The Five Things Meme
I’ve been tagged by Sandy from the Purple Wren. I first met Sandy at Mic Night, held at Liz’s Successful Blog. Later on we bumped into each other at MyBlogLog (if you are a MyBlogLog member, join in on the meme).
I’m having difficulties thinking of five things you don’t know as I’m not exactly quiet online (only in person). So, I guess I’ll go with what I haven’t (or can’t remember) posting on DWB.
- As a blue eyed tow-head, coming up Baptist, influenced by American reruns on New Zealand television I wanted to be either a nun or a professional thief.
- As a red-headed, night-clubbing, heck-raising, barely out of teens wanderer, I moved from the California coastline to backwater Virginia. I leased a hunting camp deep in the Allegheny Mountains, (not saddled) with the job of raising three kids (two not my own). There was no running water (to bath we primed the pump to fill a #3 iron tub, bucket by bucket). No running water also meant no inside plumbing, meaning we had an outhouse. A badger shared our hill, so, I had to sleep-walk my step-daughter to the outhouse armed with a Ruger. It was great fun. A kid raising kids. Well, I wasn’t actually raising anyone but I was there. In charge. My only culinary talents were Toll House cookies, pan-frying English potatoes to go with cheese and mushroom filled omelettes (both learned from a stint at an English Pub), and heating up a mean frozen pizza dressed with extra cheese, pepperoni, and green and black olives. The kids loved it. Well, they weren’t too hot about the no TV part but we were too far in the hills to get any sort of a reception so that’s life. Now they too have heartache stories to tell their own little ones.
- As a long-flowing streaky blond, I worked as a Mudlogger (Hydrocarbon Well Logging Technician), taking the night towers (12 hours on 12 off). During the long shift (in between gathering samples, conferring with roughnecks and drawing well logs), I crammed with geology books, studying for the degree I didn’t have, should have had, for the job.
- As a short-cropped, light ash, profession-jumping lass, I tried working as a Draftsman, an Art Director, a Photographer, then as a GeoTech and Graphics Specialist before getting bored with it all and moving to France. Bored again, next came Brunei followed by Scotland. Soon after arrival in Scotland, missing SE Asia (recognising a fit), I dumped my stuff in Devon for a quick move back to Brunei. (Now here I am, in Thailand, but you knew that part as I’ve mentioned the bombing of Bangkok more times than the actual occurrence).
- As a blunt-cut, sun-streaked blond, I walked from Brunei to Malaysia through a murky swamp, balancing on half submerged logs to floating logs with only a small island of solid ground in the middle. The half submerged logs were easy as they only gave a little. The floating logs, looking just like the half submerged logs, took you down into the peat flavoured mud. Down, down, down, then you had to struggle back grabbing onto whatever was around, with bits of wood and muck in your mouth, hair, eyes, everywhere. The path was hemmed in by spiky palms that gave up sharp slivers when clutched, so the trick was to keep your balance without falling into the temptation of reaching out to steady yourself. We tried walking slow. A no go as the balance slid, us with it. Then walking fast. Another no as it resulted in slipping off logs head first and bums up. In the end we realised there was no right way. So, after everyone had their first dunking, it was no longer about personal pride and cleanliness. It was about struggling to make it to the end. To a cold beer and hot bath. At dinner there was quiet (from the one with pierced palms, desperate) discussion about getting back via boat, but as we’d left one country and entered another illegally, after a toss-and-turn night on a longhouse floor, back the same route we went the following day.
And there you have it. Five things you might not have known about me.
Apparently there are rules attached to the Five Things You Don’t Know About Me meme, so now I need to share others to tag.
I’m going to tag Jeff Andrews at Design Inspiration, but since it’s not a tagging blog he’ll most likely answer from Adventures in Blogging.
For tag number two, I’ll go for Lisa Mikulski at A Look at Art & Design.
Number three is the talented Jeopopolis.
And number four, nt at Inside the Marketing Mind.
As suggested, for the last on the list I’ll tag anyone who wants to be tagged.
Technorati Tags: Five Things You Don't Know, meme, Msc, tagging
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Hi cat,
That’s great! Interesting stories. I would love to hear more. With so many rich experiences to write about, maybe we’ll see your book soon!
Sandy
Thanks Sandy! Once I get going, I enjoy writing. I only wish I could give myself permission to spend more time on it.
The book – maybe in … six years? When I’ve had enough practice? :-)
What fun it was reading these chapters of your life. Much more fun than living parts of them must have been. Well, at least cleaner. Yet the pictures you drew with your words took me to each place. It was like five mini movies. :)
Thanks Liz. Now that you’ve mentioned it, I have spent a lot of my life covered in muck. After having two ‘boy’ boys, my poor mother finally got her wish for a girl. Me. Only I wasn’t one to stay clean in a ruffled white dress with pink bows and matching pink knickers for long.