100 things about me

  1. I was born in Harlingen, Texas on August 7, 1958, 10:34 pm. It was a dark and stormy night. :) Actually, I don’t know what the weather was like, but knowing south Texas it had to be hot.
  2. According to my mother, I was a 10-month baby; 9 lbs and 8 oz. I didn’t think such a thing was possible. But she told the story that I was born with the ability to hold my head up and my eyes were wide open. The doctor brought me to my mother and asked when she was going to enroll me in school.
  3. I had my first asthma attack at 2 weeks old. I don’t think she ever forgave me. Seriously.
  4. Gas was 30¢ a gallon, a loaf of bread was 19¢, a car was $2,200, and a house was $18,200. Stamps were 4¢. The average yearly income was about $6,000 a year, and minimum wage was $1.00. Dwight D. Eisenhower was president, Richard M. Nixon was vice-president. The hula hoop had become a popular toy, and Tequila by the Champs was one of the top songs.
  5. My dad was in the Navy, and we moved around a great deal. Mostly east coast, and once for two years in Iceland, which I enjoyed when I was 10-12 years old.
  6. My youth was rocky, and my mother became a Jehovah’s Witness when we were in Iceland. I left the Witnesses when I was 16, leaving home at the same time.
  7. I have three children, Nicole born in 1976, Cody in 1981, and Clarissa in 1985. They are the best work I ever did in my life, and they have managed to turn out to be wonderful people in spite of me.
  8. I moved to Mississippi in 1980, where I have lived since. I spent 10 years on the coast, and then moved to Jackson in 1990.
  9. I’ve been divorced since 1995, also referred to as my “hell year.”
  10. Astrologically, I am a Leo Sun, Taurus moon, with Aries Rising.
  11. According to Myers-Briggs test, I am an ENTJ.
  12. In my inner most self, I am deeply romantic.
  13. I once sent myself flowers because I was feeling down, but I let people at work think someone had sent them to me.
  14. My knitting borders on obsession these days. Ok, hell with it, there’s really no border there.
  15. Before knitting, it was crochet. Or cross stitch. Or.. you get the idea.
  16. One of my worst fears is that my mother will die, and no one will let me know. I don’t know why knowing is so important to me, but it is. Maybe it’s because the tiny hope of some sort of resolution/reconciliation just never goes away.
  17. I fully believe that time spent knitting or time spent with my dog does not count against my life span. Time spent knitting while IN the company of my dog actually extends my life. Right about now, I am planning on being immortal.
  18. One of my worst character faults has to be procrastination. I bought a book about it once. I still have yet to read it. You think I am joking, but I am not.
  19. I love bright colors. Especially red.
  20. On planes, I usually ask for a window seat.
  21. I am WAY behind in my audiobooks, but that doesn’t keep me from getting more.
  22. I probably spend more on books each month than I spend on lunches
  23. My middle name is Jean, but I don’t use it. I use my maiden name as my middle name.
  24. I *hate* having fibromyalgia. I try not to let it keep me from living my life, but let’s face it, it’s hard to feel like doing much when you hurt and are tired all of the time.
  25. I prefer Pepsi to Coke. Always will, always have.
  26. I love martinis. There’s just something about shaking up a good martini and drinking it while it’s ice cold. *Yum*
  27. Frozen margaritas with lots of salt ain’t bad, either.
  28. I have an embarrassingly large stash of yarn that I have a compulsion to keep adding to. It’s like I keep expecting yarn rationing.
  29. I dispair of ever being able to quit smoking and stay quit.
  30. Everytime I see a plus size woman, I consider whether or not she is bigger or smaller than me.
  31. I’ve never understood jealousy.
  32. As a child, I always felt like there was always too much of me, but it was never enough. In reality, I don’t think I was ever really overweight until my teens. But even at 16, I was a size 14. Somehow, I felt *much* larger.
  33. My children kept me sane, and made me insane. ’nuff said.
  34. For years, my “sad music” was Neil Young’s Harvest CD. But lately Dar William’s song “After All” is good too. Some days I’ve agreed that my suicide “wasn’t worth the pain my death would cost.” That sounds awful, but it’s oddly comforting.
  35. My latest music find is the New Pornographer’s Twin Cinema CD.
  36. I’m addicted to Sudoku these days. One of my favorite things is to take a couple of puzzle books and some pencils, and settle in at IHOP for a puzzle fest.
  37. I have three tattoos. A rose on my left ankle (early 20’s), a butterfly over my left breast (late 20’s), and the Eye of Horus the pad of my thumb which I got when I was 46. Amazingly, these are all rather discreet and not very noticeable.
  38. Yes, the tattoo on my hand hurt. A lot.
  39. Of all my body parts, I like my feet the least.
  40. I wear glasses, and sometimes contacts, depending. I’ve worn them since I was 16.
  41. I’ve become a creature of habit. Examples follow.
  42. I stop on the way to work for a granita every morning. (A granita is espresso, milk and sugar in a slushy form. Yum.)
  43. I often stop on my way home as well for another one.
  44. I tend to go to restaurants I’ve been to before, and order the same things all the times. Occasionally that starts to bother me, so then I’ll try something new.
  45. Despite a lifetime of battling a low-grade depression, I consider myself an optimist.
  46. I think things will work out pretty much like they’re supposed to.
  47. I think all growth experiences suck while you’re in them. It’s only afterwards you see it as a good thing.
  48. FOUR jobs I’ve had:
    1. network admin at KLLM, trucking company
    2. accountant at Diamondhead Property Owners’ Association
    3. proofreader for Mississippi Power
    4. one summer before I went to college, I worked for three miserable months at Chattanooga Glass, which was in Gulfport. They made tabasco bottles. It was only a summer job and I was so glad when it was over.
  49. FOUR (only 4??) movies I watch over and over: The Wizard of Oz, Bringing Up Baby, Gone With the Wind, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
  50. FOUR books I’d read over and over: The Stand, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Stranger in a Strange Land, Interview with a Vampire
  51. FOUR (only 4???) places I’ve lived: Keflavik, Iceland; Denver, Colorado; Mobile, Alabama; Kingston, RI
  52. FOUR “good” shows I love to watch: As Time Goes By, Naked Science, Dog shows, i.e. Dog Whisperer, Dogs with Jobs, documentaries about many animals; National Geographic Presents
  53. FOUR “awful” shows I love to watch: Hex (BBC America), The Most Extreme (Animal Planet), What Not to Wear (the US version, not the UK version), Fawlty Towers
  54. FOUR places I’ve been on vacation: West Virginia; Alpine Helen, Georgia; Key West, Florida; Washington, DC
  55. FOUR websites I visit daily or often: CNN.com, Reuters.com, Topix.net (for Jackson), mfbank.com (my bank)
  56. Four of my favorite foods: cheesecake, enchiladas (well, all Mex/Tex-Mex), pizza, **shrimp**
  57. Four foods I will NOT eat: turnip or mustard greens, boiled okra, sweetbreads, head cheese
  58. Four places I’d like to visit: California, New York, Venice, London
  59. Four things I can’t live without, besides food, shelter, family, friends, and my pets: knitting, books (paper & audio), music, iPod
  60. Things I love about being in a good relationship: having a backup, being intimate, the freedom of honesty, having someone to rub my feet.
  61. Things I hate about being in a relationship gone bad: listening to them sleep next to you in the bed, the things you can’t or won’t say to each other, being lonely, wondering where you went wrong
  62. Things I love about being single: not accounting to anyone for how I spend my time, energy or money, being able to schlep around the house in any old thing, not shaving my legs unless I am going to wear a dress. Oh! not watching sports. ‘Nuff said.
  63. Things I hate about being single: not having a backup, feeling lonely, celibacy sucks, cooking for one (impossible!)
  64. I have been “in love” too many times to count. All wonderful people in their own ways.
  65. There is one that “got away” that I will always wonder about. He’s the one that saw me for the first time and said, “Sweet Georgia Peaches!” If you’re reading this and it’s you, e-mail me at vic@netgrrl.com.
  66. I think it’s possible I may have already had the love of my life. If I have, that’s ok, but I hope there will be a time for love again.
  67. I don’t really believe there is only one person out there. I think the majority of us are destined to love many people in our lives. Each one brings us something special.
  68. The latest music I’ve bought was Grayson Capps If You Knew My Mind, the soundtrack to A Love Song for Bobby Long, Spryo Gyra’s Greatest Hits and Pieces of a Dream’s Pillowtalk CD.
  69. I’ve recently taken out an ad on plentyoffish.com - look for Netgrrl. It’s a free personals site.