Thursday, February 11, 2010

Picasso Award, and Seven Random Things


The lovely Kelly at http://kellyr1187.blogspot.com/ has given me my very first award--the Picasso Award. Now, as I understand it, the recipient of the award must tell seven random things about his or herself and pass the award on to seven deserving bloggers. Why seven, I wonder? But if the rules say seven, then seven is what you'll get.

So, for the Seven random facts:

1) I was born and raised in Swaziland, Africa. I was a bit of a tomboy, and spent a great deal of time climbing trees and exploring the wilds. Not swimming though--see #4.

2) My favorite pet was a vervet monkey named Joanie, who my father bought for me from some guys on the side of the road one afternoon. She was one of many unusual pets--a woodpecker, a legavan (monitor lizard?), horses (okay, not that unusual), a donkey (technically my sister's), multiple cats, dogs and (for a few hours,) a snake I caught. Apparently it was poisonous, and I had to let it go upon threat of death. Sigh.

3) I am the queen of list making. If it isn't written down, I'm not likely to remember it. I don't know why my memory is so full of holes, but it is, and so I work around it with the lists. I have a list for everything. I have a yearly list of things I want to accomplish, a monthly list, a weekly list and a daily list. I have lists for my lists. They keep me organized, they keep me productive, and there's such a sense of satisfaction in marking something off the list.

4) I can't really swim, (does doggy paddle count?) but I want to learn how. There's an explanation--the nearest body of water to swim in was also home to a very large python who used to take ducks from the surface of the water. Now, I am fond of snakes. They're beautiful, and smooth, and lovely to look at and sometimes even to hold. But I'm not ALWAYS stupid. Not enough to share space with the huge python who hunted in out lake. (Yes the one in the pic is the same type, and he's eating a duck. And yes, That is what it really looks like.) Now these suckers don't confine themselves to ducks. They eat bigger things too, like gazelle. There was no way I wanted to take a chance that it ate kid. Especially when there had been stories of pythons eating kids floating around among the Swazis for years. Besides, we had a few crocodiles in the place too. Between the python and the crocodiles, I decided that discretion really was the better part of valor. 
In the interest of full disclosure, I did once have the opportunity to swim in a real pool as a kid. I almost drowned. I mean, I (climbed on top of the person trying to save me and sunk us both) almost drowned. I never did get very far in swimming lessons after that. But this year will be the year. I just know it.

5) I'm the messiest person I know--if I'm not surrounded by stacks of paper at my desk or already worn clothes on my floor I feel like something is wrong. Luckily, my husband is as messy as I am, so it works for us. We skip spending money on cable and going out to eat and instead have someone in once a week to clean up after us. Hey--don't judge me--I know I need help. : ) I've decided to spare you the pics of the mess.

6) I work with my hubby. People always groan or seem sympathetic when I say that, but I actually love it. We have a law practice, and we get to talk about our cases, and cheer each other on, and commiserate when things don't go the way we thought they should. We get to bounce ideas off each other and have lunch together, and (shh--don't tell)sometimes we take a long lunch and go see a movie. Our movie lunch dates are about the only dates we get to have because we have a 4 year old, a 3 year old and a 1 1/2 year old. Let me tell you, no one offers to babysit that lot more than once.

7) I am a voracious reader. I read fiction mostly, and the kind of fiction depends on my mood and how desperate I am. We have four floor to ceiling bookcases in my garage, double-stacked with books I've read since we moved in a year and a half ago and may want to read again when there is nothing new to read. Some of the books are older than I am, some are new releases. If I enjoyed it, I'll stick it in the case to read it again, because I have a terrible memory and won't remember what happened the second time round anyway.

There you go! Seven random things you probably didn't really want to know about me in the first place. You're welcome!

5 comments:

  1. OMG I'm a list maker too and have terrible memory. Lists for my lists--of course. It makes complete sense.
    You childhood sounds so cool! Very unique! And I can see a certain parallel with your WIP. Sexy lawyer and all.. :P

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  2. Hi Merissa! Looks like some of us in Critique This have a lot in common. Lists? Check. Slob? Check (but I'm too broke to afford anyone to clean up after us). Can't swim? Check. Voracious reader with more books than anything else? Check. Horrible memory? Check. I even have 3 kids...but mine are a lot older (17, 12, 11). And I got the Picasso award too! Your childhood was definitely more interesting than mine, though!! BTW, can't wait for the next chapter....

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  3. WOW! Your childhood sounds amazing!
    I am also an avid list maker and have had a collection of odd pets -snakes, scorpions, a bearded dragon, newts, various rodents, albino frogs, multiple cats and dogs- to name a few. But I can't think of many things (or any at the moment) more exciting than a legavan or a monkey!

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  4. Lol! I wonder if all writers are list makers? Something about having all these fantasy worlds and fantasy people parading through their heads makes it hard to remember what they were supposed to do?

    Scorpions, Kelly? That sounds far more exciting than a legavan or a monkey. Did he have a terraium? My closest scorpion encounter is where one made a bed of my shoe and when I stuck my foot in said shoe the next morning he stung me. I'll admit to being wary of both scorpions and spiders, for similar reasons.

    Margaret--we seem to be living parallel lives! Gotta admit that the $$ for the cleaning lady would be useful a lot of other places. But without her, hubby and I disgust even ourselves. lol. Some folks buy shoes, or clothes, or new cars--I get someone to help clean up so I don't have to. It's so worth it to us.

    Aww, Courtney. (Blushing) Sexy lawyer, me? (More blushes) I swear the book isn't about me. But I did prosecute for a while. And hubby was a cop before he was a lawyer. Actually, he's still a cop, but he lawyers more than he works as a cop. But really, they aren't anything like us. lol. No, really, they aren't.

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  5. Great post. But then again I LOVE randomness. And it seems that we have plenty in common! I found you from Courtney's Love at First Sight Blogfest and thought I'd stop by and say hey.

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