Seven Things You Don’t Need to Know about Me – A Meme
Dec 27th, 2008 by Cathy Nelson
Thanks to Lisa Thumann, I’ve been tagged for this meme. I need to reveal 7 things folks may not know about me. Here goes.
If I am wearing socks, they MUST exactly match my pants. I have had winter “britches” hang in my closet never to be worn before because I could not find the right color socks. Plaids are NO friend of mine.- I began my college experience working on a nursing degree. After one year I had a revelation (I could not deal with other people and injections, puke, blood, or guts) and took a semester off.
- I cannot stand peeling skin, and will pick it off, no matter where it is. I have to cover scabs with band-aids to let wounds heal completely. It’s an annoying issue I have.
I used the heimlich maneuver one time to help a student who was choking on a hotdog. It was during lunch, and teachers were required to eat with their classes. She sat not beside me but near me. I saw her do the classic symptom–grasp her throat with both hands and have a panicked look on her face. I calmly asked her if she was choking to which she vigorously shook her head in agreement. I stood up, stood her up, and calmly (well actually 3 times) executed the act. I then calmly threw away my lunch–the thought of eating after that was so unappealing. No hero’s thank you either–we were so calm and matter of fact, NO ONE seemed to notice, even though we were in a cafeteria filled with students.- My Dad was a chewing gum freak, ad so am I. My current vice is Extra Peppermint.
- I grew up in a large family (seven kids in all, I’m #5). My mother had the nearest grocery store memorized by aisle and would make a grocery list in absolute aisle order. She would take my sister and me (the one who was a year older than I) to the nearby Bi-Lo grocery store,
drop us off, and go back home to do other things. My sister and I would shop, getting exactly what was on the list. We even “ordered” our meats at the meat counter–back then very little meat was prepackaged. When we got to the bread aisle near the end, one of us would go out and use the pay phone to call home. My mom would then come back to pick us and the groceries up. She never came in the store. We had her checkbook with a signed check. Never once did we get anything that wasn’t on her list. The biggest laugh about that was that we had to buy ten loaves of bread to get our family through a week or so. So one buggy was ten loaves of bread and whatever else would not squish the bread. We began this weekly adventure when i was about ten years old. We continued doing it all the way through high school. - I rode in the car with Will Richardson back in January 2008 from a hotel to SLA at Educon 2.0. I rode with him b/c I thought I had missed my ride with Liz Davis, and he offered to let me ride with him and Ryan Bretag. Will drives a Prius. On the way he was stressing about wanting coffee really bad, so I told him where a nearby Dunkin Donuts and a convenience store were–side-by-side AND on the way. So away we took off the way I told him to go, me in the front riding shotgun and Ryan in the back. Will pulled right up the convenience store, threw the Prius into park and jumped out to go get his coffee. Meanwhile I’m freaking out b/c the car seems to still be moving, and I don’t know a THING about driving this car. I’m nervously screaming to Ryan “we are still moving, OMG we are still rolling!!” Ryan is saying “Let me out Cathy, let me out.” With this plea from Ryan I am convinced we are getting ready to roll into the car in front of us, and I’m about ready to jump out. Ryan says to me, “Cathy, you have to get me out, I can’t, the childlocks are engaged.” So of course now I’m convinced the car is definitely in motion, afterall, Ryan too wants to get out. I jump out to open his door, only to realize no, the car is NOT moving at all. I blush, and let Ryan out. (He just wanted to go inside and get a coffee or drink too, I have realized.) This is also when I figured out that when the car was thrown into park, the “motion” i felt after Will exited so hurriedly was nothing more than a rocking after effect of being thrown into park.
I’m not sure they even realized what my problem was. But to make a long story short, I did enjoy riding in his car. This summer my family decided I needed a more fuel efficient car as gas prices soared, and so I convinced my husband to let us get a Prius. I now LOVE this car. But I do tell passengers who may not be familiar with my car that when I go slow or come to a stop, the car reverts to a sort of “golf-cart” feel, and show them what I mean at the very first “stop.” I will never forget my utter fear the first time I rode in a Prius.
Okay so you really did not need to know these things, but they are really revealing about me and what makes me the way I am. Some are downright embarrassing. Whom to tag? Heather Loy, Shannon Dean Wham, Ann Oro, Alice Yucht, and Vicky Culbertson.
Image: ‘day 269 – knee socks!‘
www.flickr.com/photos/85447947@N00/1500525171
Image: ‘Groceries‘
www.flickr.com/photos/22735912@N00/484389060
Image: ‘Hot Dogs on a Bun‘
www.flickr.com/photos/26176646@N04/2632651360
www.flickr.com/photos/26176646@N04/2632651360
Great list Cathy – the grocery store thing is hilarious! I like your mom.
I was with Liz when we realized you had left the hotel, but I’ve yet to ride in a Prius. I take your warning very seriously.
The Heimlich Maneuver sends shivers down my spine. I performed it once for my wife after she had eaten a plum. I’m glad yours and my rescue efforts had happy endings.
@Lisa Thumann thanks for the tag, and oh so sorry about the “unmissed” ride. I’m sure I caused Liz some worry and confusion.
@Paul– yep that was one of my first year teacher memories too. 22 years ago. I have forever ran away form choking people–even handing my own boys to someone else to deal with the choking (great mothering skills, huh?) So it’s funny to realize how calm I was when I had to be.
I also did the Seven Things – not nearly as entertaining as yours! Sorry about your sock syndrome.
Hi Cathy,
Just so everyone knows, I didn’t actually forget you!
I remember that Prius story. I didn’t realize you ending up buying one. Nice ride.
The socks thing is hilarious!
Thanks for sharing.
-Liz
@LIz Oh yes–missing my ride with you that fateful day was totally my fault. Glad I did not miss my ride to the airport. And better that we left when we did, b/c I was able to get on an earlier flight home. Thanks Liz for taking care of me that weekend. I had a BLAST. Oh and yes, I probably should have my sock issue psycho-analyzed.
Your sock “issue” sounds perfectly normal to me!
[...] got tagged by Cathy Nelson to participate in the Seven Things You Don’t Need to Know About Me meme the other day (sorry [...]
Thanks for thinking of me Cathy. I’ve been offline for the last few days. I’ve actually had time to read a couple of books! Shocking! I’ve compiled my list if you want to go take a look. Nothing to exciting, just the only things I could think of right now.
These are always fun – especially around the holiday when there is time to play around. We have a Prius and a Camry Hybrid. They were the best car decisions we’ve ever made. I love the idea of helping people, but realized long ago that nursing or other bodily function jobs are not in my make up. My family has long ago learned this lesson when they are sick. My boys learned to run to the bathroom first and take care of things before getting me. I know, bad mom, but they’re no worse for the wear.
I wish I was as entertaining a writer. I had a good laugh.
Thanks for tagging me. I’ve enjoyed reading everyone’s thoughts. You, unknowingly, continually convince & encourage me to learn, stretch and grow! Happy New Year!
Cathy,
OMG I think your blog is moving … I know I am .. rolling on the floor. Thank GOD it was your imagination .. I was anticipating that the car rolled out onto the highway or something. Good thing that wasn’t the case. Thanks for sharing .. oh and sometimes I wear a dark blue and a black sock together .. and just keep my feet spread apart when seated!
Oh Frank—now I am ROFL! Thanks for visiting and leaving me a funny comment.
Great Blog. That was a great story about the grocery store. It seems your mom was super efficient and organized. The sock story is so funny and I loved the picture you used in that section.
Personally, I like to buy the same pair of shoes in different colors, so I have to known to accidently go to work wearing the same shoes but different colors.
Thanks so much for sharing. It is fun getting to know my Twitter contacts on a more personal level.