12. I have two pieces of jewelry I've worn every day for the past nine years (counting earrings as one). I bought some earrings on a trip to the mall in the fifth grade and I started wearing them in my second hole (pierced my junior year in high school by my best friend Jessica) after it cleared up from the inevitable infection (sexy, I know). The other piece of jewelry is my toe ring. It's on the second toe of my right foot and it's been there for at least twelve years.
13. I've had "real" surgery once - when I had my tonsils out at age 4 (maybe 5 - my mom knows for sure). The only things I really remember are throwing up in a laundry basket once I got home, watching The Wizard of Oz, and getting a bunch of balloons in a creepy clown holder sent from people who worked with my dad.
14. My "fake" surgery was when I got my wisdom teeth taken out. I call it a fake surgery because I remember nothing of it but I wasn't ever in a hospital or operating room. I had to go to a specialist because of the position of my teeth but that didn't prevent him from burning the shit out of my lip. Apparently, he rested the surgical drill against my lip during the procedure - I woke up looking like someone had put a cigar out on my lip. Thank goodness my mom was there - she was able to make the CVS run for Oxy-Contin and Neosporin while I passed out on the couch. A later infection made the whole experience super fun.
15. I got hooked on Alias while I was recovering from my wisdom teeth surgery. I watched the first two seasons straight through in a couple days - I was either sleeping or watching Alias. My mom was staying with me and would come downstairs in the morning and ask me what had happened on Alias while she was sleeping (did I mention I couldn't sleep for a few days? That was fun.). If you watched it, you know that the whole show ended in a strange season. I couldn't resist getting the Vaughn Comeback Tour t-shirt (I'll try and post a picture here.)
16. My most embarrassing moment as a kid was probably my first day of the fifth grade. (Honestly, barfing on the school secretary's shoes in the second grade wasn't all that embarrassing in the end.) Our family had moved about fifty miles north from Kentucky to Indiana and I still had a very southern accent. Since I was a new student, my teacher asked me to stand up and introduce myself on the first day. She asked me the name of me elementary school in Kentucky. I went to Pride Elementary and I said so. She couldn't understand me so I had to repeat it: "Prohd". She then asked me to spell it: "Pay - are - aye - day - a." People never stopped asking me to "talk Kentuckian".
17. Besides my lip scar, I have one other major scar - on my knee. I cut it on a air vent on the school bus in the second grade. It needed seven stitches and still looks pretty sweet.
Showing posts with label 100 things. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 100 things. Show all posts
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Hotel, Motel, Holiday Inn
11. Between the fourth and fifth grades my family moved from Kentucky to Indiana. We had bought a house but it needed so much painting done (maybe there were other issues, but this is what I remember) that we couldn't move in. Meanwhile, the school year was starting and our parents wanted to get my sister and me into school at the beginning of the year. There were no residential hotels in Evansville at the time and it was impractical to rent an apartment for a month, so we moved into the Holiday Inn the night before school started.
We had adjoining rooms at the end of the hallway on the second floor. Our parents' room was outfitted with a small refrigerator and a microwave, but other than that these were two small, typical hotel rooms. Our mom would drive us to the bus stop every day and pick us up again after school. On Fridays we would drive straight from the bus stop to our old house in Kentucky and spend the weekend there. We would exchange dirty clothes for clean ones, eat dinner at Grandma's, and see soon-to-be old friends before heading back to Indiana on Sunday night.
There are lots of inconveniences about traveling and staying in hotels that are small and almost fun novelties until you experience them every day for a month. We ate out every night - fun at first but not so exciting when you end up at a stinky Bob Evans because you've eaten everywhere else in town. Sure, you can eat cereal every day for breakfast but what happens when you want a frozen waffle and don't have a toaster? Soggy, lukewarm waffles is what happens.
For an eleven year old trying to make friends in a new school, living in a hotel does have its perks. "Come over and swim!" It sounds glamorous and exciting to a fifth-grader: room service! never having to make the bed! leaving towels on the floor! People, this was a Holiday Inn near the middle of town, not a penthouse suite. No one was ever impressed by the frequent fire alarms or trucks rumbling down the nearby expressway.
We eventually moved in to our new house and started eating dinner at the kitchen table rather than in a booth somewhere. The trips home slowed and we settled into our new neighborhood. Looking back, that month seems impossibly long, like we lived in transition for much longer than four weeks.
We had adjoining rooms at the end of the hallway on the second floor. Our parents' room was outfitted with a small refrigerator and a microwave, but other than that these were two small, typical hotel rooms. Our mom would drive us to the bus stop every day and pick us up again after school. On Fridays we would drive straight from the bus stop to our old house in Kentucky and spend the weekend there. We would exchange dirty clothes for clean ones, eat dinner at Grandma's, and see soon-to-be old friends before heading back to Indiana on Sunday night.
There are lots of inconveniences about traveling and staying in hotels that are small and almost fun novelties until you experience them every day for a month. We ate out every night - fun at first but not so exciting when you end up at a stinky Bob Evans because you've eaten everywhere else in town. Sure, you can eat cereal every day for breakfast but what happens when you want a frozen waffle and don't have a toaster? Soggy, lukewarm waffles is what happens.
For an eleven year old trying to make friends in a new school, living in a hotel does have its perks. "Come over and swim!" It sounds glamorous and exciting to a fifth-grader: room service! never having to make the bed! leaving towels on the floor! People, this was a Holiday Inn near the middle of town, not a penthouse suite. No one was ever impressed by the frequent fire alarms or trucks rumbling down the nearby expressway.
We eventually moved in to our new house and started eating dinner at the kitchen table rather than in a booth somewhere. The trips home slowed and we settled into our new neighborhood. Looking back, that month seems impossibly long, like we lived in transition for much longer than four weeks.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
100 things
In keeping with today's high school theme:
9. My high school vice-principal got arrested for drunk driving less than a week before I graduated. This was just after she gave the senior class a speech about how we shouldn't do anything stupid to endanger our chances of graduating. One of my friends really disliked her and stood at the front door announcing it the next morning. I can't remember if she showed for the graduation ceremony or not, but she apparently gave an apology speech to the rest of the school on the last day. She's now the principal. (really)
10. I had the world's best high school job. My best friend and I worked at the front desk of our local downtown YMCA after school a few days a week. We were eventually banned from working together, but there were a lot of fun people who worked there. We also got to know the neighborhood crazies, like Jimmy, who called everyone "the money lady" and wouldn't let up until you acknowledged that, yes, you were the money lady and you got the money. Good times.
9. My high school vice-principal got arrested for drunk driving less than a week before I graduated. This was just after she gave the senior class a speech about how we shouldn't do anything stupid to endanger our chances of graduating. One of my friends really disliked her and stood at the front door announcing it the next morning. I can't remember if she showed for the graduation ceremony or not, but she apparently gave an apology speech to the rest of the school on the last day. She's now the principal. (really)
10. I had the world's best high school job. My best friend and I worked at the front desk of our local downtown YMCA after school a few days a week. We were eventually banned from working together, but there were a lot of fun people who worked there. We also got to know the neighborhood crazies, like Jimmy, who called everyone "the money lady" and wouldn't let up until you acknowledged that, yes, you were the money lady and you got the money. Good times.
Monday, March 5, 2007
100 Things - Part Two
6. I listen to the radio on scan. My sister and I started doing this on one of our cross country drives and I still do it when I'm driving by myself. I'll stop it if I come across a song I like, but generally I just let it go. Patricia and I even made up a game - seeing how many songs in a row you can identify. I think my record is five, but anything over two is pretty good.
7. My first car was a bright blue 1996 Dodge Neon named Rascal. I loved this car so much in high school. Two years later, my sister got a red 1998 Neon named Pepe (after Pepe Sanchez). We ended up driving the cars about equally because Pepe turned out to be a better car and had a better stereo. Both cars are long gone now but there was a four year period where our driveway looked like a Dodge dealership.
8. VCR + Music club membership = 8th grader with the best taste in music. During the mid 90s I taped 120 Minutes and Alternative Nation on MTV every week. I would watch these videos and make lists of the bands, noting the ones I thought were good. I was in one of those "12 CDs for a penny" music clubs (are those still around?) so I was always looking for new CDs. During this time I bought CDs from Ben Folds Five, Jeff Buckley, Ash, Cast, Catherine Wheel, Juliana Hatfield, For Squirrels, Silverchair - pretty obscure for a middle schooler in semi-rural Indiana.
7. My first car was a bright blue 1996 Dodge Neon named Rascal. I loved this car so much in high school. Two years later, my sister got a red 1998 Neon named Pepe (after Pepe Sanchez). We ended up driving the cars about equally because Pepe turned out to be a better car and had a better stereo. Both cars are long gone now but there was a four year period where our driveway looked like a Dodge dealership.
8. VCR + Music club membership = 8th grader with the best taste in music. During the mid 90s I taped 120 Minutes and Alternative Nation on MTV every week. I would watch these videos and make lists of the bands, noting the ones I thought were good. I was in one of those "12 CDs for a penny" music clubs (are those still around?) so I was always looking for new CDs. During this time I bought CDs from Ben Folds Five, Jeff Buckley, Ash, Cast, Catherine Wheel, Juliana Hatfield, For Squirrels, Silverchair - pretty obscure for a middle schooler in semi-rural Indiana.
Monday, February 26, 2007
100 Things: Part One
Some bloggers write really nice "about" pages to give an overview of their lives and who they are while others give a list of things in place of a personal essay. Here is my first attempt at creating a list of interesting things about me.
1. I can recover a sofa. My mom and I worked on recovering a loveseat, an armchair, ottoman, and several barstools after I graduated from college. I did all the deconstruction, pattern cutting, and construction while she did the sewing. It ended up being a major project, but I think it gave both of us a lot of confidence in our makeover abilities. I am also in possession of the world's best staple remover tool.
2. This is my most treasured book. We had a copy growing up and my sister laid claim to it when my parents moved after retirement. I went online to buy a copy, thinking I could get one for about thirty dollars (ha!). I was devastated when I saw the price so I called my mom to commiserate. We started talking about Bad Mousie, Susan and the bears, and fairies in the lemonade. A week later a used copy arrived on my doorstep, courtesy of mom (she didn't pay near the asking price at this link). I can't even think about that book without smiling.
3. Foot fetish? Not likely. I had two moderate injuries in college, both involving a foot, beer bottles, and a formal dress. (Also, fear of lockjaw.) The more serious one was my senior year after my boyfriend's fraternity formal. I think I cut my foot open on a bottle cap, but I'm not sure since I didn't really notice the cut until I was spreading blood all over the fraternity house. The story is good enough to save for another time, but let's just say it involves CSI re-enactments, Waffle House, and a trip to the emergency room.
4. I would probably name a baby "Baby". My favorite stuffed animals growing up were Bear and Rabbit. (Rabbit met an unkind fate when my parents moved. Bear was rescued from the trash after he suffered a paint stain on his back. He now sits inconspicuously in my living room.) My first cat is named Kitty. I was smart enough to keep the name my second cat came with, but left to my own devices I probably would have named her "Cat". Names are obviously not my strong suit.
5. I have worked as a lunchlady. I worked in the Canyon cafeteria in Yellowstone after my freshman year of college. I generally worked the after lunch through dinner shift. For the first part of the summer I worked as a server (country fried chicken, lasagna, spaghetti, mashed potatoes, etc) but halfway through the summer the managers figured out that I had half a brain and promoted me to cashier. Again, this story is a post of its own.
I'll keep working on this list - I've got a long way to go!
1. I can recover a sofa. My mom and I worked on recovering a loveseat, an armchair, ottoman, and several barstools after I graduated from college. I did all the deconstruction, pattern cutting, and construction while she did the sewing. It ended up being a major project, but I think it gave both of us a lot of confidence in our makeover abilities. I am also in possession of the world's best staple remover tool.
2. This is my most treasured book. We had a copy growing up and my sister laid claim to it when my parents moved after retirement. I went online to buy a copy, thinking I could get one for about thirty dollars (ha!). I was devastated when I saw the price so I called my mom to commiserate. We started talking about Bad Mousie, Susan and the bears, and fairies in the lemonade. A week later a used copy arrived on my doorstep, courtesy of mom (she didn't pay near the asking price at this link). I can't even think about that book without smiling.
3. Foot fetish? Not likely. I had two moderate injuries in college, both involving a foot, beer bottles, and a formal dress. (Also, fear of lockjaw.) The more serious one was my senior year after my boyfriend's fraternity formal. I think I cut my foot open on a bottle cap, but I'm not sure since I didn't really notice the cut until I was spreading blood all over the fraternity house. The story is good enough to save for another time, but let's just say it involves CSI re-enactments, Waffle House, and a trip to the emergency room.
4. I would probably name a baby "Baby". My favorite stuffed animals growing up were Bear and Rabbit. (Rabbit met an unkind fate when my parents moved. Bear was rescued from the trash after he suffered a paint stain on his back. He now sits inconspicuously in my living room.) My first cat is named Kitty. I was smart enough to keep the name my second cat came with, but left to my own devices I probably would have named her "Cat". Names are obviously not my strong suit.
5. I have worked as a lunchlady. I worked in the Canyon cafeteria in Yellowstone after my freshman year of college. I generally worked the after lunch through dinner shift. For the first part of the summer I worked as a server (country fried chicken, lasagna, spaghetti, mashed potatoes, etc) but halfway through the summer the managers figured out that I had half a brain and promoted me to cashier. Again, this story is a post of its own.
I'll keep working on this list - I've got a long way to go!
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