8 Random Things About Me

James Goodman tagged me, so I’m coming out to play briefly. Then I’m going to The Stampede.

First, the covenant:
1. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Okay, eight random things about me:

1. I played bass guitar in stage band in high school.

2. When I was 8 I was hit by a car while riding my bike home. The gentleman had gone to town to pick up his birthday cake (he was 80) and his cake somersaulted on impact, and so did I. I heard the cake was still edible, it just didn’t look good. I ended up with stitches in my head because I struck it on something. And the thing I remember most? The guy who got out of his vehicle from the other side of the road (the reason Mr. Birthday Man couldn’t pass me – solid traffic coming the other way) and picked up my bike and threw it in the ditch. He never even asked if I was okay. Jerk.

Almost a year after the car I was running along the beach and landed on broken liquor bottle, partially severing my right foot. That was incident #2 in my three-year run of catastrophes…

Disaster #3. I fell down a waterfall. Just don’t ask. In fact, forget I mentioned it. (Evil Kev is standing here laughing, saying “I didn’t know that.” Jerk.)

3. When we were in Indonesia we spent a day sailing out to Lambongan Island and went snorkeling. Despite multiple applications of sunscreen, I got a horrible sunburn. Fortunately, it was at the end of our trip. Unfortunately, that meant I had to suffer with it on the plane…

4. So, returning from Indonesia via Japan, I had one of those we must go now! moments. Kevin was rather annoyed with me, but I wanted to get to the airport right away. We took a cab (although we could have waited for a free bus) and when we got there to check in they kept asking us weird questions. “Just the two of you?” “Is Vancouver your final destination?” Once this was established, we were asked to take a flight half hour later because they’d overbooked. They bumped us up to first class on Air Canada and paid us a pile of money for our inconvenience, and bought us dinner.

5. My first marriage proposal was from an Italian man in a train station in Austria who was so… expressive I had to pry him off me. And his father was there saying, “If you feel this in your heart you must pursue it.” Yes, my first experience with Italian men when I lived in Europe. It wasn’t the last.

6. I went swimming in the Arctic Ocean. (I’ve actually gone swimming in the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, and the Mediterranean and the Irish Sea.) This may not seem like a big deal to you, but thanks to my near-drowning experience when I fell down the falls I actually have a fear of water.

7. If I don’t have to go out I’ll stay in my pajamas all day.

8. I have a piece of the Iron Curtain. Since I was living in Europe when the wall came down, I watched the carve it up at Checkpoint Charlie and do have an East Germany stamp in my old passport, so technically, I guess I’ve been to a country that no longer exists. Weird.

Now, I’m supposed to tag 8 people… I’m sending out the subliminal messages, have you got them? Okay, okay. How about James, Anne, Angie, Amra, Christa, Eileen, Trace, and Bonnie? But I won’t make it to your blogs to leave a note until tonight or tomorrow morning.