Thursday, November 27, 2008

Six things you may not know about me

I've been tagged by my friend Laura at The Grape Journal who has asked me to list six things you may not know about me. I don't usually do these sorts of tag things, but I love The Laura so I'll do it for her.

1. Well, Laura mentioned she doesn't watch ER because it freaks her out. I, on the other hand, love medical shows and would cheerfully sit down with a bowl of popcorn and watch an autopsy because I like knowing what the body is all about. I have watched every episode of ER since it first aired, and it paid off, as fate would have it. Years ago, when Doug's knee popped out of joint in the middle of the night and he was writhing in agony, I grabbed his ankle and calf with both hands, leaned back, and popped his knee back into place. He had instant relief, and asked how it was I knew what to do. I said I'd seen it on ER. Thanks, Dr. Mark Green.

2. I have met, and had a conversation with both Princess Diana and Michael Jackson, but not on the same day.

3. People think of me as very outgoing and social when in fact I'm anything but. Given my druthers, I prefer to be alone with a good book. Paradoxically, I also like to have people nearby as opposed to me living alone in a cabin, which is why I've enjoyed being in the heart of a bustling city like New York or London or Paris or even (whispering) Toronto. I think this misconception of me as gregarious stems from from the fact that I tend to babble when I'm in a crowd, which is more out of nervousness than anything else. To quote Mike Myers, I'm a "site specific extrovert" in other words, I rise to the occasion. I do, however, also have the reputation of getting people to open up and reveal their most intimate secrets, often within minutes of meeting me, to their surprise and mine. To quote Geoffrey Rush, "It's a mystery."

4. One of my favourite desserts is creme caramel. I had it every day for two weeks while on our honeymoon in Paris. I was also pregnant and didn't know it (which explained the cravings for Snickers Bars and olives eaten together.) I brought home our baby exactly nine months to the day we married, which the nurses thought was high-larious.

5. I've never been able to wear anything but natural fabrics - silk, cotton or wool. Putting me in anything synthetic produces a meltdown of epic proportions. I'm shuddering just thinking about it.

6. I've always wanted to fly. Not in a plane, but actually fly like a bird. I jumped off the roof of our house not once but twice when I was a kid. The first time was with a homemade parachute made of garbage bags, and the second time was with the patio umbrella. Neither attempt brought satisfactory results.

I now tag:

Bush Babe (because I'm curious) (okay, nosey)

kc dyer at leftwriter (because I know it annoys her)

Lottery Girl (because she's been offline lately and I miss her)

5 comments:

BB said...

Geez woman. We are like TOTALLY twins. It's almost freaky. How old are you again? Don't answer that!

Perhaps I was a frozen embryo for a bit? Before they invented frozen embryos...

I have done something that will make you soooo jealous! (Re: flying!). But you'll have to wait til I get my head around this list.

Hugs
BB

BB said...

Um. Princess Di and Michael Jackson? Really? Now THAT I haven't done...

More info please!!!

A Novel Woman said...

BB, if it involves hang-gliding, I am jealous already.

As for details....I met Princess Diana and Prince Charles at a BBQ in Ottawa when they were here on an official visit. She was sad and quiet and at one point, ran to the Portable Outhouses set up for the plebs, which sent security scrambling. He was flirty and whispered a couple of jokes in my ear, one of which involved eating beaver. I kid you not. I have some photos but they're buried in my laundry room.

Michael Jackson was just wandering around the CNE grounds (a large, annual exhibition held in Toronto) before he and his brothers were due to give a concert. I would have been twelve or thirteen, so he was ten or eleven at the time. We talked just like a couple of excited kids on the midway would do, and I got his autograph and a photo, both of which are long gone.

Laura Bradbury said...

Dear Pam,

I promise I won't be tagging you every week, but I did in this instance because I really DID want to find out the secrets of The Novel Woman. I was not disappointed! Princess Di and Michael Jackson and a wedding baby...wow.

I particularly relate to Secret #3which is a very apt description of me and my two sided nature as well. Very eloquently put, BTW.

And it's very handy to have a friend who can pop a knee back in place in the middle of the night. If that happened to Franck I would just lie there beside him thinking, "gee, my knee is feeling a little funny too..."

Bisous xo

Laura

A Novel Woman said...

Laura, I think a lot of writers feel.... not anti-social exactly, but they crave time alone to commune with the people in their heads.

And you describing how you'd react to Franck's knee made me howl!

You know there's a part two to that knee story. It happened another day when Doug had been out shoveling snow. He came in the front door, peeled off his shirt because he was sweating, and then his knee went out. At that moment, the next door neighbour came by with a key for her son, and saw Doug in agony in the foyer. She's an ER nurse, so she knew what to do. She is also a tiny woman, so she got down on her knees in front of Doug and started pulling on his leg. He towered above her, sweating and bare-chested like a suburban Fabio just as Spy Lady, directly across the street, looked over from her front door.

And a new tale was spun on the street.