Seeing how my last two posts were quite serious, I wanted to take this week to provide some lighter entertainment for you. So, how about some fantastically fun facts about myself (along with my 5 fave photos I’ve ever taken)? Yah, I know people do these all the time but I promise I racked my brain to try and think of some truly off the wall and rarely known facts about myself. Consider this a gift from me to you.
Golden Gate Bridge - San Francisco, California
1) I was an actor on a children’s variety show…….in Saudi Arabia.
You read that right. My acting career (though short lived) started in the booming entertainment industry of 1980’s Saudi Arabia. When we lived there they had TWO channels, one in Arabic and the other (mostly) in English, except for the 5 times a day it would show the prayer calls or any official Saud Royal Family televised events. I don’t know how I ended up on this show but I had a huge hand in the selection, writing, and acting of the skits of this show called “Kids Corner”. We even filmed a segment in our backyard at one point. There was also a radio show and I would do interviews, commentary and readings with the adult who hosted. I never got paid despite multiple visits to the station and government agency but my dad went back to the country years later and saw the show was still running on one of the government channels (by then most folks had been introduced to satellite television). Best part though? I randomly met a local friend through the internet and we later discovered not only had we both lived in Saudi Arabia and attended the same school (at different times) BUT one day we realized she used to watch the show I was on. Just call me semi-quasi-famous. No autographs, please.
Empire State Building - NYC, New York
2) I have two recurring dreams. Running and dancing.
Calling all therapists in training – this one may interest you. I know most people have recurring dreams but I find it highly entertaining that mine happen at least once a month. When I dream I am running (which I don’t do in real life, by the way) it’s always super slow like I am running under water. I use my arms, I try to spin, I do all sorts of things to increase my speed but never seem to be able to. If it’s not the running dream, it’s the one where I am told by my dance teacher (yes, I used to dance but that was nearly 17 years ago) that I have to stand in for someone 5 minutes before going on stage. I don’t know the dance, don’t have a costume, and everyone expects me to do perfectly. Understandably, I don’t and I wake up in a complete panic. So, what do the therapists in the audience think of these? I already know I am wackadoodle in the noggin’ so get more creative than that with your theories.
Millenium Bridge - London, England
3) I once had the rabies series of shots.
When I was an obnoxious toddler (weren’t we all?), I decided it would be entertaining to tease a random street kitty I encountered at a wedding in Turkey. I would take a bite of a cookie, present it to the cat and then yank it away before kitty could get to it. Eventually, street kitty (who was more gangster than me) swiped my face, ripped my lip, and caught the cookie after I dropped it and proceeded to run away. No one caught the cat, so I had to go to the doctor for stitches and the rabies series of shots, which may be why I have such an affinity for passing out around needles. Imagine holding a toddler down for repeat visits of getting painful shots? My parents were in heaven (eye roll). Mom said for weeks after people kept showing up with cats they had bagged (alive) in the hopes they caught the one who hurt me and we could check if it had rabies. No luck. That cat is still out there being an O.G. of the Turkish Street Kitty Club, for sure.
Notre Dame Cathedral - Paris, France
4) I live in a surf town but only surfed once, for good reason.
Despite living in a beachside Florida town for a long time, I am a somewhat see through pale skinned redhead flanked in oodles of freckles. This means the sun and I are the best of friends and I cover myself in so much sunscreen I end up looking even whiter, which seems somehow impossible. My high school friend was shocked I had never surfed and insisted one day we get a lesson in. She scooped up her dad’s longboard and we hit the beach. She felt since there was a storm coming, it was a great day to learn. I now disagree. The great news is a longboard is like surfing a Cadillac – huge, steady, and like a boat on the water. Bad news was the waves were roiling, choppy, and the water super dark from the churning water. I managed to stand several times and “surf”. I then tried again, pushing my first-timers luck, and the board just disappeared from under me – one minute I was standing and the next I was mid-air and plummeted into the water. The angle I went in caused the board leash on my ankle to yank the board back towards me and hit me so hard in the side of my head I blacked out. My friend saw me go under, yanked me up, and then dragged me back to the beach. That was my last surf lesson ever. And no, my idiot high school self did not go to the doctor for my likely concussion.
Satellite Beach, Florida
5) I tap rhythms with my fingers. All the time.
Pay attention closely and you’ll see my fingers moving all the time tapping out beats or rhythms in my head. If they are occupied (pen, phone, keyboard), it doesn’t happen, but most often it’s when I am sitting, walking, trying to fall asleep – all the other times my hands aren’t doing something else. Maybe it’s a residual of my days when my specialty in dance was tap but all I know is it’s calming for me. My husband noticed it when I’d be falling asleep and he’d feel my fingers fluttering lightly on his back or arm. Calming for me – distracting for him. It used to be a lot worse when my anxiety wasn’t as controlled as it is now but I definitely catch myself doing it several times a day (maybe more because I don’t realize it). Or, if I’m feeling self-conscious someone can see my hands I move my toes or flex my calves in rhythm (yeah, I know this is so weird). I’ve tried to stop but old habits die hard. Plus, it’s not harming anyone so who cares really?
