Meme-o-rama

So the ever-fabulous (even while preggers) Ms. Kate has tagged me for a meme. And I'm still remiss on the one that Sisyphus tagged me for oh so long ago! So, this one first, and then I'll double back. Here are the tasks set before me:


1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog. (see above)

2. Share 7 random and or weird things about yourself. (see below)

3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. (hmm. I really hate this, and I swear I don't know if there are 7 people left in the blogosphere who haven't done this. I'll poke around...)

4. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. (see immediately above)


Seven random or weird things about me? Piece of cake.

1. I'm an inveterate nail biter. I know that it's gross, unsightly, and a bacteriological nightmare, but it really makes me feel better. When I can control it, I try to only bite my thumbnails, because if I bite one of the others, then I'll have to chew all of them down to the same height. Top three nail-biting contexts? Watching movies (preferably in the theater), reading student papers, and writing. Painting my nails holds this off a teeny bit; I'll peel the polish before I bite the nail itself.
2. In high school, I did a LOT of musical theater. My favorite musical, at the time, was West Side Story, and so I begged and pleaded with the drama teacher to do it in my senior year. Instead, she picked The Sound of Music. Because what's more musical than Nazis and nuns? Being the sarcastic little chit that I was, my most-repeated joke of the year was that I had always wanted to play Maria, but I wasn't specific enough. There were also, if I remember correctly, lots of jokes at the time about how no one knew exactly where Fraulein Maria was from, and thus it was technically explainable that you'd have an Asian American nun in the middle of Austria pre-WWII.
3. My yodel, developed for the above context, is not nearly as good now as it was 15 years ago. Pity.
4. I was in a rather serious car accident in the months before I went to graduate school. I totalled my car and slammed my head into the windshield (and thus my brain into the front of my skull at about 60 mph). This had all sorts of interesting effects: shards of glass continued to push their way out of my skin for the next few months (I'd wake up in the morning and find blood all over my pillow. Apparently glass will slowly work its way to the surface of your skin over time.); I lost my ability to conjugate verbs; I ended up with a monster hospital bill that my parents paid out of pocket because I didn't have health insurance. A week after my accident, I still had a black eye, but let my roommates talk me into going to a bar. A woman approached me in the bathroom and said: "You know, honey, you don't have to let him do this to you." What, stop in an intersection?
5. I love to talk about myself (hello, disease of bloggers everywhere!), but am terrified that I'm a self-centered egomaniac and that everyone I know is sick to death of it. Thus, I have a tendency to avoid telling things about myself to new friends, and I'll dodge direct questions for a long time.
6. It's been a really long time since I've been a total bitch to someone. I regret this in some ways, because I'm really really good at it. Really. A good insult is an art form, and the ones that shut other people down entirely? Genius. I feel as if my ethics are getting in the way of the development of one of my most formidable talents. I'm hiding my light under a bushel.
7. I find certain sounds to be enormous turn-ons, and smells to be turn-offs. I know that some people get off on touch and taste, but give me Chris Isaac singing Blue Spanish Sky any day of the week. Meanwhile, I'm convinced that one of the major reasons that Senor Fluff and I are still together is because the way he smells doesn't turn my stomach. I can't say the same for most of the people that I've dated.

Now, seven others? Lee is always my go-to meme girl; it appears that Sisyphus hasn't yet done her meme duty to the blogosphere, and neither has Flavia; Beth might do it musically, and Ashley might be crafty about it; the Dandelion Diva might do it in the garden. And now I'm officially stuck. There's an open spot on the roster! Anyone interested?