Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Gade is Weird

Tagged by Suze:

Before beginning (again) I want to rant about my work computer which freezes every single day. And freezes to the point that you have to manually reset it, because even hitting ctl-alt-delete or the off button is not an option. Anyway, today it chose to freeze on me after I had surprised myself with my wit answering 1-3, but before I had saved it....bollocks.

Six Weird Things About Me:

1. I have a mortal fear of being stopped in a car on railroad tracks. Unfortunately, crossing multiple railroad tracks is a necessity between our house and my work, our house and Talia's work, my work and Talia's work, and going just about anywhere else. Last week as I was approaching the intersection (which, even though it falls a good 1/4 mile from the railroad tracks usually has cars backed up to, and beyond the tracks), I did my normal check to see if the light was green, and if I could make it across the tracks without having to stop on them. Confident that the cars were moving, I proceeded to drive over the tracks, but just as I was smack in the center of the tracks, the traffic movement stopped. I was caught there for at least 30 looong seconds, but had mapped out an escape route within 2 seconds in the event that a train would come barreling down the tracks toward me. That 30 seconds on the tracks was not a good way to start my day...

2. Every time I go to Kansas to visit, I get an insatiable urge to be naked in the fields surrounding my parent's house. I think it is directly linked to my Bethel years when it was not uncommon to find naked people on the soccer field by night. I remember quite vividly doing naked Sun Salutations, and Steph (and perhaps Suze) I do believe your husband was a part, if not the genius instigator, of this. Let me just say that lack of clothing while laying face down in course grass does not lead to future pleasantness. But I must say, that there is nothing quite like the Kansas wind blowing across your naked skin added to the thrill of being able to see the Kansas countryside in all directions. (The con to this is that you, too, can be seen from miles away in all directions...not that there ever is anyone within miles to see you out in Goessel, Ks...)

3. Onions of all types make me high, and not a good kind of high. Cooked, raw, whatever, eating onions gives me a feeling not unlike the nasty medicine-head you get from over-the-counter cold medicine. First, my head feels disconnected from my body. Next, I get dry-mouth and can't get enough water, then I get uncontrollably sleepy. No matter where I am, I'll fall into a dead sleep that lasts a minute or two if I'm in class or at work, or can last up to a 1/2 hour if I'm at home. Nothing, not even copious amounts of caffeine can stave off onion sleep.

4. When I get really anxious about things in my life it directly translates into my dreaming. I know that this also happens to a large part of the population, but I tend to have two different types of dreams. The most common is being in a bathroom, but being unable to pee. As a sufferer of pee-shyness this causes me great anxiety both in the states of awakeness and sleep. This dream can travel from bathroom to bathroom during the night, or can loop around in the same bathroom. The second type of dream oscillates between forgetting my uniform or shoes for a HS basketball game, or forgetting to go to class/forgetting to do class-work, also in HS. Small-town HS does haunt you...maybe that's why Kansas makes me want to rip off my clothes.

5. My primary way of getting around in Berkeley (besides walking) was on a Razor Scooter. I got a silver and green one when my red one broke in half while I was on it. Not the safest choice when everything is steeply down-hill, but damn it was fast. I could make it to the BART in 5 min flat, when it took a good 15-20 min walking. That was if all went well and I didn't wipe out. One memorable morning I got going down Arch St (which is very steep), and I suddenly realized that it had rained the night before making the street slick, and my brake inoperable. I had to make a split-second choice of barreling through the morning traffic at the Hearst St./Arch St/LaConte St intersection (Hearst is a very busy street running along UC Berkeley), or throw myself off the scooter in hopes that I could save my lap-top I was carrying in my backpack. I threw myself off to the side and ended up with two huge holes in my new jeans, not to mention what I did to my knees and hands. My lap-top did come out unscathed, as did my scooter...You should have seen what happened to me the first time I took my skateboard down Arch...ouch. Somehow all the training you get around how to fall doesn't apply when on a scooter is involved.

6. Not many people can claim to legally be both male and female.