A Little More Of Me
I woke up this morning thinking about who I am, as a human being. The things that set me apart from others. The little things. The things that you might not know about me, even if you’re with me all the time. It’s these things that shape and mold who we are in the world because I think all of those things are in the background all the time. They might not show themselves to everyone or even anyone at all, but they’re there.
So, I thought I would share a few things about me. Just a few, and maybe I’ll make more sense, but, maybe not.
1. I don’t eat cake. Never have. Even when I was little I didn’t have a birthday cake. I never wanted one. I had brownies or cookies or rice crispy treats. Never, ever, ever cake! I’m sure some of you out there can’t understand. I’m not sure I even understand, but it’s me. I’m not big on desserts in general.
2. I drink a cup of tea every day. Black tea. Strong black tea. Two tea bags in fact, in one cup. I was on a huge Assaam kick for a while but I’ve turned toward Darjeeling as of late. I remember the first time I saw someone put two bags in one cup. I thought, “can you really do that?” “put two bags in one cup?”. Brilliant! That leads to the next one…
3. I’m a rule follower. Always have been. Kind of like the cake thing. No idea where it came from or why it’s that way but I like following rules. I feel comfortable staying in the lines. Following the speed limit, stopping completely at stop signs. Washing my hands after going to the bathroom, following a recipe, exactly. It’s only been in the last few years, after being with Matt who isn’t so much of a rule follower, that I’ve been experimenting with coloring outside the lines. And, I have to say, sometimes the food is better when you improvise. Who knew?!
4.When I find the time to read, I read multiple books at a time. It’s just how I do things. I love to read but it wasn’t always that way. I can vividly remember the summer of my 16th year. I was going to be a senior in High School that coming fall and didn’t have much to do but lounge around the pool in the backyard. (oh, the days of nothing to do!) Up until that point I had only read short books, books for school, off of the “readers list”. My mom has always been an avid reader. Sometimes a book every few days. No more than a week or so to get through one for sure. She was a huge fan of Ayn Rand and had even seen her speak once. On our bookshelves in the family room, were a ton of books for me to choose from but “The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand stood out. Why? Because it was fat. F.A.T. 734 pages fat to be exact. I challenged myself, that summer, to read the entire book. No matter what. I felt that if I could finish that book, I could read ANYTHING. It took me a while, I’m definitely not my mother when it comes to flying through books, but I did it. I read the entire thing. Well except for about 20 pages in the middle when the central character, “Howard Roark” gives a speach that goes on forever. And so, my literary career as a “book reader” began. I don’t like non-fiction, I get enough of that in my every day life. I like books that tell interesting stories about interesting characters. Books like, Saving Fish From Drowning, Atlas Shrugged, Ender’s Game , and The Traveler to name a few. I’ve just started a book loaned to me by Maya. One of her clients wrote it and I’m eager to see what it has in store. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County.
5. O.K. this one, I’m a little shy to admit. Just a little, but not enough not to share. Have you ever driven behind or next to one of those people that totally rocks out in their car? They bop up and down, sing at the top of their lungs, dance to the beat behind the wheel? Well, I’m one of those. It’s true! I wonder sometimes what people must think if they’re stopped behind me at a light or if they happen to look over while passing me on the freeway. But most of the time, I don’t think about it. What other people think. I guess if I did that, maybe I wouldn’t be dancing in my car but who cares?! I just can’t even help myself really. I hear the music and my hand starts tapping on the steering wheel. Then my body starts moving to the music. My head bops back and forth, up and down and if there are words to the song, look out!. Full throttle sound check going on in the front seat. Now it’s even more fun because the boys are getting into it too. The three of us let loose while cruising down the road. So, if you see a head grooving to some tunes behind the wheel, it might just be me.
I’ll leave you with one of Matt’s favorite photo’s that he took back in 1993 when we were at Burning Man. It’s just another side of me that some people don’t know about. I guess there’s more to tell, but I’ll save that for a different day.
