8 Things Meme

Usually, I don't do memes.

But I have been so tagged. Kay, Andrea, and now Ruth. Three of my fave bloggers. So, I am going to do it.

1. Let others know who tagged you.

2. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.

3. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.

4. Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been tagged.



1. I hate cooking, so I don't do it. If you define cooking as a meal beyond cereal, heating prepared food, or perhaps a salad, I can't remember the last time I actually "cooked" for myself. I do nuke pre-prepared food. The irony is that I LOVE good food; I take great pleasure in delicacy, complexity, presentation, new and rare ingredients, good old ingredients.... I am as excited about hole-in-the- wall but awesome food places as I am about gourmet 5 star restaurants. I even like chopping vegetables into evenly sized pieces (when my hands allow). I just hate and am terrible at the cooking bit. Sorry, Andrea, this is why I can't do the mutant version. I don't HAVE any recipes.

2. I don't drink beer or spirits. The beer thing comes from my first year at university. My parents tried the "responsible" alcohol policy while I was growing up, but I didn't drink to be seen drinking, if you see what I mean. I partied because I wanted to fit in and have friends. Vulnerability to peer pressure and social awkwardness can't be fixed by prohibiting kids from stuff. And now, even the smell of the stuff makes me feel sick. I do drink wine, though.

3. I have been pulled out of a train by the East German border guards. It was just after the wall came down. My friend and I were on our "year abroad" in Germany. The West German news said that anyone could come and go across the border. The East German police said that that applied only to Germans (looking directly at my friend). Africans were trouble. I pulled out my British passport. That made things even more complicated. We were taken to a tiny room, and the police took our passports away. In the meantime, the train had been delayed, and some of the passengers had disembarked. Our story had spread quickly; we could hear shouting from in our room, but had no idea what it was about. The guards asked us a number of questions. Then, they left. They came back with more questions; they left again. We were absolutely terrified. It wasn't clear to us what on earth was happening.

When they finally returned, they demanded 200 West Deutsch Marks for a visa. That was a LOT of money -- particularly since the East German Mark was worth so little. We suspected that we were being scammed, but there was nothing we could do about it. My friend and I had about 250 DM on us, each; we turned it over. To our surprise, the shouting had been about us. The other passengers who had seen and understood what had happened were arguing with the guards. We should be allowed to cross the border! They had disembarked in protest. No one was going anywhere, it seemed, until we were returned to the train. With a shout of protest, people reboarded, and we were on our way. At this point, however, my friend and I didn't have enough money for hostels or anything; people responded by opening their homes to us. It was quite a trip.

4. I have a really sensitive sense of smell. I hate it when I smell; I hate the idea that I might have bad breath. I worry about that a lot -- I don't want to think of myself as breathing gusts of nastiness onto my colleagues. I hate the smell of cat pee (which I can detect but not remove). I hate the smell of laundry when it has been wet for too long or when it isn't properly dry. I hate the smell of secondhand garlic and secondhand beer. I hate Polo, with a vengeance. I love the smell of the city.

5. I have some seriously wild shoes. I am currently on a quest for a pair of thigh high blue suede boots. All info appreciated.

6. I get car sick (still, but thankfully not every day). I get boat sick. I can't do heights or edges. I occasionally get plane sick -- this is bad because I travel a LOT.

7. I have a portwine birthmark on my heel. Apparently, I also had a different type of one on my face, too, just after I was born; it would show up particularly when I was angry. It seems to have faded with time.

8. I am a time freak. I hate being late. I don't mind too much when others are late -- unless it's Wizard. He is chronically and permanently late. It drives me up the wall. I hate scheduling stuff and using a calendar. It stresses me out. I am useless at keeping the time zones distinct. I hate saying no to something and am always double and triple scheduling myself. Then, I feel bad, and I have made the situation 100x worse.

Not tagging anyone -- the chain mail thing -- but if you feel tagged ....