Tuesday, August 14, 2007

You want to know more of me?

Random fact that is not about me: The blog title comes an interaction a friend had with a fellow she'd shared a few liplocks with. He was trying to persuade her to do a little more, to which she replied "I don't even know you!"

What a kind offer.

Anyways, I oddly enjoyed the reflection involved in my last post. Though at first it feels strenous to come up with random personal facts about oneself, once you get into the mindset, a whole whack of randomness comes pouring out. There may even be the chance of getting to the much revered 100 Things About Me status.

No guarantees, but here's another eight facts about yours truly! (with several others jotted down for future bloggings when ideas are sparse)

#9 - When my high school grad class magazine (a pet project of our journalism class) came out, there was a section on apparently witty future predictions. Mine? I would apparently go into the Guinness Book of World Records for wearing the highest pair of platform shoes. I would regularly come traipsing down the hall in some 70s inspired wooden 4-inch monstrocities.

The irony of this is that now, in my advancing old age (sarcasm! I swear!), I can barely manage a night in heels.

#10 - When I was young, my sister and I each were allowed to get a hamster. I chose the tiniest little black and white critter, and named him Pepper. We set up Pepper and my sister's hamster (T.B., short for Teddy Bear-- he was brown and she was 7, so it made sense) in their cage, and then left for a while. When we returned, Pepper was nowhere to be found.

Ever again.

He was so teeny that he must have squeeze out of his cage bars. We used to joke that their was a mutant hamster living in our heating ducts and roaming around at night.

#11 - My blood sodium content is likely through the roof at any given moment, because I consume more dill pickles than any human being should. It is nothing for me to finish a jar in less than a week. In fact, it is probably a blessing that pickle jars weigh so much, especially when one's arms are weighed down with other groceries, otherwise my spleen may soon be floating in brine.

#12 - I was what was called an "early developer" in elementary school. As such, I was introduced to the wonderful world of supportive undergarments before I had much peer support on the manner. One of the things my mother forgot to tell me? The fine art of pairing the right bra with the right shirt. As such, it was only at the end of the fifth grade that I discovered, given my propensity for white t-shirts, that my entire class was familiar with my purple polka dotted bra.

#13 - The weirdest thing I have ever eaten is a chicken foot. I was going for dim sum for the first time ever, and decided in advance that, in the spirit of the occasion, chicken's feet would need to be consumed.

I wasn't terribly impressed. They just tasted like an excess of chicken skins that had to be delicately nibbled from around many nooks and crannies than made up the joints and bones.

#14 - Compared to the tremendous dichotomies that made up my first and second kisses, my third was decidedly more typical and uneventful. I was playing truth or dare with a girl friend, a boy she likes, and two other boys on a bridge overlooking a creek. She had been dared to kiss the boy she liked (as was the entire purpose of the game) and then, in an attempt not to make the whole game look indulgently motivated, she dared me to french kiss a chubby boy I had just met, for some predetermined length of time (likely 30 seconds). All I remember is our teeth bumping together- hard.


#15 - When I was a kid, I had an odd fascination and fear associated with volcanoes. I frequently dreamt about dramatic lava filled explosions. Worsening this aversion was a friend's assertion that all mountains whose names began with the word "mount" (e.g., Mount St. Helens, Mount Everest) were actually volcanoes, whereas those ending in "mountain" were not. Thus, on family trips I would frantically search the map for the cursed word "Mount", and would be unnaturally tense all the while we were in the vicinity of one of these secret molten giants.

#16 - Perhaps it comes from the childhood fantasies involving my stuffed bunnies coming to life when I was asleep, or having been read the Velveteen Rabbit a few too many times, but I imbue some seriously human characteristics to stuffed animals. I get a sick feeling at the pit of my stomach whenever I see a neglected teddy bear . Even worse is going to the thrift store when they have bins of them for sale. I always have to fight the urge to rescue some ratty raccoon with sad eyes.

22 comments:

eric1313 said...

Volcanoes, earthquakes and tornados were all sources of childhood fear. Tornados, especially.

btw-the name change isn't really a change. 313 is the area code for the D, and you always have to dial 1, then the area code. 1313 is also a double negative of a number considered to be highly unlucky, or a double positive--in northern and eastern europe and in Asia it's very lucky! The luckiest.

btwbtw--I have an award for you.

Ultra Toast Mosha God said...

This made me think of a time when I was 8, and all the kids would hang out in the woods.

One time, two of the kids who were a couple kissed, and everyone else just went silent and looked on in fascination.

I got scared and ran away.

Ultra Toast Mosha God said...

..I was thinking of this because your story about the kid you bumped teeth with.

This didn't just come out of thin air.

Ant said...

These royal factoids are excellent - do continue with them if you ever feel your blogging karma to be low!

But I have to say I like the story behind the blog-title the best - I thought it was quite an innocent saying. Alas, it was sullied by some big old horny-toad... I suppose the strawberries aren't a reference to the same story?

Airam said...

Maybe TB ate Pepper.

captain corky said...

I hear that chicken foot tastes a lot like chicken. Is this true?

The only pets I had growing up were rodents too. I brought home two from the pet shop in the mall, and a couple weeks later I had 10.

Now I have two cats that are fixed. That's two things you now know about me. Please don't tell any one though. This is between you and me. ;)

iFreud said...

I know what you mean about neglected teddies. I feel that way about a lot of child's toys. For me it means the death of that love that the child had for that toy once. As a child I was also prone to some animism, which doesn't help.

Yoda said...

I'm going to use "... and the hijinks ensued" the next time I'm about to make out ;-) Sounds like a cool start line!

You eat just how many pickles in a day? Oh, I can't even stand those ... its a primal reaction, I revolt if someone on the same table is having one! I get goose bumps and shit! LMAO!

I remember a few "early developing" girls from school, and how everyone would stare at them on a rainy day (we were made to wear white t-shirts).

i.don't.wear.skinny.jeans said...

oddly, i now have a craving for some pickles.

Eve said...

Aw, you're a stuffed animal-lady! Akin to the well known cat lady, you rescue neglected stuffed animals. So I probably shouldn't mention that my childhood stuffed animals are tucked away in storage? I'm a bad person.

Eve said...

Also, I agree with Airam.

Dizzie said...

Oh, you are too precious! :)

I love the bunny - is it the real one, or a photogenic friend? ;)

Wow, you're about to embark on a 100-bits-of-yourself there!!!! Which reminds me, I should so update mine! ;)

eric1313 said...

See the truth can you openned up here? Truth always makes the best stories, call it fiction later, and smile at anyone who asks,and just keep writng the truth. That's what we all nee to do.

My first kiss was was at fourteen and I, in classic klutz mode, didn't tilt into it a bit, causing our noses to collide most embarrasingly... collison, pain, laughter that wasn't us--then we kissed anyway, in pain on some levels, maybe some blood, and a desperate trying to forget. Didn't work out that well, really.

Don't worry about the Che Book. You'll remember at the oddest time, so have a pen and paper on the nightstand or wherever. I'm sure you do already, actually, since that's the only way for a writer to roll...

X said...

I've eaten chicken feet too! Right after an old coworker of mine thought it would be funny to pretend to have it crawl up my arm. It was one of those things I ate just to say I ate it.

Thanks for stopping by my blog! :)

t.k.foster said...

Yeah pickles will definitely do that to your sodium, haha. I try to eat as little sodium as possible, and man do I miss pickles. But hey, I'm sure they'll find something healthy about them!

Anonymous said...

haha i hear #9...hideously tacky platforms and other footwear! i blame the spice girls

and yet i so badly want to see them on their tour!

Princess Pointful said...

Eric- yay for awards!
I believed in the lucky powers of 13 since an especially brilliant Friday the 13th when I was in Grade 5.

Ultra Toast- In reflecting back on my childhood and adolescence, I'm a little disturbed at how blatantly exhibitionistic and voyeuristic we all were!
... and even better if 8-year olds kissing was something that just randomly popped into your head.

Okay, maybe not.

Ant- Glad you like! And, no, the strawberries are entirely innocent and just plain yummy.

Airam- He was a chubby guy... intriguing possibility.

Corky- I like having secrets. It makes me feel like I know the real Corky... and not just shared with your countless readers.
My secret- I'm hoping to get a cat in September. Even more secretive- He/she will soon be fixed, too.

iFreud- You got it to a t! I so worry that no one except me will love these poor little critters again.

Yoda- Eep! I am really disturbed now at the notion that I could have been one of those girls. And here you just told me about how innocent a childhood you had...

Chris- ha! My goal has been accomplished!
I just ate one, too. With cheese. Yum.

Eve- So as not to appear like an utter nutcase, I keep mine on a shelf in my closet. Though I keep the closet door open, because some of them may be afraid of the dark.

HoD- That is just a google found pic of the Velveteen rabbit. My own stuffed bunny is in much rougher shape.

Eric- Yeah, no one tells you about the vital tilt portion of kissing.
I really should keep a notepad nearby that is separate from my academic related jottings (sadly, those topics often come to mind as I drift to sleep). I actually create my best writings when walking home from the bus, it seems, but they often involve rehearsal of the more witty lines in my head. (actually, that is a good fact for my next 8!)

k- Same to you!
Yeah, those were my motivations, too. Why eat a chicken foot if not for a conversation starter!

Names...- I'm sticking with the whole placing them into the fruits & veg category- there is a cucumber somewhere in there!

Libby- I say you pull out those clunky boots when they come nearest to your town... and use them as weapons to get a seat.

cdp said...

Okay. Those platforms were freaking killer stylish back in the day. I'd have been proud to claim that senior superlative. Also, I once had a hamster commit suicide, and no I am not kidding; and dill pickles are awesome.

You are a bastion of good taste, my friend.

Michelle and the City said...

lol, fried pickles are definitely great. i knew you would agree when i saw your post :)

Unknown said...

omg...one of my best friends ("my christina" as I'm "her meredith" a la greys anatomy) took me to dim sum.

and she prepared me for the chicken feet. i kinda freaked out, but i had a nibble. not that impressed with the food itself, but more so me for actually nibbling at it in the spirit of the occasion, much like yourself :)

xo, bloggingbarbie
www.bloggingbarbie.wordpress.com

eric1313 said...

That is a great fact--actually all writing idiosyncracies make good reading.

I thought I had the market cornered on neurotic line writing and editing taking place solely in my head as I walk obliviously through the world on a strangely reliable autopilot mode. Nice to know I'm in good company!

eric1313 said...

yep, an identity crisis. I like my original name, but I like E1313 as my initials. (Look at me, acting like a famous writer fawning over psuedonym-like monikers as though it truly mattered.)

aye aye aye...
Have a great night,
peace out