Tagged... for Random Things...

Ya know, I love Laurie, I really do. (No, that Laurie, whom I also love, but this Laurie!) Which is probably the only reason that when she twittered me that I had been tagged by her, I didn't hurt her! I've managed to avoid this meme for weeks, mainly because my friends do "honor tagging"... that is letting people choose to tag themselves. Laurie, it appears, is not honorable. But she's bright and friendly and a damned good writer, so I'll forgive her.

The nitty-gritty:

Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves...People who are tagged write their own blog post about their eight things and include these rules....At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged and they should read your blog.


Random thing #1: While I'm basically a quiet person, I regularly "practice" conversations (just like Laurie!). Infact I spend most of the day having imaginary conversations with people. The problem with that? When I actually get the opportunity to have one of these conversations, I don't know what to do after I stop talking. I never practice other people's part of the conversations. So I somehow usually make them end.

Last week, I managed to do that in the gym. I had a nice warm moment with my trainer, because he's been in my corner now for nearly a year.. and often the only one there. I've made so many changes this past year, and they all began with our working together. As soon as I finished my warm fuzzy moment, I picked up my 15# hand weights and started doing bench presses... dropping the warm caring moment before it could continue.

Awkward conversations are my specialty.

Random #2: I've worn glasses since I was 8. When they tested my eyes at 7, I was a little near-sighted but within normal range for a 7 year-old. At 8? I could not read the top letter on the eye chart. My vision goes out 7 diopters. If you have 20/20 vision, imagine standing in one end zone of a football field, and trying to read the eyechart positioned in the other endzone.

The evening I first got glasses, I walked outside and wondered: I could see individual blades of grass; leaves on tree; street lights were not simple a glowing ball of light.

Random #3: I like taking photos, but I don't like taking pictures of people. Mainly because it's too hard to get a photo that looks natural and unposed but that still has good composition, light and focus. It's hard for me to "see" people-pictures as interesting, so I rarely do them. And I rarely look at them.

Random #4: I love thai food. I love the complex blend of flavors and spices. Infact I love almost all Asian cuisines. Probably because with these I don't have to consider the possibility of them containing cow's milk.

Random #4A: I'm mildly/moderately allergic to cow's milk. If I've been healthy for atleast 6 weeks, I can have small doses of it: a couple slices of pizza or milk in my coffee while travelling. If, however, I've had a cold or other respiratory infection (which always turns into bronchitis), then I must completely avoid the cow's milk (which also gives me bronchitis). It seems to confuse my friends who have trouble knowing what I can/cannot eat.

Random#4B: Because of this milk thing (and some of the spices used), I am not terribly fond of Mexican or Italian food. If I can order a nice piece of fish, though, in these restaurants I can go for the company.

Random #5: I thought I've had the same size shoe since I was 10: a 6.5 narrow. Two years ago, though, I discovered that my feet had grown or flattened out, and I'm now a 7.5 medium. In fact my left foot is almost wide. This explains a lot.

Random #6: I am a non-swimmer. Give me a life-jacket or anything that floats, and I'll do anything: canoeing or rafting. and I'd like to try kayaking.

Random #7: are we almost done yet? I have never lived more than 12 miles away from I-80. My current 3 miles is definitely the closest.

Random #8: At the point that I've lived in a place about 8 years, I get bored with it and start thinking about moving on. It might take me several years go actually get into another place, but I've never found any domicile that has held my affection for long.

Whew. Finally through that torture. I am moving back to the more normal "honor tagging" principle... please leave a comment here and post your own Random Eight Things on your blog. If you don't have a blog, email me your random 8 and I'll post them here for you.