Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Eight Random Things

JenClair, J.S. Peyton, and Gentle Reader have tagged me for the 8 Random Things meme.

The rules -
1: Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
2: People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules.
3: At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names.
4: Don't forget to leave them a comment and tell them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

~~

1. For more than a decade I was as addicted to cross-stitching as I was to reading; in fact, I look back on the 80s as my cross-stitch years. I do wish I'd managed not to burn out until after I'd finished my son's Christmas stocking instead of midway through it though (I'm sure he does, too).

2. When possible, I avoid taking elevators. The fast ones make me queasy and even on the ones that move slowly enough not to make me ill, who'd want to risk being trapped between floors with a bunch of strangers? It's stairs for me.

3. When I was in 7th or 8th grade, a friend and I attempted to ride our horses down the main street of town. We made it as far as the police station, where a cop stood out front glaring at us, and when he said, "You girls get those horses out of town" in a very mean way we didn't tell him it was a free country the way we'd planned to say to anyone who dared try to stop us. Instead we said, "Yes sir," and turned the horses up the nearest side street and hightailed it out of there.


4. I've worked as a poll worker at the local precinct since Election Day 1993, a day when so many people turned out to vote that a line still wound its way through the halls of the school and out the front door when the polls officially closed at 7:30. When I got home late that night I swore I'd never do that again. This fall I will actually be a precinct judge. I can't wait for training!

5. I loved thirtysomething and periodically check Amazon to see if it's finally been slated for release.

6. I wrote a play about local legend Tom Dooley when I was in 8th grade. Unfortunately, I included too much of my research; the fact that I mentioned that the three principal players had veneral disease kept the play from being considered for class production.

7. I rarely work crossword puzzles but this week, in an effort to ward off early onset Alzheimer's disease, I'm attempting to do one each day. What's a nine letter word for very old-fashioned that starts with hide?

8. I'm going to both NY and DC in June. Yippee!

~~~

I'm not tagging anyone because I can't keep straight who's been tagged and who hasn't.

16 comments:

  1. I admire our poll workers tremendously. A long job dealing with people who are sometimes cranky at having to wait so long (our lines often wind around the school and outside, too).

    Oh my, Tom Dooley had a venereal disease? "Poor boy..."

    I'm pretty hidebound and worry about AD myself.

    Thanks for playing, Susan!

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  2. Hidebound is it! Thanks, JenClair.

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  3. Anonymous9:25 AM

    Your horse escapade made me laugh. And yes, we can walk up the staris together, it will be nice to have some company :)

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  4. I loved your answers! I just did this tag myself.

    I hate elevaters too. They make me dizzy. I also remember loving thirtysomething. But I can't do crossword puzzles? Why is that do you think? Hmmm...

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  5. The funniest part of the horse escapade, Stefanie, occurred more than 30 years later. My dad finally got around to mentioning that he received a call (or two or three) that day informing him that his younger daughter and her friend were RIDING THEIR HORSES DOWN MAINSTREET. He told the squealers okay and hung up. My dad was so cool. :)

    Suey, I've never fared well with crosswords until this week. Maybe my daily paper has selected "dumbed down" puzzles since I last attempted them, but I'm managing to complete almost the entire puzzle every day without much difficulty. I've only one corner to go on today's that I'm sure will fall into place as soon as I come up with a seven letter word meaning "tends to aquarium" that starts with "A."

    I'm really just hoping for enough improvement that I don't freeze up every time my daughter asks me to help her with one.

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  6. Anonymous10:51 AM

    I love the horse story--that's great! I am terrible at crossword puzzles, but I keep thinking I need to do something--sodoku or puzzles so I don't have memory problems later--I already feel like I am too forgetful.

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  7. Aquarer is wrong but hidebound was much simpler! #3 numbers my life.

    The Hood Company

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  8. Interesting! I go through crossword puzzle phases -- I'm not terribly good at them, actually, but sometimes they are exactly what I need. Something mentally stimulating, but not quite as absorbing as reading.

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  9. Anonymous4:40 PM

    That's pretty funny about the neighbors and your dad's reaction was perfect.

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  10. I love your dad's reaction to the horses!

    I try to do crossword puzzles to combat Alzheimer's, too. My husband and I do the NY Times one--they get progressively harder through the week--so we can manage the earlier ones but have never finished one on Saturday :)

    I loved thirtysomething, too!

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  11. I heard something comforting about Alzheimer's the other day...It's not forgetting where you left the keys, it's forgetting what keys are...somehow that made me feel better.

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  12. I think it's great that you've volunteered so many years as a poll worker. I love going to the polls, but there aren't enough registered voters in my area evidently (and if you saw where I live you, you wouldn't guess it!) and so absentee ballots are automatic. I like the big elections where I can go to the mall and vote on the weekend instead of using my absentee ballot. There's something empowering about going into that little booth and being able to cast my vote. :-)

    Have a great time on your trip to New York and DC!

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  13. These are so much fun to read. Thanks for sharing.

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  14. I had to come see who has all the Sanitary Fish Market t-shirts! I grew up outside of Wilmington and Tom Dooley was one of the few songs I learned to play of guitar. I take it you must of grown up in the mts--wasn't Dooley from the Wilksboro area?

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  15. Yup, I'm from ye olde moonshine capital of the world, Wilkes County. :)

    Dula hailed from what's now known as the Ferguson area of the county. (You pass through it on the way to Boone via 421.) There's an outdoor drama at the Tom Dooley amphitheater near the reservoir every summer. The tree from which Tom was hanged is now deceased, but there's a Tory Oak Jr. near the Old Jail where he was kept.

    I have yet to get to Wilmington. One of these days. . .

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