"So tell me, what is it that you plan to do/ with your one wild and precious life?"
--Mary Oliver

Friday, January 30, 2009

25 random things about me

(I originally posted this on Facebook, but I wanted something semi-fun to post here today, so I thought I'd use this.)
1.I never liked poetry when I studied it in English class, but now I love reading it on my own. In fact, I'm becoming a poetry addict.
2. I closed my mom's eyes after she died. For some reason, this was--and still is--very important to me.
3. I was the last person in my class to learn to read, and 10 years later aced the PSAT verbal section. Perseverance does pay off!
4. I procrastinate terribly--not because I'm lazy, but because I'm afraid I'll screw everything up. Talk about self-fulfilling prophecies!
5. I think it is a disgrace that Pope John XXIII has not yet been canonized.
6. I took French in high school and college, and Spanish in college, and remember absolutely nothing of either. (edit 2012--I'm doing Rosetta Stone to try and relearn it all!)
7. When I was very little, I wanted to be both an astronaut and a ballerina. Simultaneously.
8. Yes, I really am a redhead. I'm partly Irish, after all.
9. I was engaged (to a millionaire's son, yet) before I met George and called it off when I realized I'd rather be alone by myself than alone with somebody else. Oh, am I ever glad I waited!
10. I've always wanted to be a writer, in addition to whatever else I do with my life.
11.I began a search for my birth mother last year. I haven't heard anything yet. (edit 2012--She is found, and we are very close!)
12. I feel a little disloyal to my mom for doing this, even though she always supported the idea and even offered to pay for it.
13. I make a mean homemade marinara sauce, with lots of onion and garlic.
14.I used to do lots of drawing with charcoal and pastels; I'd like to start doing it again, but for some reason I'm scared to. (Maybe I'm afraid I'll, well, suck.)
15.If I could do college over again, I'd major in history or English and philosophy, instead of political science and philosophy. And I'd take four years of Latin, for fun. Yes, fun. (edit 2012--or maybe I'd just do four years of both French and Spanish!)
16. Sometimes I feel as though I am strangely invisible.
17. I never minded being an only child, until both of my parents were gone.
18. I played varsity tennis in high school, and was also in choir and yearbook.
19. I feel very connected to both of my grandmothers, although my maternal grandma died long before I was born, and my paternal grandma died when I was 16--almost 25 years ago.
20. I have ultra-sensitive skin that requires more pampering than a baby's. Hair, too.
21. The only thing that REALLY makes my back feel better is massage and gentle yoga. And certain muscle relaxers, of course.
22. I would love to do freelance writing but have no idea how to begin.
23. One of the very best days of my life was the day I discovered that dark chocolate actually contains more antioxidants than green tea.
24.My biggest regret (aside from infertility) is that I was supposed to spend a college semester studying in London, which fell through when we couldn't come up with the extra cash, and then later I was supposed to spend a whole week over New Year's Eve staying in a friend's flat in Paris, only to wind up in the ER the night before my flight with a bad case of influenza.
25. When I was 30 I had surgery to correct a crooked jaw--my scoliosis made the lower part of my face grow unevenly.(edit 2012--I actually had three surgeries to correct the kyphosis and scoliosis in my back when I was 17 and a senior in high school.)

3 comments:

ROBERTA said...

9. someone is reading your blog! :)
looking forward to getting to know you!!

Barbara Marincel said...

Thanks Roberta--I checked out your blog, and I'm looking forward to getting to know you as well!

Anonymous said...

Barbara -- Great list!! So many interesting things. I have an MFA in poetry. And we share a love of writing, too. One of my all-time favorite poets is Wislawa Szymborska - do you know her? Look up 'Under One Small Star'.

Re: wanting to freelance write and not knowing where to begin: are you on LinkedIn? There are several great writers groups who are very vocal in sharing tips and advice. A good freelance writing blog is THE GOLDEN PENCIL.

Thanks for the birthday wishes. Today's the day -- I'm 41. Sure is fun to grow up when you're not in a PTSD fog anymore! :)