Watermelon Roses

A collection of random thoughts, commentaries, and journaling. There is a lot to explore here, including links to other sites of mine. These are mostly for my own benefit, but guests are welcome to browse and explore as much or as little as they like.

Friday, December 15, 2006

Tagged!

I know some people don't like the surveys that make the rounds in e-mail and on MySpace. You know the ones. They expect you to answer all kinds of personal questions about yourself and post them for the world to see. I have no excuse and no explanation for it, but I love these! I like learning new things about my friends and acquaintances, and can't help but assume that someone out there would be just as interested in learning new things about me.

That being said, I've been tagged by Bethany, and am supposed to list 10 things that most people don't know about me. I have no idea who I would tag, but here are my 10 things.

1. I learned to love my curls by accident in 10th grade. I had tried for years to brush out my curls, resulting in frizzy, still-not-straight hair and unflattering namecalling. I especially remember being called the Shaggy DA in the ever-cruel junior high school. In 10th grade, the Golden Pride (our high school band) went to compete in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. My grandparents met me there and I received permission to stay with them in the hotel instead of classmates. I was running late for the bus one day and had to run for it straight out of the shower, with no time to torture my hair. I received many compliments and was asked by several people if I had gotten a perm. I haven't brushed it out since. I don't even own a blowdryer, and just run my fingers through it after washing it.

2. Two of my teeth aren't real. I had a cyst removed from my jaw in 2003 that resulted in the loss of two of my back teeth and some bone from the jaw. I later had a bone graft from my hip to my jaw to allow for the implanting of the two teeth. You'd never be able to tell which two are implants without the help of an x-ray. Oh, the looks I would get when I was discussing my "implants" on the phone back then ...

3. I nearly drowned in 4th grade. It was a field trip to a swimming pool, and I thought if I went on the waterslide like my friends, I could flip around at the end and grab the wall. It didn't work. I was inhaling water and panicking as I tried to find the wall until someone lifted me out of the water. Interestingly, my teacher was the one who saved me, as the lifeguard leaned forward in her elevated chair and looked on.

4. I know what drug addiction feels like. When I was hospitalized with Guillain-Barre Syndrome in 2004, it was discovered that I am somewhat allergic to Morphine. I was given a drug called Dilaudid for weeks. I still remember the exact feeling when it was pushed into my IV, the immediate discomfort between my shoulder and my heart, followed instantly by a warm, all-over rush of nothingness. All pain stopped, all worries were gone, there was just a blissful nothing. If I was undisturbed at this point, I could sleep, but if someone tried to interact with me during this window of nothingness, it would keep me from sleeping and the feeling would dissipate within about 15 minutes, leaving me depressed and cranky. I asked for my dose every 6 hours on the dot, and the day my pic line (a semi-permanent IV line) failed and I was told I wouldn't be getting my fix anymore, I literally cried. To this day, I remember Dilaudid fondly and would happily ask for it if I were ever hospitalized for anything. Fortunately, the pills don't have the same effect as the IV dose, so I don't have to worry about addiction outside of the hospital.

5. I had fun being Superjacket, my high school mascot, my senior year, but I was painfully aware of how much better my predecessor had been, and I always regretted leaving the Golden Pride. I still remember the shocked disappointment on Mr. Helmcamp's face when I told him I was leaving the band to be Superjacket. If I had it to do over, I wouldn't leave the band. I felt like an outsider when I went back after football season.

6. I can't go to the grocery store without spending two hours there. It doesn't matter if there's a list or not, or whether I stick to the list or not, or whether there are 5 things or 50 on the list. I'm always there almost exactly two hours. There have been exceptions, but they've been rare. I windowshop.

7. I really miss celebrating Christmas at home, and it breaks my heart that my children can't experience it like I did. K is Muslim, and doesn't object (much) to us celebrating (a little) at my mom's house, but I can't buy presents or decorate the house. I had to explain to my 4-year-old the other day who Santa was, and didn't do a very good job of it, because I don't want him feeling deprived.

8. I was traumatized by turning 30, but am not bothered about turning 40. I think it's because after losing the girls, my age seems completely insignificant.

9. I love pregnancy and childbirth, and feel sad that I'm going to have to be finished with it forever soon. I sometimes consider studying to be a labor and delivery nurse, just so I can continue to experience it vicariously.

10. I rarely get enough sleep. I'm a night owl, my children are up early, and I lack the self-discipline to make myself go to bed on time two nights in a row. If I do go to bed on time, I'm almost sure to be up even later than usual the next night. I can't seem to stop what I'm doing and go to bed, whether it's playing games online, watching tv, reading, writing, whatever. Every late night, I tell myself I'm turning over a new leaf tomorrow. Which leads me to ...

11. BONUS! I love Mondays. Mondays represent the start of a new week, a chance to start fresh with all the things I want to do to better myself. Keep a cleaner house, eat better, exercise more, sleep more, etc.

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, I love these, too. We're a lot alike! I like your curls, I'm glad you embraced them. I thought you were a good Superjacket. 2 hours at the grocery store is the norm for me, too. I also can't do anything else that day. It's an event, and it drains me. I've actually been wondering what you did about Christmas. That must be hard sometimes. Do you celebrate all of the Muslim holidays? You should do a blog about those sometime. I do the exact same thing as you with the sleeping...and I'd be a lot less cranky if I would just make myself go to bed. I just can't do it!

7:19 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

So, should I not send you a Christmas card? Of course, since I don't have your address (hint, hint) it's not like I could anyway, but how about a "Blessed Eid ul-Adha" card? My address hasn't changed... Love, Jeanne H

7:46 AM  

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