I’m not a meme person (I know, I know. Everyone says that. Sue me!), but this particular meme gives me a chance to share some things about me that I may not think to share under normal circumstances. So without further ado, here are “8 Random Facts About Me”.
- I was adopted when I was six weeks old, and I count myself extremely lucky to have been chosen by the most amazing couple I’ve ever known. As a couple, M&D (aka: Mum & Dad) are an inspiration to just about everyone who knows them, and people often make a point to tell me so, though I am well aware of the fact. I was truly blessed the day the adoption agency called M&D telling them I had a birthmark on my finger and asking if they still wanted me. They still picked me, flaw (singular!) and all.
- I just may have had the perfect childhood. Mum quit nursing when they got me, and Dad was a high school teacher. We adopted my brother when I was five and he was two. Somehow, and to this day I don’t understand how, on a high school teacher’s salary we had a large house “in town” and a second “cabin” on Sugar Island AND a 27″ Chris Craft cabin cruiser (very much like this one). It was like having three homes my entire childhood. Each summer when school ended we would close up the house and move, lock, stock and barrel, to the cabin. Then, at some point during the summer, we would go on at least one boat trip to little towns in Ontario for at least a week. How all this was managed financially, I have no clue.
- In 7th grade I had a computer class for “Basic”. I learned the whole, start, print, goto, end thing and figured out how to place green pixels on a black screen. I haven’t had another computer class since then, and yet I have: 1) become a Cisco Certified Network Engineer and worked all over the country, 2) designed, created and maintained a database driven intranet for a major travel agency, and 3) worked as head of a web design department. I’m good at teaching myself how to do things that snag my interest.
- I am allergic to duck eggs. Are you? Are you sure? Have you ever had duck eggs? It is entirely possible to be allergic to duck eggs and not chicken eggs, so you’d have had to have eaten them to know. Me? I’m extremely allergic to duck eggs. I’ve imagined that one day in the not very far off future, some brilliant soul is going to find that the cure for the common cold or cancer is based entirely on using duck eggs. Great!
- I adore Photoshop. It’s an obsession really. I spend hours just fiddling with images and learning how to do new things. I can watch Bert Monroy video podcasts for hours (and admittedly, I do). Alas, this doesn’t mean I’m at all… good at it. But one day, if I keep practicing! :)
- I went to Art School at the University of Michigan. I thought after high school that I wanted to be an architect. After all, what else would I do with my mad drafting skillz?? Who knew it would take nearly twelve years to measure up to Mike Brady level? So I moved on to Industrial Design. Six years later, and I was outta there… and I haven’t even looked for a job in the field. Not my thing. Ah well. One day I will have the loans paid off for the myriad lessons learned in those years.
- Disney. I can’t write a list of things about myself without mentioning Disney. (In fact I’m watching Enchanted as I type this.) In one of my very first forays into the online world I discovered FDC. The Future Disney Cabinet, an online role-playing community (in MUCK format) featuring Disney characters. I immediately signed up and played Archimedes (from The Sword in the Stone) for several years before FDC sort of faded away as the original members got caught up in “real life”. :) Luckily, we had become such a tight-knit group that many are still close friends both online and off. My life would have been very different without them.
- I miss the water. I consider myself a boater. After all, I grew up living on the waterfront (both addresses) and vacationing on a boat. I haven’t lived near the water since leaving home, and I miss it so much. I’m literally like a fish out of water. From the time I was 5 or 6 Dad promised me a sailboat when I turned 13. When I turned 12 he surprised me a year early with a sunfish, and I was in heaven. My goal is to one day live on the water again.
So there they are, 8 things. This got a little long, so I’ll leave it at that. :)
I’m not going to tag anyone else to do this, because almost every blog I follow has already been tagged by someone else. :) But if you’re reading this I encourage you to join in, simply beacause it’s fun! Here are the rules:
- Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
- People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules.
- At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names.
- Don’t forget to leave them a comment and tell them they’ve been tagged, and to read your blog.
Leave a comment if you’re going to join in, because I would love to read what you post. And enjoy!
Hi Nicole
Thanks for playing!
Sounds like you had a great childhood!
We didnt’ have a summer house on the water, but my Uncle had a cottage north of Montreal which we visited. It had a sand quarry, and paths through the woods to explore, and of course a small lake where I learned to fish and snorkel for lost treasure. Those were some of my best childhood memories.
I’m going to have to Google “Sugar Island”, I’m not sure where it is. Thought I suspect it’s not far from (snicker) THE SOO!
Friar,
Sounds like a tomboy’s dream that I’d have loved exploring as a kid. And yes, Sugar Island is directly between Sault, MI and Sault, Ontario. That’s actually Ontario off the end of our dock in the first picure there. More than a stone’s throw, but not by much. :)
Nicole
Nicole,
I am constantly amazed by how many people I meet have your #3 in common (I do, myself). I’m convinced that the whole computer industry happily has the masses convinced that it is rocket science.
(Rocket science itself is not that hard, nor is nuclear science, as Friar would attest. We only make it difficult.)
That is a very nice picture off the dock, by the way.
Hope you’re having a good day – Brett
@Nicole
At least you Michiganners “get it” and appreciate the beauty up where you live.
I’m surprised at how few people in this Ontario know about their own province. I know lots of people who have never seen Lake Superior (pretty hard to miss, eh?). I guess because it’s a 8-9 hour drive from any major city might have something to do with it.
As far as Toronto’c concerned, Huntsville is the End of the Planet. (Good…I hope they all stay down there!) But a few refugees might escape as far north as Killarney.
North Bay is considered the border of “Northern Ontario”, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s just “West”.
Any blackflies yet where you live? (They’re just startin’ here!)
.
Nicole,
Thank you for sharing all of this good information! I’m glad you had a good childhood, it sounds very special. I can relate to your #6 and oodles of loan money that needs to be paid. I do use the skills I learned, as you do, but not in the structured way that I was taught.
I am getting interested in Photoshop, thought I must say it is quite intimidating right now. Still on the lookout for magic busses!
I lived in Colorado for a brief period and really missed the water. Yeah, Michigan does grow on you.
@Friar – Blackflies suck (or gnats). Those are the juicy little black bugs with tiny wings. And then there are the other horrible bugs on the shores of Lake Superior facing north. We called them stable flies, and they resemble house flies, and their bite is horrible.
@Ellen
Today the blackflies are just starting to come out for the first time. Bloodsucking little bastards. (I’m scratching my head right now).
I know those stupid stable flies too. They bite around the bare ankles a lot, don’t they?
They say bugs are a sign of a healthy ecosystem.
Well, I can safely say Splat Creek’s ecosystem is very VERY HEALTHY.
@Friar – Stable flies are the nastiest things. As soon as the snow melted they were there, ready to munch on you, which was really sad because all you want to do is get outside after a long winter.
@Friar I’m living in Houston now, but I do miss Up North a lot (though only about 6 months of the year at most). ;) I’m guessing the flies are just now waking up for the year, and only on warm days. M&D still live on Sugar Island, but they’re snowbirds and move to Florida for several months in the winter, and I can’t say I blame them. The furthest into Ontario I’ve been is… well somewhere in the Trent Severn waterway. We took a boat trip through the first 3-4 locks one summer. Was VERY cool. One of the locks actually lifts your entire boat up out of the water over these crazy rocks! How cool is that?!
@Ellen Like Michigan, Photoshop grows on you too. Be careful or it will take up half of your free time. ;) I think I know those flies you’re talking about, and it feels like they take an actual bite out of you when they getcha. Ow! As I recall, they love to hang around hot black inner-tubes when you’re playing in the water. Bleh!
I found your blog when I was searching duck egg allergies. I had my first ever duck egg for breakfast this morning and had an immediate reaction with my tongue swelling and lots of nausea and sickness. I found it hard to believe I could be allergic to them and not hens eggs, so thanks for including that in your post. At least they are easy to avoid…
@michelle Wow, that is so odd! I’ve never known anyone else who was allergic and knew it! They make me violently ill. After eating them 3 or 4 days in a row (still not knowing what was causing the sickness, of course) I finally got so sick they brought me to the ER.
And yes, very easy to avoid! But I keep putting it on my medical records anyways, because I keep thinking in the back of my mind that it they’re so different from chicken eggs, then they could possibly be used in some type of medicine at some point. Doubtful I know, but why chance it? Besides, I like writing down duck eggs right along side dust mites and late blooming trees under “Allergies:”. :)