Random Facts About Me

Have you ever met a barefoot kilt-wearing Viking? I have. His name is Brett and he blogs at 6 weeks. Brett tagged me to come up with eight random facts about myself, a challenge he’s already tackled. This one’s making the rounds! Read all the way to the bottom and see if I tagged YOU.

1. I Have Poetry Disorder

Something happens to me when I’m reading and writing a lot of poetry. I start thinking in rhymes, and various poetic devices like alliteration and meter start making random appearances in the pieces I write, from blog posts to notes scrawled in my journal. I actually feel that my love affair with poetry makes me a better writer.

2. We are Gemini

I have the same birthday as musical genius and gyrating 80s superstar Prince. I, however, am not a musical genius although I do love music. In fact, I’m a music whore. I’d love to share some of my musical tastes with you but we’d be here all day. Let’s just say I can pretty much guarantee there’s something in my music collection that you love. And something you’ve never heard. And probably a song you’re tired of hearing, and one they were playing while you were dancing on the bar…

3. Get off the Bar. It’s My Turn.

I have been known to dance on a bar. I’ve also danced on stage, on tables (including a pool table), in a window in front of hundreds of people, and you can frequently find me dancing around my house for no particular reason. I’ve even been paid to dance. No, I am not and have never been a stripper (I was a go go dancer and I wore a t-shirt and jeans, thank you very much!). Actually, I am quite modest and pretty shy in person, particularly with people I don’t know well but there’s this other woman that lives inside me and she’s a total ham on the dance floor.

4. That Girl Who Doesn’t Talk

I have been called shy, aloof, and slow to warm. When I’m in the company of strangers I become very withdrawn and observant. In fact, I was known at one of my former jobs for being the girl who didn’t talk for a whole year (I really don’t think it was that long but that’s what they tell me). Of course, they told me this after I’d settled in and starting hamming it up with everyone around the water cooler. Once I get to know you, the shy girl will disappear and that’s when I will ask you if you’d like to go out and dance on some bars with me.

5. I Believe You Believe

I love to study and learn about different religions. I have no idea where this fascination with belief systems originated but about once a year or so, I get the bug to research some religion or other. I have discovered that most people enjoy talking about what they believe especially when they know exactly what it is that they believe. There are others who seem uncertain about their beliefs and these are always the ones that prefer to talk about something (anything) else. Don’t worry, I have good manners. It’s not like I go around interviewing people to find out which god they worship but if the subject comes up, I’m always down for a discussion. It’s also a great way to learn about and connect with people from different cultures.

6. There’s This Thing I Love About America

I’m not a patriotic freak by any means but there’s definitely one thing I absolutely love about living in the United States (o.k. there are a few things but this one is the most important). It’s a melting pot. I don’t know how melted other countries’ pots are, but I have had the pleasure of working, living, and becoming friends with people from all over the world. I am ever grateful that I’ve gotten to know all these people because it’s helped me build a positive and more realistic world view. What I’ve learned is that people are all basically the same in their hearts.

7. I Love Animals

I try to be mellow about it, but I’m one of those animal lovers who spends loads of dough on her pets and rallies for animal welfare whenever I get a chance. My special passion is the No Kill movement, which seeks to end killing in animal shelters. Forget what you’ve heard, this type of killing is completely unnecessary (even though shelters and many animal rights organizations want you to believe it’s somehow YOUR fault). Wanna talk about it? Email me. Better yet, read Nathan Winograd’s groundbreaking book Redemption.

8. I’m a Geek but I’m a Cool Geek

I like nerdy things like computers, RPGs, and Star Wars. On the other hand, I have been known to dance on a bar. In short, I am a paradox. One minute I’m hip and savvy and the next minute I’m geeking out on you so hard you’re wondering where I’ve misplaced my taped coke bottle glasses and pocket protector. Life as a contrary girl can be challenging. The cool kids appreciate your ability to consume large amounts of ale but they can’t understand what this has to do with content management systems. The geeks, on the other hand, love that you can quote obscure lines from NBC’s Heroes but they hate the fact that you’ve also memorized the story lines from every episode of Sex and City.

And Now, Back to You

Now I’m supposed to tag eight people but most of the bloggers I know have already been hit with this one. And, well, the whole tagging meme thing makes me kind of squirm around in my chair. I play along like a good sport but I’m going to be a snot and change the rules and tag everyone who is still reading this silly, self-indulgent post.