Saturday, September 02, 2006

Some Things About Me

The court of public opinion is running decidedly against the "100 Facts", but strongly for the abbreviated version. Here's a short list to kick things off. Turtlegirl, you have permission to skip reading this post.

1. For 10 years, from 1985-1995, I owned a used bookstore. That store is still in operation, under another owner.

2. I’m a closet hypochondriac.

3. I stopped believing in Santa when I was just barely 5 years old. I was in line to talk to Santa at my school’s Christmas party and an older kid behind me told me there was no such thing and that was just a man in a suit. I knew he was right and told my mom I was ready to go home.

4. I first questioned religious authority when I was about four. My parents had been making a last-gasp effort at being church-going Episcopalians. While I was at the little kids' Sunday school, a church-lady told me that God was in every one and in every thing. (A little far fetched to my four year old mind.) Then she told me that God was in the crayons and in the paper of the coloring book. (That followed logically.) But then she said that God was not yet in the nice praying family depicted in the coloring page and that I should color them in to put God in them. Now, that was a load of crap, in my opinion. We had a pointless debate for a few minutes, then I colored the picture. She put it in a closet for me to take home later, but when my mom came, no one would give us my picture. We never went back to that church. I told my mom I didn’t believe in God and she said ok.

5. Now I believe in something I call god, but it’s nothing like the church-lady was talking about.

6. My brain is a trivia trap. I read little bits of stuff or articles and some facts stick. I don’t know a lot about any one thing, except knitting, but I know surprising things about topics you would never suspect.

7. I feel secretly guilty because I neither know nor care as much about politics as I think I should.

8. I did better on my math SAT than my verbal.

9. I didn’t vote in any real election until I was over 30.

10. I was born in the Hyde Park neighborhood on the south side of Chicago.

11. I was delivered by the same female doctor who had delivered both my dad and my brother.

12. I was a bad student in college. I was too interested in drinking and playing bridge.

13. My first son was born after a 43 hour labor.

14. My second son was born after a 5 hour labor.

15. I met Mr. SABLE in 1981. We started seeing each other in summer '83, moved in together in summer '84, got married in summer '90. (four facts in one!)

16. We both always forget all our anniversaries.

10 comments:

Lynn said...

Well, I missed the opportunity to vote, but I would have voted yes, and I still feel that way. In fact, give us more! Sixteen (or 19, if you count the extra 3 stuffed into #15) facts are not enough.

turtlegirl76 said...

Actually, I was going to say that the abbreviated version sounded good to me. This list was just right for my attention span! =) Heh.

I had a similar experience about Santa. But what sealed the deal for me was when I read the notes he'd leave for my sisters and I. I knew it was my Dad's handwriting - plus my name was spelled wrong. My Dad always has trouble remembering my name doesn't have an H or a Y in it.

YarnB said...

I love reading this. I always dreamed of opening a used book store. I just love being around books. I remember when I first started going to those stores and it was in Madison.....on State Street! Thanks for sharing..I have similar "religious" beliefs/feelings...

cpurl17 said...

I loved your list! And, if I'm ever lucky enough to get to meet you in real life, I'll probably pepper you with questions about owning a bookstore.

I still believe in Santa Claus tho...

MiniLaura said...

MUCH better than a 100-things list!

I'm with you on 6, 7, and 8. (The idea that anyone could score higher on verbal than math was something I couldn't imagine.)

Bezzie said...

You mean God isn't in crayons? Whew! If he saw the condition my son keeps his in we'd be damned to eternal hellfire.

Great list.

Jessica said...

You were born in Hyde Park? Cool. I lived there for 5+ years. I went to the U of C. Were you born at the Lying In Hospital? I always thought that was a funny, old-fashioned name.

Zonda said...

I think that is a perfect sized list! I may borrow it one day ;) Neat to learn things about one another! :)

Marji said...

you owned a used bookstore? I think I knew that actually, but had forgotten it. My mind is not a trivia bucket. Interesting list. Bite size pieces which are accessible. You could probably do 100 things if you broke it down in pieces.

Jerry & Maxy said...

what a cool person you are, although I didn't need this list to learn that...and it's the perfect sized list.