Booga J broke down and did it, so I guess I can.
100 101 Things About Me At This Moment in Time
1. I'm nervous about revealing too much about me.
2. I am therefore going to censor myself, I just know it.
3. I hate censoring myself, or being censored.
4. I won't tell you everything about me.
5. I am obviously obsessing about this.
6. I don't usually obsess, and so this alone is unfamiliar territory for me.
7. Hmm. Revealing, huh?
8. I love the smell and taste of coffee, not to mention the buzz.
9. I can't drink it because it raises hell with my blood pressure.
10. I had a semi-serious scare with my blood pressure a few years ago.
11. I waited too long to be seen by a doctor for this.
12. Thankfully my hardy constitution and generally good health (and maybe some good luck and my relative young age) prevented me from having a more serious event at the time.
13. After the health scare I mentioned above, I started following the Eat Right 4 Your Type diet, and had a complete turnaround healthwise.
14. I'm still eating that way. It is a permanent lifestyle change, I believe.
15. I took matters into my own hands, because the doctors were about to put me on several medications that I didn't want to take. I stunned them with the results.
16. I'm a big believer in natural health.
17. It required me abandoning vegetarianism to become an omnivore again.
18. My blood type is O positive.
19. The Red Cross used to call me every 57 days to donate blood.
20. I can no longer donate to them because I lived in England.
21. I was pissed about this, but I understand why and I forgive them.
22. I used to be a morning person, but I've turned into a night owl.
23. I have a wicked sense of humor, but sometimes I'm dead serious.
24. You may never know when I'm being serious or kidding you in my blog.
25. I have probably offended some people because of this.
26. I sometimes don't care if I've offended you.
27. Sometimes I care deeply whether I've offended you.
28. I'm quirky like that.
29. I've had a near-death experience. They're just like you read about them. And they are life-changing.
30. I'm a quick and determined learner.
31. Lately my work ethic kind of sucks, but I enjoy my job.
32. I have super-human hearing.
33. Soprano voices therefore physically hurt my ears.
34. My daughter is a contralto soprano.
35. My daughter is a gifted actor.
36. My daughter is the pride and joy of my life.
37. I am an environmentalist.
38. I don't believe in poisoning my lawn with chemicals.
39. I am an organic gardener.
40. I eat dandelion greens that I harvest from my lawn.
41. I even plant them in my vegetable garden.
42. I imagine this bothers the neighbors.
43. Ask me if I care.
44. I drive a 1994 Toyota Camry with 188,000 miles on it.
45. It still runs like it's brand new, and gets 30 mpg.
46. In 21 years, I have bought two new cars, both Toyota Camrys.
47. I am proud of this, but I would sort of like a new car.
48. I prefer to drive standard-shift.
49. I am an optimist and a pragmatist.
50. I cry at the drop of a hat in movies, but not in life.
51. I like antiques.
52. I like pottery.
53. I had a deprived and abusive childhood, with no social life.
54. We lived out in the boonies, on a lake.
55. We had a lot of animals.
56. I loved the animals.
57. I also was a great nature observer, and would sneak up and "commune with" blue herons, tame wild ducks, turtles, etc.
58. It was a beautiful setting, but the beauty was lost on me at the time.
59. The first time I went to a museum was when I was 19 years old.
60. It was the Louvre.
61. I still find this comical.
62. I went with my now husband.
63. I had also never been on a plane before then.
64. Not to mention a foreign country, unless you count Canada, which I don't.
65. My mom was Canadian.
66. My maternal grandmother was an educated and liberated woman.
67. She was a registered nurse.
68. My father died at the age of 28.
69. I put myself through college.
70. I was the first person in my family to go to college.
71. I have been married only once, and for 21 years.
72. I have one lovely child, a daughter.
73. The most important thing to me is to be able to give her a great education, excellent role-modeling, and a safe, stable, happy life.
74. I think I've done a great job at that.
75. My husband is my best friend.
76. I went through a period when I was an avid traveler.
77. Since 9/11, I have not cared to travel too much.
78. I feel a great sense of loss about this.
79. I lived for 15 months in London.
80. I traveled around the British Isles every chance I got.
81. In order for me to have this experience, my husband was a single dad for a year-plus.
82. This was the most wonderful gift he could have given me.
83. BBC Television gave me even more gifts.
84. They allowed me to work for them, and they gave me family travel allowances so we never had to be apart for more than six weeks at a time.
85. I have been to Paris twice -- once for three weeks, another time for a month, and I loved it.
86. I love reading about history and visiting historic sites.
87. I love the Smithsonian.
88. I studied the Torah for a time, as an adult. It didn't seem like new material to me, but review.
89. From this, and from other life experiences, I have got the feeling that I have lived before.
90. I skeptically believe in reincarnation.
91. I do believe in old souls, and I believe I have one.
92. On tests, I have always been able to guess or intuit the answers, often without being able to explain why or even sometimes explain the answer.
93. I am areligious.
94. I have a strong internal moral compass.
95. Much stronger than many people who say they are religious.
96. I abhore hypocrisy.
97. I abhore intolerance.
98. I am intolerant of some things, though.
99. I used to have a disability with remembering names, but not anymore.
100. Doing this list was a cinch. I couldn't be more surprised.
101. How did it get to be 2 a.m.?
You forgot "I am very creative with language." and "I am an instigator."
Just sayin'.
Posted by: claudia | Monday, November 29, 2004 at 08:11 AM
Thank you for sharing yourself with us!!! ;-)
Posted by: Eilene | Monday, November 29, 2004 at 08:17 AM
Oh Norma, you crack me up. If anyone dares to question #30, just send them my way, or towards any of us there in the family room that night at Rhinebeck! You're an information SPONGE! :)
By the way--I've put my first item for sale on Ebay. It's just a USB cable, but I'm starting out small, yanno?
Posted by: Kim | Monday, November 29, 2004 at 09:01 AM
Quite fascinating. A wee glimpse into the Magical Mind of Norma.
Posted by: Cassie | Monday, November 29, 2004 at 09:09 AM
My blog has had a near death experience. Does that mean we have something in common? ;)
Of course, I want to hear all about your childhood. For shrinking purposes, of course.
Thanks for giving me a smile today.
Posted by: Kerstin | Monday, November 29, 2004 at 09:23 AM
Hmmm . . . now I don't have to make my own list; I can just "borrow" 50% of the things on your list. Unfortunately, my first plane trip was to Ohio when I was 19. Not quite as exciting as your first plane trip. But, we do share the same blood type and an inability to donate blood for the same reason. And, I'm completely on board with the "no chemicals on the lawn" thing. When we were kids, we ate dandelion salads ALL the time. I think it's an East Coast thing. We even planted two kinds of dandelions: the kind with the serrated leaves and the kind with the smooth edge leaves.
Posted by: Susan | Monday, November 29, 2004 at 10:39 AM
Seriously to the no-blood donating thing? If it's CJD then don't they care that you were a veg?
I wrote my 100 things ages ago, but I'm too chicken to post it.
Posted by: Stephanie | Monday, November 29, 2004 at 11:27 AM
Hummmm...lots of food for thought. It's always great learning about your 'imaginary' friends. They don't seem so far away. You are an awesome person, Norma.
Posted by: Margene | Monday, November 29, 2004 at 11:41 AM
Great list. Any chance you'll share your secret for remembering names? I'm horrible at it . . .
Posted by: Jenika | Monday, November 29, 2004 at 01:50 PM
Okay, I'm shamelessly copying you in my blog entry today.
Great list. You are a great person! :)
Posted by: Annie | Monday, November 29, 2004 at 02:56 PM
I keep thinking I should make a list too, because I always enjoy reading other people's lists. Then I think, well, maybe no one would be interested anyway!
Posted by: Sharlene | Monday, November 29, 2004 at 02:56 PM
If only you knew how carefully and slowly I read and considered each one of the 101 items. This means either "I'm glad to have you for a friend and want to know more about you" or "Be afraid; be very afraid." I'll let you decide.
Posted by: Ryan | Monday, November 29, 2004 at 06:29 PM
You also forgot to mention the incorrigibility part.
Posted by: Cassie | Monday, November 29, 2004 at 06:36 PM
Glad you did the list! And tell me, how did you learn to remember names? I'm awful with this (and spelling, and directions. . . )
Posted by: Julie | Monday, November 29, 2004 at 06:57 PM
What a great list. As we have come to expect, you gave it your all! How did it feel to do that?
Posted by: Mary Beth | Monday, November 29, 2004 at 07:29 PM
Norma, fantastic list...!
And the Rogue looks great (without sleeves is cool, but I am with everyone else--sleeve that babeee!) I will be swatching mine after Xmas. It's the only way I can make myself slow the hell down and get it right (oh, and enjoy the process of course, heh).
Posted by: chelsea | Monday, November 29, 2004 at 10:00 PM