Self-Revelations

The other day FiveHusbands was tagged and tagged in return. Now I know she's gotten a lot of press in this space lately, but here's the deal: we have the same initials, we have the same advanced degree, and if you consider my four years living with EEFFH to be analogous to one of her marriages, we've been married the same number of times. That's a lot of points of identification, people. Plus she writes beautifully. I love being around smart people who write beautifully.

Anyway, I was very grateful that she didn't tag me. I hate being tagged, because I hate having to find five or six friends to tag. I think that's a mean thing to do, to put a burden, an assignment, an onus on your friends. Sorta like a Tupperware party or Amway or Longaberger or . . . . (You get the idea.) But I do like reading what people reveal about themselves.

I also liked crseum's Thirteen Things post the other day. Especially since I had experienced a couple of serious pet peevish moments in the previous few days.

So today's post is going to be a freebie. You get free self-revelation culled from the two referenced posts: three random things you probably don't know about me, and three pet peeves. I may add something else, depending on my mood when I get to the end.

Three Random Things

• I want my next vacation to be a hiking vacation on either the Atlantic coast of South Africa or in England, either the Cotswolds or the Lake District. This is one of those vacations where you stay in a different bed-and-breakfast every night and walk between six and nine miles each day. A van schlepps your luggage from inn to inn for you. I've said that's going to be my vacation in 2009, but I'm not sure I'll have won my parole from Real Estate Jail by then. And I just heard about a fiber artists' tour of Vietnam with Sandra Betzina in the fall of 2009 and I'd love to do that. And I have the opportunity to go to China for only three thousand dollars and sing Carmina Burana for a special celebration next summer. No parole = no fancy vacation. So it may be a moot point. But it's my
  dream.


• When I transferred to Florida State in the summer of 1969, my daddy got me the Camaro Pace Car convertible. I dropped out of FSU about six months later and moved back home to Orlando. I had Daddy sell it and get me a car that had air conditioning. (All together now. Repeat after me. "That child was spoillllled!")


• The longest I've lived in any house of my own (rather than moving into a house my husband owned and living there) is about three years.

Three Pet Peeves

• Slow restaurants. The girls at work went out to lunch this week to celebrate the June birthdays, and I chose Olive Garden. The rest of the girls insisted on having the whole singing-and-cake shebang. Lunch took one hour and forty-five minutes! I was out of my head with frustration.


• Slow drivers. On Wednesday morning, for my 60 mile drive to work, every slow driver in three counties was on 80/66/67 in front of me, in the left lane, going 60 mph, talking on the phone. As much as I talk on the phone while driving, I decided Ohio should ban cell phones in the car!


• Customer service reps for whom English is not their native language, and who cannot understand my very clear explanation of my complex technical or financial problem. I know they need a job, but their inability to comprehend the situation just makes me seriously consider terminating my business relationship with their employer.

A Little More Randomness

• My favorite ford is wuck.


• My favorite perfume is Diva and no, I am not!


• The worst job I ever had was while I was in law school; I worked as a law clerk for this insane sole practitioner 30-something female who treated her practice like a toy. I've removed her from my resumé and this is the first time I've mentioned her in about 15 years.


• My roommate from Florida State is now a two-star general in the U.S. Air Force.


• I have a hard time staying awake when I drive.


• Or typ