Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Eight Things... And Then Eight More

Long ago - longer than I care to admit - Lady M tagged me for the "Eight Things" meme. And then, a bit more recently Tori tagged me a second time. Unless my rudimentary math skills fail me, that means 16 things about me. Can you handle that much Lara? I mean, seriously?

In the true spirit of the meme, I will a) follow the rules, and b) try to actually make them 16 totally random and useless facts about me.

Rules:

A. Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves.

B. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed.

C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. I have two versions of "shower": If I'm taking a "long" shower, it takes about thirty minutes. If I'm taking a "short" shower, it's more like fifteen. Yes, my "short" shower is 15 minutes long.

2. When I was 12, I got braces. I wore the braces for two full years, and for about six months of that time, I also had to wear headgear. I was *that* kid.

3. I'm 25 years old, and I still sometimes order milk to drink at restaurants. I just love drinking milk. This might explain why I'm so darn tall.

4. I have absolutely no squeamishness about people touching my feet. I do, however, HATE having anyone touch my face. This has annoyed many a guy in the past, including J. and Aussie Boy.

5. I was a runner-up for Prom Queen in my senior year of high school. Still, to this day, I wish I'd won. Because I was (and am) insecure enough to think that might have meant something significant. Deep down, I know it wouldn't have.

6. My "comfort food" is Haagen-Dazs coffee ice cream and Cheetos. Together. I know - don't hate.

7. I am absolutely terrified of moths. The fluttering freaks me out like you cannot believe. Even butterflies scare me, but not as much as moths. I will literally burst into tears if one is too close to me and I can't get away as fast as I'd like.

8. I am not now and never have been on Facebook. I've also never been on MySpace, Orkut, Friendster, or any of those other social networking things. I consider this a point of pride, but I think I'll probably give in to the Facebook trend soon. Sigh.

[Eight more? Seriously? Damn. Okay, let's get a little deeper with these.]

9. I value the poetic nature of words. Or, to be more accurate, the potential words have to be poetic. Sometimes a phrase will pop into my head for no apparent reason, and I'll write it down just because I love the way it sings to me.

10. My biggest fear has always been not being good enough. This is why I'm always so desperate to be popular, even in the blogosphere, and why I have struggled with insecurities my whole life.

11. I was a virgin when I wrote this post. I am not now. And yes, I just announced that to the entire internet. I continue to astound myself (as well as many of you, if I believe your comments and emails) with how much of my personal life I'm willing to share here.

12. As the years go by, I am forgetting more and more about my dad. I feel indescribably guilty about this, but I don't know how to stop it.

[I've done too many Thursday Thirteens. I keep thinking I should be done soon.]

13. I have already imagined how I will tell my someday-husband that I am pregnant. The idea of becoming a mom is that exciting to me.

14. I have grudges that I am still holding from years ago. This is one of the reasons I have so much trouble forgiving myself when I make mistakes.

15. I was raised Catholic, and my religion used to be very important to me. Since my life fell apart in October, I have not once spoken to God on my own behalf, and only rarely prayed on behalf of others. When I am honest with myself, I know that I am too scared and ashamed to turn where I know forgiveness is waiting. Someday - soon - I hope I can go back. I will need my friends for this.

16. Part of the reason I am still alive today is this blog and all the supportive people I have gotten to know through it. I honestly do not know if I could have been strong enough to stay out of the hospital without you all. That truth never ceases to amaze me.

I would love to see some "Me too!"s in the comments section after opening myself up like this. As for the tagging of other folks, I guess I should do eight and eight, since I was double-tagged. In alphabetical order (so as to show no favoritism), I tag:

Aimee
Aly
Betsy
California Teacher Guy
Dancing Dragon
Ffbgirl
Jill B
Kelly
Lindz
Miss A
NancyPearlWannabe
Queen of Spain
Sandra
Trina
Wolf Lover Girl

Looking forward to reading those 128 things!

30 comments:

dancing dragon said...

I have a few "me too"s (hm, can't figure out a correct way to pluralize that).

My short shower is 15 minutes long too, and my long, or should I say regular, shower is 30 minutes.

Regarding ordering milk at restaurants, I'm 30, and you caught me drinking a kiddie juice box once at DL rehearsal. They're just convenient. :P

I love Haagen-Daz coffee ice cream, but uh, not with Cheetos.

#11, darn I don't have many more people to keep me company on that one and I am even older. ;)

Blogging has kept me going too. Thanks for the tag. No predictions on when I'll get to it though. :)

CaliforniaTeacherGuy said...

Do you pay your own water bill or does someone else fork over the money for your extravagant showers?

:-)

Guilty Secret said...

Wow I too hate people touching my face and it really bothers guys... how weird I never knew anyone else experienced this!

Also about telling your partner you a re pregnant... I bet loads of women have thought this through.

Aw, thanks for sharing, Lara. I love your blog and I'm going to link you ;)

Janet said...

I was totally with you on #6 (those are like my 2 fave foods too) until you said together...hmmm I will have to try it sometime!

MDC said...

Lara, don't EVER think you're not good enough. Because you ARE!
I don't know if Jitta told you in depth about everything that happened to DadWadPad and me over the past almost 5 years. I too had a period where I didn't speak to God, I just couldn't. Like HE had anything to do with what happened to us? I eventually came to my senses and turned to Him. Our faith has carried us through. Let me know if I can help you in anyway. Ask Jitta about her prayer advisor, a remarkable, wonderful Benedictine nun. (When you walk through the doors of that church, take Jitta with you!)

Big Sis said...

Wow, the deep ones ARE deep (and good).

If I were going to say "me too", it'd be a fairly short list. I guess that's why random meme's are good - they allow us to learn about our differences we never realized (and similarities we somehow escaped).

But I "feel you" in some essenses of numbers, especially in 9, 10, and 14.

Lady M said...

You never do things halfway - great "things" for the meme!

Lisa said...

Wow, I just found you off of NPW's site and I am already in love with your blog! I hate moths *shudder*!!! I'm (almost) 31 and I still order (chocolate) milk too (but I'm not all that tall). I had braces for (no lie) for SIX years (including my first year of college...try that out, it sucks!) I was a virgin until the age of 25 also (also by choice, and rather proud of it, as I hope you are!) And I have three different plans for telling my husband I am pregnant and at least five for telling my parents and his. All rather convuluted....And I too am Catholic, and I too have gone through some serious struggles with that. It got easier, and I returned to the church, but there are still moments, memories, days, weeks where the struggle rears its ugly head and I have to battle through it all over again....how's that for a lot of ME TOOs! :)

Anonymous said...

I don't have a lot of "me too"s -- probably because I am ancient compared to you -- but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy learning a bit more about you!

Anonymous said...

coffee ice cream and cheetos sound delish. even together.
we can be weird together :)

Anonymous said...

I've actually done my 8, though I leaned toward the random things and didn't include any habits. You can read it here:

http://grrl.wordpress.com/2007/07/12/tagged/

I loved reading your list. My me too items: I never let my kids touch my face. Despite this, I don't think they are scarred for life. Big ditto on the beauty of words. Lifelong journey is to overcome the "not good enough" syndrome. My version is tinged with a fear that what I write will be boring.

Yuriko said...

Those ARE long showers!! For Me, a quick shower is about 8 minutes... a long shower is about 20. Suffice it to say, I take more long than short during the summer... and shorter ones in the winter. The main reason is because it's just too darn cold to step out in the mornings after a nice hot shower.

Tandava said...

I'm curious about #11, not so much for sordid details as for thought and decision processes, and whether or not it relates to #15. I say this more as a statement than a request, since I know you'll blog about whatever the heck you're comfortable blogging about.

And for that #15, your friends are always ready to help.

As for "me too's," I don't think I actually have any at all in this list. But that's just me. I guess that's why we're different people. :-)

Lara said...

graham - i probably won't blog much about my decision, not so much because i'm uncomfortable sharing, but it's easier in person. i have trouble finding the words to explain it well, so it's easier to talk in person, where i can see whether my meaning is getting across or not. but it's a decision i still feel was the right one. and it's unrelated to #15.

Tandava said...

Completely understandable. I'm glad you feel good about it, though, which is really the most important part.

Wolf Lover Girl said...

I've never even heard of Facebook, now unfortunately I'm curious. I have to agree with you that I'm proud to say that I've never been to MySpace or anything like that. Although I just found out my sister is one there so might go check her's out to see what it's like.

My long showers can be about 30 minutes as well. Love just letting that hot water hit you in the head like a small massage.

I'll let you know when I get mine up. I'll have to think of some really good facts/habits (that I'm willing to share). :-)

~ Wolf Lover Girl

Wolf Lover Girl said...

OH! I forgot! I heard on the radio this morning about the IRS implementing a 20% tax on teachers, have you heard this? I posted what little details I've heard on my blog. I thought of you and all the other teachers here... wanted to make sure you knew!

~ Wolf Lover Girl

Teacher Anonymous said...

Welcome to the sinful world of pre-marital sex. It's a nice place to be.

Lara said...

teacher anon - ha! you crack me up, kid. :-P

Her Bad Mother said...

What brave, wonderful eight-by-eight confessional.

(PS - I order milk, too. Luuurve milk.)

Anonymous said...

Whew!!! I wasn't tagged!!! However, it was such a wonderful idea and you did SUCH a great job of baring your soul, that I'm considering doing it myself. Only problem: I don't have 8 friends here!! Will 6 work?? But I'll also post it on Spaces.

I found a few 'Me Too's' in there!!

Anonymous said...

Isn't it funny that people think ordering milk is weird. I get it sometimes with my happy meal. hehe

Anonymous said...

I think all the time about how I will tell my husband when I am pregnant. When the time comes, I'll probably forget all the great ways I've planned over the years and just blurt it out over the phone or something. I can't wait.

Unknown said...

My dear Lara,
You are brave, honest, and so real.
I am inspired by you and all your wonderfulness :)
xo
Tori

tpiglette said...

Not a "me too", but I knew #6!!! :-D

I'm SO with you on #8. I have staunchly refused to join any of those networking sites and intend to keep holding out. Hrmph.

(And #15...we'll always be here for you.)

*hugs*

Anonymous said...

Its funny how so many things people list on these apply to most all of us, we just think it only applies to us. We all go through such similar things in life, we just forget we are not alone.

Science For Kids

Anonymous said...

I love #9. I do the same thing. I think words are so incredibly powerful in their potential to be both beautiful and ugly.

I also totally get the support and comfort you find from blogging and your internet friends. It's am amazing medium that allows us to make such wonderful connections.
Looking forward to working with you!

fourthbreakfast said...

Haagen Daas and Cheetos. I totally understand. Sweet and Salty. I usually lean towards doritos though.

aMom2E said...

You so rock my world and I am so thankful for you and your friendship! I will work on 8 random (and positive things) and post them soon. I am sorry I haven't been around, but hopefully my attendance will improve. I mean it that you are amazing. I cannot convey how important your writing is to me--it gives me a smile and provokes thought every time. Thank you for sharing!

Lara said...

ffbgirl - you have no idea how glad i am to hear that i help you in some way. i'm always here for anything you need. don't forget that. :)