100 Things

Yes, I know the 100 Things meme is SO yesterday. Everyone who's anyone has already done one. But coming up with 100 Things About Me is harder than it sounds. I started this list almost 5 months ago, on a 12-hour train ride to Kanyakumari, and it has taken me months to finish.

And yes, I realize that this is one of those narcissistic navel-gazing exercises. But hey - some would say that bloggers are by nature narcissistic. Why else would we hurl our every thought into cyberspace, for the world to snicker at? :o)

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, in a blogging context, a meme (pronounced meem) is a question, exercise, or idea, that is passed from blog to blog. (For a much broader meaning of the word, check here.) The 100 Things meme has been making the rounds of blogs for years. Here is my version.

100 Things About Me

1. I was born in Poland, and born again in Connecticut, California, Texas, New Zealand, New York, and India.
2. I love lists.
3. There are very few things that I'm afraid of.
4. I'm afraid of being underwater.
5. In trying to get over that fear, I've white-water rafted, black-water rafted, snorkeled, rowed, sailed, canoed, kayaked, and swam with dolphins.
6. I'm still terrified of being underwater.
7. I've taken swimming lessons numerous times, and in theory I can swim. But if you throw me in the deep end of a pool, I'm convinced I will die. (So please don't.)
8. I think it's because the Aries fire sign does not mix with water.
9. On the other hand, I will eagerly jump at the chance to engage in any air sport. So far, I have tried bungee jumping, parachuting, flying a Piper Cherokee plane, flying an ultralight, hot air ballooning, and parasailing.
10. I bungee jumped the day after I finished my Ph.D. dissertation.
11. Given the opportunity, I would travel to any place on earth. Yes, including Iraq and Afghanistan.
12. I did not vote for George Bush. But you know that already.
13. I used to be able to recite all 52 varieties of Dunkin' Donuts. The last time I was able to do that was in 1975.
14. I don't do relationships.
15. Sometimes I do crushes though.
16. I've worked as a janitor, au pair girl, Dunkin' Donuts hostess, teacher, secretary, typist, lab assistant, neuroscientist, dishwasher, and instructional designer.
17. I find dishwashing to be very satisfying work.
18. Contrary to what some people think, I like animals ok, I just don't want to live with them.
19. Same with men.
20. My favorite animals used to be storks. Then it was dolphins. Then sheep. Currently, it's camels.
21. I've had a cat, bird, and dog named after me. I'm not sure whether I should feel flattered or insulted.
22. I've lived on four continents and visited 19 countries.
23. In New Zealand, they used to call me Baaaaaasia, because I was in love with the sheep.
24. I've had 27 different addresses.
25. In New Zealand, I had a house in the woods with an outdoor bathtub under the pine trees. It was very secluded, so there was little chance of anyone stopping by unannounced. The only person who ever did that was a Jehovah's Witness, and I figure anyone who tries to convert me deserves what he gets.
26. I got my U.S. citizenship so that I'd be eligible to join the Peace Corps. Then, I never joined the Peace Corps.
27. Still may, someday.
28. I love Excel spreadsheets. Everything about my life is arranged in Excel spreadsheets. I should be a poster girl for Microsoft.
29. I love boxes too. Not just the cute, decorative souvenir type thingys. Any boxes, even plain old cardboard ones. Anything that helps contain chaos.
30. I've never understood why people are afraid of dying. Since no one knows for sure what happens, what's to be afraid of?
31. When I was in grade school, I wanted to be a secretary or a stewardess when I grew up.
32. I speak Polish, English, enough Spanish to understand, and 100 words of Tamil.
33. Sometimes I think in Polish.
34. I do a mean rooster call. I learned it on a midnight walk through the villages of Poland.
35. Walking in the snow makes me cry. In a good way.
36. I'm a vegetarian, but I don't eat enough vegetables. I eat too much junk food.
37. It's not a moral or ethical thing. It's a taste-bud thing - I can't stand the texture of meat.
38. Maybe I'm more of a carbohydratearian.
39. Once, I ate a chicken fried steak for $900. I had to put tapioca pudding on it to make it go down easy.
40. Someday, I'm going to bicycle across America. Probably solo.
41. I'm a feminist. Yes, we are still around.
42. A fortune teller once told me that I've had three past lives: a geisha girl, a fisherman living on a small island, and a guardsman in Holland. She said I was happiest as a fisherman.
43. Gee, I wonder why I wasn't happy as a geisha girl?!
44. I've worked with battered women in Texas, New Zealand, and Rochester.
45. Sadly, they are everywhere.
46. I adore Melissa Etheridge, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, and Ellen Degeneres.
47. Yes, I am.
48. I love to go to a city I've never been, grab my camera, and walk for 7 or 8 hours.
49. I'm probably the only person in America who has never been to a drive-in movie. I want to. Update: Done! Thanks Eva!
50. I'm not afraid of hard work.
51. One thing you could never accuse me of, is being a Princess. I come from hardy Polish peasant stock, and am proud of it.
52. What I find most distressing and horrifying about the world is the violence and hatred perpetuated by organized religions. All of them.
53. At least once in my life, I want to do New Year's Eve at Times Square.
54. Twenty years ago, for a split-second, I saw a fresh-faced, red-haired young woman on a bike path in Barton Springs, Austin. We never spoke, but for some reason, I think of her at least once a year. I don't know why.
55. Summer is my least favorite season.
56. I started this list on a long train ride to Kanyakumari, at the southern tip of India.
57. I've been in love. I checked it off my list of Things To Do At Least Once In My Life.
58. Yes, I really do have such a list. I started it as a teenager, when I read about this man's life list. But instead of getting shorter, my list just keeps getting longer.
59. Phones annoy me. Especially cell phones. Especially other people's cell phones.
60. I need to see a person's face when I talk to them.
61. I frequently remind myself that things are rarely as they appear. I'm always surprised how often that turns out to be true.
62. I had lasik surgery so I'd never have to wear glasses.
63. Then I got old, and now I have to wear the other kind of glasses.
64. My three sisters and I all have the same chin and teeth.
65. In my next life I want to be a figure skater.
66. I've only ever had one broken bone, from a bicycle accident. Knock on wood.
67. When I was 15, I won a $500 bond for selling seed packets door-to-door and writing an essay about why I loved doing it.
68. I don't have a middle name. All my sisters do. The official explanation was that I was very sick when I was born, and they had to baptize me quickly because doctors didn't know how long I would live. I'm not buying that. During 9 months of pregnancy, they couldn't come up with a middle name??? :o)
69. I don't remember much before age 9.
70. My first memory when we moved to the U.S. was on the train from Canada taking us to our new home in Connecticut, being fascinated by a little girl's corn row braids. I had never seen them before.
71. I remember the first potato chip I ever ate. I was 9.
72. I love potatoes. Chips. Fries. Spicy-ass. Mashed. Baked. Latkes. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.
73. It's a Polish thing.
74. I can't say the words "puss-in-boots." Go ahead, laugh.
75. I love the word "embouteillage." It's a French word referring to a kind of traffic jam where no one can move unless someone else makes a move first, so everyone is stuck. It often comes to mind as I sit in the traffic jams of Chennai, India.
76. I think that people should have serial careers.
77. I like to cook only when I'm feeling inspired.
78. Cold weather recharges me.
79. What I love most about my Rochester home is the fireplace.
80. Lily-of-the-valley makes me think of my mother.
81. I'm a firm believer in the mind-body connection.
82. I will try almost anything once.
83. Except food. I'm not adventurous when it comes to food.
84. I collect experiences.
85. I used to collect stamps, coins, postcards, and numerous other things.
86. Family legend has it that when I was little I used to collect pebbles in our yard, and organize them by size and shape.
87. I never have the TV on as background noise.
88. I have almost as many letters behind my name, as in my name.
89. I'm usually a penny pincher, with my own money or anyone else's. Except when it comes to travel, then I happily pay whatever it takes.
90. With all the traveling I've done, I've never seen the Grand Canyon. Update: Done!
91. I rarely watch the same movie twice. Or reruns of TV shows, for that matter.
92. I skipped third grade. I've always wondered what happens there.
93. I'm allergic to mouse urine; I break out in a rash. Don't ask. (It's an ex-scientist thing).
94. I've been told my expectations are too high.
95. I hate being late. I hate it even more when I'm late, than when others are late.
96. I'm impatient with people who won't cut to the chase.
97. I am an agnostic. I figure if there is no god, it won't matter. And if there is, she/he/it will understand my skepticism.
98. I applied for Survivor once. They didn't want me.
99. I completed the Hotter Than Hell Hundred. And yes, it was.
100. What would make my life better: an instant travel machine so I could flit about the globe without wasting time on a plane.

Comments

[your sister]

It's the next best thing to having you in person!

[Sharon from CT]

You could make another list for us to read!! I'm still amazed at the transformation you've made from freshman year to one of the wickedly, funniest people I know!! You still crack me up. And what's great is your wit travels with you everywhere...for free! Thanks for entertaining me all these years...I may make up my own list but I'm not sure it'd be as amusing. So keep writing..........I'll keep laughing. Sharon

[Basia]

Hey! WHICH sister? There are three of you, you know! Do I need to call in Nancy Drew? :o)

[Vijay]

''And yes, I realize that this is one of those narcissistic navel-gazing exercises. But hey - some would say that bloggers are by nature narcissistic.''

LOL. That, specifically the reference to narcissism, reminded me of this (on a lighter vein, of course):

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=banish

Haven't yet read the 100 things; shall post back later.

[Gość]

Fantastyczny Basia, I dont have the habit of reading books/articles or anything for that matter, but you've made me a read. I read almost all your blogs whenever they get posted.

and to this one, you forgot 101 - > which is your BLOG . you see 101 is very superstitious for (most of)us Indians. This is because, nothing should stop at hundred or any whole figure. We always feel that everything should continue/grow. Even when we gift people with Cash, we give them Rs 51, Rs 101 or Rs 1001......

So Please goahead and add one more to your 100 things about you.... Donot Stop ... Please continue...

[shannon clubb]

I love it- you have had my mind in a tisey- I should do one of these things...even if to just read at my funeral someday- "the things you thought you knew about Shannon , but not really" Then there would be the 100 list of things I don;t want anyone to know about!!!!!

[Basia]

Gość: Glad to know I made a reader out of you! (And nice job with the Polish, by the way, especially the little accents!) And, consider it done - your suggestion will be item #101 on this list. Although, I was dismayed to learn that Indians are superstitious about round numbers - because that means I've committed several faux pas in the gift certificates I've given as marriage gifts over the years, all of which were for a nice round number... :o(

Shannon: Yes, you should do one of these things (especially the one of things you don't want anyone to know about...) Don't make me wait til your funeral to read it, either.

I've always thought this exercise would be interesting to do for little kids too - maybe you should try it with your little ones?

Sharon and Gość: Right after I made this list, I come up with at least a dozen other items I wished I'd included. So, I think this will be the start of the Next 100 list, to be published sometime in the future. Stay tuned-

Vijay: Now there is a nasty man I would not want to be stuck with on a deserted island! (Not you, just the link you posted.) I agree with him on one thing though - WHY do people design their web sites for imaginary viewers with 640 x 480 resolution?? Interesting what his Wikipedia bio has to say about him. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Best_Page_in_the_Universe

[Vijay]

Oh!! Should've expected this guy to have been so 'popular' as to have a wikipedia entry!

And Basia, the page to which that link you provided points has been removed, I guess. So, I'm still clueless regarding what the bio had to say about him. (The curious cat in me purrs!) :)

[Basia]

Vijay - try this one. I somehow got an extra space in the other one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Best_Page_in_the_Universe

[Wanda Skłodowska]

Hej! Dzisiaj przecztyałam 100 things about you, moje wspomnienia o tobie sa troche inne, ale bylam wtedy tylko mala dziewczynka. Do rodzinnych historii dorzucilabym i ta o jedzeniu rosolu. Bardzo podobaja mi sie twoje zdjecia i imponuje mi twoja odwaga i optymizm. Najbardziej zas zadziwilo mnie, ze czasem myslisz po polsku. Ja tez jestem baranem i do 45 roku zycia nie umialam plywac. Dopiero 3 lata temu moja przyjaciolka sprawila, ze umiem juz to robic. Zaluje, ze w jakis dziwny sposob nie spotkalysmy sie gdy bylam juz dorosla. Pozdrawiam Wanda!

[Basia]

Wanda!! Czesc. Witam do blogu. Bardze mnie interesuje, jakie sa twoje spomnienia o mnie? I co to jest o rosolu?? Nic o tym nie pamietam!

[wanda]

Cześć Basiu! Jestem chyba jedyna osobą, która pisze po polsku.W mojej rodzinie mówiło się o Tobie, że jesteś mniej kontaktowa niż Danusia,że jesteś typem introwertyczki.Kto to mówił? Tego nie pamiętam,może babcia Broncia,może ciocia Kostrowa, a może mój ojciec? Tylko, że teraz gdy Cię czytam,to myslę, że jesteś całkiem inna.I kontaktowa i zdecydowanie nie introwertyczka.Historia o rosole była taka,że strasznie nie lubiłaś go jeść,a rodzice zmuszali Cię (w trosce o Twoje zdrowie)i zawsze było z tym zmieszanie.Rosół to rodzaj zupy popularny w Polsce i ponoć bardzo zdrowy.

Miło mi, że się odezwałaś.Pozdrawiam - Wanda Skłodowska

[deepbits]

Hey Basia, I had fun reading your blog and 100 best things after a tough & boring week! Needed some change and got it here. Feel recharged... Sometimes, our mundane lives just need that little spurring on to make us feel good again. You are a very interesting person. 2 questions - First one, You are a doctorate and now you are into travelling... why did you study so hard then? Second one, what kind of training do you do?
Cheers
Deepbits

[Basia]

deepbits: Why did I study so hard? I guess because I'm a perpetual student. If I was independently wealthy, I would probably just spend all my time learning. So I have no regrets about working hard for my PhD. The world is so full of so many interesting things - I think it's perfectly ok to have shifting interests. Regarding the kind of training I do - at the time that I wrote that blog post, I was training instructional designers on how to write courseware on IT-related topics.

[KellyZ]

Basia, This list is so inspiring...I love it. And I can vouch for #28 haha. I have never had the patience to read blogs yet I find yours so engaging.

[Basia]

Thanks Kelly! And yes, no doubt you are quite familiar with my #28 obsession during our last project...