Thanks to Susan Rainey I shall now give you eight (8) random facts about myself. Thank you, Susan, I have been out of town and away from the blog for a week and was having a difficult time trying to figure out how to get back into it. This should do the trick.
- I have been to Japan (twice), the Philippines, England (twice), Scotland, and South Africa, plus all 50 states except Delaware and Louisiana. I like to see new places. But even though I have an undergrad degree in art history, I have never visited the Louvre, the Uffizi, Rome, or the National Gallery in Washington. Yet.
- When I was a year old I won a beautiful baby contest. I still have the trophy cup.
- I joined the Naval Reserve to go shopping. The squadron in which my husband and brother-in-law drilled was going to Japan for its annual two-week ACDUTRA. There was a program in place right then where any idiot -- enter me -- could sign up for a two-year reserve commitment without ever going through basic training or active duty. I talked my way into being an aviation storekeeper second class (E5) by convincing the interviewers that my CPA experience enabled me to audit their system, not just work it. It didn't hurt that the interviewers were middle-aged+ men and I was a more-or-less attractive 30-year-old. Sheesh.
- I have spent less than 5% of my life without a cat. I have also been licked by a cheetah. When I walked into the [tame] cheetah's enclosure I heard a rumbling, buzzing sound that sounded like purring. And it was. Apparently cheetahs are not roaring cats, so they can purr like housecats, alberi louder. All together now, "Awwwwww..."
- I got a perfect score of 75 on the GCT, the intelligence test given to military recruits. The recruiters then asked if I wanted to sign up for a four-year enlistment in the regular Navy and go to nuke school. Needless to say, I declined. Just because I could figure out which way a boat would turn if the rudder were shifted to one side doesn't mean I want to be on a submarine or carrier in the world's second largest nuclear navy. (That last phrase was popular among the enlisteds during my sojourn among them. Neither I nor they know who had the world's largest nuclear navy. I suspect the whole thing is fictitious.)
- Although I have never met a famous person (except for a few well-known knitbloggers), I have done countless tax returns for members of a family whose name is often associated with the Doughboy. And if my employer reads this blog -- FSM forbid! -- I may be looking for a new job come next tax season. Confidentiality and all.
- I have qualified twice for Jeopardy! but have never been chosen to appear on the show. Yet. I have learned a couple things, though. Dress like you are appearing on the show and don't piss off the interviewer.
- I have been on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, where the public, no matter how well-connected, never gets to go anymore.
I now tag Dorothy, Cindy, Lisa, and Gale. I had at least half a dozen others in mind as possibles to tag, but when I caught up on Bloglines today I found that they had all been tagged already. So, in lieu of the proper number of taggees, I give you more Useless Facts About Me.
- I always read the directions, even when they are crap, and always attempt to follow them, often until I am so confused that I'm ready to give up whatever is the task at hand. Then I do what I should have in the first place: use my own brain.
- I still have my appendix and tonsils but not my wisdom teeth nor uterus. I have never missed it any of them. (The ovaries are a different matter, however.)
- I once left my husband in a McDonald's in Tennessee and didn't realize it until I was pulled over 90 miles later in Kentucky by a highway patrolman. "Missing anybody?" he smirked. When I took a good look at the pile of sleeping bags and pillows in the back of the station wagon I realized there wasn't a body in them. (That was 20 years ago, and yes, we are still married.)
- I love peach-flavored foods -- yogurt, soda -- but not peaches. My favorite fruits are watermelon, really ripe blueberries, and raspberries. Cantalope was not a favorite until I was an adult. Delicious apples, except golden delicious, are satanic fruit.
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Because what is a blog post without pictures, here are a couple few.
