25 things about me

Jeanie and Drew 8370
Originally uploaded by radioflyer007

I've been having so much fun reading other people's "25 list" that I thought I would post mine on my blog (that way I won't have to tag you folks - many of whom have already written your list).

1.  I gave birth to my children in the same hospital in which I was born.

2.  I was in a car accident where someone T-boned me.  Two days later, I was almost hit again by the same driver at the same spot at the same time of day.  I was not happy.

3.  I used to want to be a photo journalist, a pastry chef, a doctor, a freelance writer, a musician, an accountant, a financial analyst, a fashion designer.  Now I want to become a school teacher because I hear it pays really well.

4.  I'm a self-professed anal-retentive, meticulous Type-A neat-freak.  This has changed since having kids.  Now I'm just a self-professed freak.

5.  I started kindergarten not knowing much English at all (Chinese was my first language).  I remember being teased on the bus because I didn't know I was saying certain words in Chinese.  I was so embarrassed I decided never to speak Chinese again.  I regret giving up my ability to speak my native language.

6.  When I was a little girl, I used to sleep with 17 stuffed animals.  I fell out of bed more than once because it was a bit crowded.

7.  Speaking of sleep, I used to be a really light sleeper.  I could wake up if I heard a fruit fly buzzing around in the kitchen downstairs.  Thanks to Air Boss (who is an avid and proficient snorer), I now sleep through crying kids, barking dogs, and alarm clocks.

8.  My teeth were so crooked, if it weren't for braces, I would have three rows of upper teeth.  Seriously, when I bit half-way into a banana, my teeth marks would make a "china man" complete with slanted eyes and a mouth.

9.  I had private piano lessons from age 5 - 12 and all I can play from memory is "chopsticks" (is that even a real piece?) and "Long Long Ago."  I'm now working on improving my repertoire.

10.  What I miss about Boston:  my family, my friends, my church, my old car, the green house where we had lots of fun memories, the Charles River, the restaurants, our community, watching my nephews grow up, the seasons (like a beautiful spring and a gorgeous fall), tree-lined streets, the rich history and New England architecture, and my weekly runs to Target with my sister (perusing the dollar bin aisle).

11.  Although I find watching medical procedures and surgeries quite fascinating, I can't stomach gory movies.  It must have to do with something called "controlled bleeding."

12.  I'm a really boring person and this list could be condensed to "5 things about me."

13.  I believe I'm numerically dyslexic as I frequently invert numbers.  When I hear "3-4" I would write "4-3" or when I see 729, I would remember 279.  Pretty scary as I worked two years managing my church's finances and am now considering being a math teacher.

14.  When I was in high school, I used to be able to leg press the entire stack (must have been 400-500 lbs).  That must explain why I'm not even 5 feet tall.

15.  I have had two breech babies and for my first born 'Shroom, both the OB and NP thought the baby was heads down all along.  Turns out they had mistaken his butt for his head.  A surprise C-section involved a knife-happy doctor who cut me way too wide and stapled me shut with 25 non-galvanized staples (not sure if galvanized staples are used in the medical profession but the staples rusted on me).  It hurt like heck when the staples were pulled out 4 days later.  The faulty doc's response in all this?  "oops"  (thanks.  a lot.)

16.  Things that make me cry:  chopping onions, hearing about starving and abused children, praying my heart out to God, watching the last 15 minutes of "Extreme Home Make-over", hearing 'Shroom say to Air Boss "today was a bad day because Mommy was mad at me."

17.  The last time I was spanked for being a naughty child was when I was 14 years old.  My mom really hurt her hand.  I guess she decided I was too old and too big for spanks when I doubled over laughing.

18.  I used to read Stephen King novels in about 2 hours.  Now I can read 2 magazine articles in about 2 weeks.

19.  At one point in my life, I could type 108 words per minute.  And that was using a typewriter.

20.  I once got stuck in the middle of a bomb scare at the Pentagon.  I was in the ladies room taking care of business and somehow didn't hear the evacuation notice.  When I came out to wash my hands, I saw a bunch of yellow tape and a bomb squad.  They were not very happy.  Neither was I.

21.  When I was six years old, I thought we could pick our gender.  I picked boy.  I was not very happy to discover that I had no choice in the matter.

22.  I've played a random bunch of musical instruments (with a wide variety of proficiency):  piano, violin, cymbals, bass drum, baritone horn, xylophone, glockenspiel, and bass guitar.  Now I'm back to playing piano - nothing like coming back full-circle.

23.  I used to "file" my paper recyclables in college by date.  More than once I had to pull out papers that were mistakenly thrown out.  Many of my friends laughed at me for this practice.  They are no longer my friends.

24.  I don't like to cook, clean house, or do grocery shopping.  So what am I doing "managing house"?!?!

25.  I wear a women's size 5 shoe.  Also equivalent to a kid's size 3.5.  And no, not all my shoes have velcro.