Amanda tagged me. Blame her...
I can't rightly say I imagine there are seven things I can write about myself that would make a post that I'd be glad to keep around the next morning when I reread. So I've resolved not to reread it, and we'll leave it at that. Sadly, I guess most things people don't know about me are things they think they do know about me that aren't so. But I'll try not to get into all THAT, that would be pretty tiresome. Anyway...
1) I've traveled around to lots of places, it's true. But, I have NEVER seen the ocean, not in person. I've flown over it, and seen it out the window, that's true. I don't think that counts. I have to do seven of these, so, gimme a little slack.
2) I acted in the school play for four years, as well as the 1 act play competition at State Forensics for three years in Wisconsin. The only time I remember feeling as if someone was genuinely praising my acting, was in the hallway, after my first play - the Wizard of Oz, where I played a farmhand. It had begun to snow, and I, in typical fash, was being ridiculous, standing by the door in a great coat (I can't picture the coat, now, but I'm sure it was great), shouting something about tracting home through the winds and blizzards of Siberia. The next day my best friend mentioned that her parents had told her that if I acted with that much verve on stage, I would be a very talented actor. Needless to say, I never did. Unless you count my yipping like a dog. I did yip like a dog with great verve, but really, it's hard to do a chihuahua halfway.
3) I have called myself a writer, for the greater part of my life. As of today, however, I've only read one of my works in public, and immediately realized it was in horrible shape. I have submitted my work to a conference, once, in high school - I was signed up for it by an English teacher, and wrote the piece, a horrible pseudo-science essay, the night before it was due to be mailed in. It didn't go over well, either. In entirety, I have, I think, finished drafts of about 6 short stories over the course of my life. Poems, I could not count, but then, I never keep them, so they hardly DO count, and I write most of my poems like a high schooler - very quickly, and with the willful self-delusion that they are complete when I lift my pen. So, it's not like real writing. I have never finished a novel, though I can think of at least 7 that I've started.
4) I don't really remember most of Anna Karenina or War and Peace, despite having read both books, and repeatedly discussed my strong feelings about the former. I mean, I kind of remember it, I know she dies at the end...
5) I have only been involved in a face to face role playing game once (over the course of several weeks, but still). It was a Dungeons and Dragons, and ironically, it was at BYU, the gamemaster was a returned missionary. I played a 3 foot tall nixie (think, water pixie) who was the flighty courtier of a nymph (deceased, mind you), which I think baffled the other people in the group to no end - one was some sort of half-giant, desert fellow, and one was some sort of knight, and I think there was a thief, or something. I'm sure I looked a bit out of place, but I was the only one who spoke in character, at any point in time. It was actually kind of nice, and probably the only real camraderie I felt at BYU, except for number 7, below, but then one week, we were in some city or another, and the gamemaster decided, point blank, that I got lost. I asked why, being as of the three characters I was the only one who had a high intelligence or perception skill. The rather telling response was something along the lines of 'Dude, you're a girl, and you're roylalty. You're lost.' I kind of lost interest afterwards, I'd like to believe because my righteous indignation made me uncomfortable. Honestly, it was more because I was a miserable, lost kid, who was trying to say something with the character (though I'll be darned if I could tell you exactly what), and I just figured nobody understood what I was saying.
6) When I lost the spelling bee in 7th grade, on the word objection, I cried (I did know how to spell the word, too, which only made it worse). When I lost the geography bee in 2nd grade, I also cried. At that time in my life, I don't remember ever feeling so ashamed of myself, though of course I look back now and that seems an awfully banal thing to get angsty about...
7) At BYU, there are only four people who I remember thinking would remember me. One was my comparative literature teacher, and one of the students, a woman of about 45. I'm not sure why they took such a shining to me, except that it's the only class I really attended at all, and I pretended to be very knowledgeable in it, though I don't think I even read one of the required books. I walked home with the student one day, and talked for a good 20 minutes about some stupid lie about myself I'd made up, I don't even know which, now. When I stopped attending classes, the two of them showed up at my dorm, to tell me they were worried about me, and wanted to know if they coudl help at all. The third was a guy on my floor, a cheerful, friendly fellow who everybody knew, who one day just showed up in my bedroom, and sat on my bed and told me all about his family. His parents were in the midst of finishing up an ugly sounding divorce, and he was genuinely troubled and lonely, and needed a friend. I tried to be pleasant, but don't really remember anything except feeling anxious that he'd see that I wasn't really the nice fellow he apparently took me for. He finished talking and didn't really ask any questions, just sort of said 'Well, thanks,' and left. The last was a girl who was one of the other fellow's girlfriend, who, for some reason or another, I remember thinking she thought well of me. I think we were in the same ward (not that I attended more than one time). I remember, only, one image of her face, looking so terribly, terribly friendly, and listeny and kind. Sort of the way I always pictured the Virgin Mary, not dolorous and willowy, just friendly, and quiet looking and kind. I think the girls name was Danzel, the teacher had a CH in her name somewhere, otherwise I don't remember any of their names, at all. At least I can still picture their faces...
Apparently, I haven't gotten much better at being social - the only people I know who have blogs are already in this chain, and the only ones I know well enough that I know I could send this on would be my dear wife, who tagged me. Sorry :/.
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