Everybody's doing it: 25 things

These things go around Facebook and the blogosphere every so often, and usually I just ignore them. But now I see even some of my fellow typecasters are jumping on the bandwagon. So...why not? Here ya go: 25 completely random facts about me. Try to stay awake.

1. I'm the oldest of eight: five boys, three girls. I waited ten years (and four brothers) for my first sister. Two of my brothers are married, and I now have four nieces and a nephew.

2. I grew up in Vermont (and still consider it home), but I was born in Portland, Oregon. One of the few things I remember about Portland is the ash from the Mt. St. Helens eruption. We moved to Vermont when I was three.

3. I spent four and a half years in the Air Force, mostly overseas in Germany (and a temporary duty assignment in Italy).

4. I didn't get my driver's license until I got out of the military. I was 23. Until then, I begged and borrowed rides, or rode my bike.

5. Ironically, the year I put the most miles on my bike was after I didn't hafta. Two years ago I rode the 25 mile round trip to work most days during the summer--there's a bike lane or path most of the way to work. This past year, I chickened out due to contruction along the route and increased traffic. Miss the ride, though.

6. I've written fiction and poetry and kept a journal off and on since...well...before I could even write. I don't know what if anything I'll ever do with any of that, but it's fun.

7. I play guitar, mando, and tenor-banjo-tuned-like-octave-mando. I'm still an advanced beginner on pretty much all of the above, but I have fun with it. I've played out a bit, though not since I've been in Washington.

8. I have too many pets: a devious and demanding Siamese cat named Tamino who plays fetch, a stupid but very sweet Himalayan/Siamese cross named Halvah Mom gave me one day out of the blue, a Lab/Border mix named Cisco who is basically what you'd get if Tigger was ever reincarnated as a dog, and two betta fish (Julian and Finnegan), one at work and one at home.

9. The vehicle I owned longest so far was a '97 Mercury Villager minivan. I had it for about five years, from late 2002 until early last year. It was about as uncool as a vehicle can get for a single gal. It was a blackhole for coolness. But it got us to lots of gigs and jams and fun trips, and it got me across country from Vermont to Colorado and Colorado to Washington, and I'll always have a soft spot for the thing.

10. I am a natural blonde. Very natural. So natural sometimes I scare myself.

11. I have a fascination for old writing technology, like fountain pens and manual typewriters. Ditto paper. And typefaces. And calligraphy.

12. I like to get up early and go to "my" coffee house (Mud Bay Coffee Roasters) to read and write while before work. I love that place, and the coffee. Given the opportunity, I'm afraid I'd end up the morning person/coffee equivalent of a barfly....

13. I really struggle with brevity when writing.

14. There are very few foods I don't like. Canned peas used to make me gag, and I think I'll pass on the smoked oysters. Other than that...can you pass me that plate?

15. I'm a Catholic.

16. I fairly frequently have nightmares where I wake myself up screaming. Then I try to figure out how I could fit that sequence into a story....

17. For my confirmation name I picked Mary Bernard, for St. Bernard of Clairvaux.

18. I use one eye for distance and the other for close-up.

19. I was homeschooled for six years: most of elementary school and part of high school.

20. I'm apt to strike out if people startle me. I don't do haunted houses anymore....

21. I usually read at least a book a week. Sometimes it's closer to a book a day. I try to keep some balance between the real literature and the brain candy.

22. I had my appendix removed when I was 13.

23. I had pulled pork barbecue for dinner. Or supper, if you prefer.

24. I once managed to kill a cactus plant by not watering it enough. This takes talent. Or something.

25. I saw "Tosca" at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.