Random Tif

A long time ago, in a land far away, I was tagged by my pal Lindsay over at The Adams Family. Seems she's dying to know seven weird or random facts about me, and she wants me to share them with the greater public.

Now, anyone who knows me already fully understands that I am both weird and random. I have oddities about myself that can be quirky or annoying, depending on what mood you're in, and like any good Gemini, I can unfold a multitude of personalities on any given day.

But, because I like Lindsay an awful lot, I shall indulge her and share with you some of the facts and wonders that make Tif "Tif."

1. When I was 10, I wrote a story called "My Duplicate" that was entered by my fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Ciminero, in a local bookstore's writing contest. I won second place and a $25 (or was it $50?) savings bond. I felt like I was the literary genius of my time... or at least of the fourth grade. In case you're dying to know, the story was about the seems-to-be-cool idea to have a carbon copy of yourself in order to get out of things like school or chores...but then it turns into a bad idea when you also miss out on all the good stuff. Rather riveting, I know.
2. I have lived nine weeks of my life on the Ohio State Fair's grounds. For three consecutive years in high school ('94–'96), I was in either the All-Ohio State Fair Band (trumpet) or the All-Ohio State Fair Youth Choir (Alto II). I loved every minute of that hotter-than-Hades, greasy air quality, smells-like-candy-apple-dipped cattle, march miles a day, play/sing your brains out, fair romances rule, all-around fantastic life experience. If you've been to the Ohio State Fair and not dropped in on one of these two groups' FREE concerts, you're missing out. And if you've never been to the Ohio State Fair itself, shame on you! It's terrific. I'd be happy to be your tour guide...
3. I've sat on a tour bus and hung out with The Oak Ridge Boys (the "Elvira" band). Back in the day, I dated a boy who was in a family band (four boys, four-part harmony) that actually had a decent amount of talent. For a while, they pursued their dream of a record deal, and as result, opened for several has-been (but still popular) country bands both here and in Nashville. A perk of being the highschool sweetheart of the youngest of these brothers was that I was a lead roadie and got the back-stage access passes. Dang I felt cool.
4. I dislocated my elbow by jumping—and falling off—a pogo stick when I was eight. I was just hopping along in my standard hyper manner, pleased as punch, when all of the sudden I lost my balance and spiraled to the ground. Instinctively, I tried to catch myself with my arm. Instead, I popped the elbow joint of my left arm out of alignment. And though I tried to convince my mother that I was in unimaginable pain (and I was), it took a full 24 hours to convince her that she ought to take me to see a doctor. (In our house, you see, you had to be bleeding from your eyes before you were taken seriously. Even vomiting at school wasn't grounds for sympathy... just ask my sister.) I bet she felt a little silly when the second (or third?) doctor/clinic/hospital we went to in one day casted my arm and told my mom that if the cast didn't work, I would have to have surgery to insert pins in my elbow to heal the dislocation. See, children don't always embellish the truth!
5. When I really, really don't want to cry (say in public when it's maybe not an opportune time for waterworks), I think of the foulest swear words I know (probably not an impressive collection compared to the creativity of others I know) and say them as fiercely and loudly in my head as possible. Sometimes, it even works.
6. I love scary movies. I love scary books. I do not love the way I don't sleep after watching/reading said scary entertainment. And ever since I became a mother, my common sense level for "this is so unlikely to happen to me or my family that this movie is just silly" has dropped to negative levels. Watching or reading my beloved spooky tales is usually my undoing for at least a few days. Some scary movies, however, have stayed with me since childhood. For instance, I think I'll always be a little terrified that Freddy Krueger will get me in my dreams with his knife fingers (what a perfect horror movie scenario, by the way), and I have never actually said "Candyman" five times in a row in a mirror for fear that the ultra-freaky man and his deadly hook hand will apparate behind me. No, really, I'm serious. And I will personally harm anyone who tries to say it on my behalf (no joking around me when it comes to Candyman!). P.S. A special thank you to my BIL, Chris, for introducing me to the latter of my movie fears on a visit to Mount Union so many years ago. :)
   
7. I got to attend Pope John Paul II's funeral in Rome. It was totally by coincidence that I was there. I had the Rome trip scheduled (April 2005) to help facilitate a conference on "How to cover the death of the current pope/election of the future pope." This training event was not planned because of JP's passing, so it was with great irony that a few days before a group of 40 or so journalists gathered in Italy for the training event, the leader of the Vatican moved on to greener pastures. The day I flew into Rome was the day of the funeral. My boss and I grabbed a cab, dropped off our bags at our hotel, and whizzed right on down to Vatican City. We caught the tail end of the funeral, and it was amazing. The volume of people from all over the globe—crowded into the world's smallest country—was so moving and exhilarating. The feeling that we were part of history was palpable in every step we took to inch closer to the front of that giant Catholic church. It was something to remember.

So, I'm horrible at chain letters/e-mails/blogs, so I shall just post the picture below with encouragement for others to share their oddities. You know, it's good for the world to hear how random a person you are. It helps make other folks feel normal, and I personally consider that a form of community service.