Thursday, August 25, 2005

I've tagged myself...

There is an internet phenomenon right now called "tagging" that is all the rage at several of the blogs I frequently visit, but since none of those people know me, none of them will ever tag me. So I'm tagging myself. Here's how it works. I write five random things about myself that no one else is likely to know.

Here goes:

1. I think airports are wondrous places. I usually find a seat near a window and watch the airplanes come and go. Then I look around at other passengers and wonder where they are going: home or away. Are they looking forward to their trip or not? Are they married, single, divorced, or considering any of the above? Are they nervous about flying or do they love it as much as I do? Where will they stay? What do they think of me? Is my lipstick okay? Have I dropped food onto my clothes? I want to ask the pilots where they live, how long they have been pilots, what they enjoy most about being in the cockpit, what frightens them about flying. I want to ask flight attendants about their best and worst episodes on board. That sort of stuff.

2. I thoroughly enjoy going to the supermarket. I would never join an internet shopping club. It is always a thrill to grab my cart, plop my huge handbag into the kiddie seat, and enter into the local Harris Teeter. I plunge in with great curiosity and anticipation. All the fruit and vegetables in piles. The cuts and slabs of meat. The sushi. The cold cuts. The bags of beans and lentils. The salad dressings. The cereal boxes. The colorful bottles of juice, Gatorade, soda, and seltzer. The bags of chips and pretzels. I wonder who buys all that stuff. Who really eats Little Debbie cakes? Who drinks the green Kool-aid in plastic bottles? Don't people know that there is absolutely no nutritional value in white bread? Here in North Carolina, wine is sold in the supermarket. I wonder who knows which wines to buy and how they know. I like a good buzz, I mean a good glass of wine every now and then, but I don't have any knowledge of how to choose which wine. So I always get the white zinfandel and sip the sweet stuff. Works for me.

3. I am obsessed with my teeth. I brush vigorously with sensitive toothpaste. I follow my regular toothpaste with a prescription extra flouride toothpaste to help battle my sensitivity even more. I floss daily. I use a flouride rinse as well as Listerine. I use bleach to whiten my teeth a couple of times each year. Unfortunately, I didn't become obsessed with my teeth until ten or so years ago. Up until that point, I didn't take very good care of my teeth and now have a mouthful of cavities. Every fillable tooth in my mouth has been filled - at least once. Some have been filled twice. No crowns yet, but I'm sure there will be one or two coming soon.

4. This one stands in direct contrast to the previous one: I am addicted to candy. I carry mints or mentos with me at all times. I have a secret stash of red Australian licorice or raspberry licorice hearts somewhere in the house almost all the time. I am partial Snickers bars, milk chocolate pecan turtles, and Reeses Fast Break bars. I sneak candy into the movies, into church, and into my bedroom. I am a life-long sugar addict. Of course, I feel obligated to follow up that admission by declaring that we eat only organic salad, drink only organic milk, and eat only whole grain wheat bread. We never buy Twinkies or Hamburger Helper or Sunny-D. But I don't need to excuse or explain or justify my behavior. This is just a random and idiosyncratic thing about me. The truth is that I'm not ashamed of my candy addiction. Candy completes me.

5. I almost never buy things in single units. When I find sensitive toothpaste or mint floss or Australian licorice or socks or skirts on sale, I buy at least two. Sometimes three. Often more than that. When I was in Spain a couple of months ago, I came across a pen that I loved. I bought 30 of them in various colors and in both medium and fine points. Not at the same time, of course, lest they think I was nuts. But the two saleswomen noticed that I came in often and always bought the same items. When I got back to Charlotte and went to one of my favorite stores (Staples), I discovered the same pens in packs of eight colors in fine point. I was thrilled. I bought 7 more packs. I also discovered my favorite journal of all time there in Spain - rediscovered it really. I was introduced to them at an art supply store in New York City years ago, but then that store stopped carrying them, and I was forced to use a different type of journal. When I spied my old favorites at a shop near our Madrid apartment, I ordered a case of them: 24 to be exact. I was forced to buy another suitcase to bring them all home. Along with the pens... and the fabulous short sleeved shirts I found in Zara (the store) and fell in love with. I bought 8 or 9 of them in a rainbow of colors. Nothing in single units. Everything in multiples.

So there you have them: five of my random and strange personality quirks. It was fun writing this down; strange, but fun. I would love to hear back from anyone reading this: what are five of your random quirks? Would you be willing to share them here on the blog or at your own blog???

I'm off to write in my new journal with a new purple fine point pen. Then I will have to decide which Zara shirt I will wear to the supermarket. It's gonna be a great day!!!

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