10 Things I Know About Me
- Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
- The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
- Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain
- Room with a View - E.M. Forster
- In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
- Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
- The Twelve Caesars - Tacitus
- A Passage to India - E.M. Forster
- The Autobiography of Malcolm X - Malcolm X
I'm not sure if my selection means anything. But there is not a book on that list that I didn't enjoy, so that's positive!
2. I've discovered/realised, after it was pointed out to me by a (relatively) new friend that I have the ability to make people laugh. Sometimes this is achieved by poking fun at other people, sometimes at myself. I don't feel guilty about poking fun at other people. I figure my karma will probably being locked in a room with Benny Hill in whatever kind of afterlife there is.
3. I hate shoe-shopping. I like shoes, I just don't like the time and effort involved in trying on several pairs in ten different shops. I blame my mother. She hates it too, and I suspect it is genetic. I think this problem would be solved (as so many would) by an unlimited income.
4. I'm not sure if I want to have another child. Some days yes, some days no. It's fair to say that I didn't cope particularly well with the early days of motherhood.
5. Once I had the unfortunate experience of being slapped down very harshly in a public forum by some one who has a lot more authority than me. It really hurt, it still hurts, and I don't think I'll ever get over it (NB it wasn't the cause/corrs guy).
6. I am always very very pleased when people enjoy my recommendations: the most recent example of which is my sister's delight in San Sebastian, a little town on "the Spanish Riviera".
7. I often think twice about blogging about particular subjects on the basis that people might figure out whom I am in "real life". To the best of my knowledge, only a couple of people who know me offline read this blog, and I may tell more people about it as I'm leaving town as a means of keeping in touch...haven't quite decided about that yet.
8. I don't particularly like Michael Jackson, but I am a sucker for 'Can you feel it?' by the Jackson Five. I think it's the high-disco combination of string section and cheesy guitar riff. Also my friend J. and I agreed many years ago, "bells make everything funky" - many an irredeemable song has been vastly improved by the judicious use of a cowbell or three.
9. Like Ms Batville, my favourite colour is purple.
10. Despite my excitement about moving and starting a new job I am pretty scared about finding somewhere decent to live and the upheaval that this kind of move involves.
GW
posted by gigglewick at
12:40 pm
10 Comments:
I hate shoe shopping too. I think it actually has to do with having to take off your shoes in a shop. But lucky for me, my sister is the same size as I am, and she doesn't mind shoe shopping so I just would borrow her shoes and then forget to give them back. Now she lives a bit too far away for me to do that, so when I visit her I like to take her shoe shopping and then buy five of whatever she picks.
I'm also a sucker for that song - it was on the Jane Fonda workout album that my Mother had, if i recall correctly.
I'm sad to hear you got slapped down - I've had it happen to me a few times too. In fact I've been banned from a forum or two, without any decent reason. But hey, blogs are better I think, nobody has any power over you with a blog like they do in a forum..
That was interesting. I was a bit more..um..literal in my answers. I'm with you on the shoe shopping; one day I hope to employ someone with the same size feet and make them go and buy me lots of lovely, lovely shoes. Imagine!
Hello!
What size shoes are you (both)? I am always up for such a task as shoe shopping! Although I think being in a different hemisphere may put me at a disadvantage... tsk!
Excuse me if I don't talk about shoes.
“I am always very very pleased when people enjoy my recommendations” I read the Lakoff and I did find it very interesting. His theory that the current success of the conservatives is due to their better understanding of neuro-linguistics is fun stuff.
Moving to another town may not be fun stuff. It takes courage so good on you.
Actually I thought a little more on this and then realised, hey, I did that move thing not long ago to a new town - in fact to a new state.. So here's a couple of little tips that may help.
1. realestate.com.au is your friend. I don't know where precisely you are moving to, but they have a lot of the places for rent/sale up there. They also do an email alert thing, you can pick which suburbs and it emails you daily if there are new listings there - means you can often get the jump start on other people. I still have this going for the suburb I live in now as well as two nearby suburbs, just cos I like it.
2. If you're going to rent, drop into the larger real estate places next time you're in town and grab the forms you need to fill in to apply for a property with them. This way you can fill out all that shyte in a spare moment instead of in a blind panic while three other people are wandering about the house you desperately want.
3. If it's not a town you know, visit the local police station and ask those guys which suburb they currently live in, and which suburb they would like to live in given the chance. The police are often happy to give you a surprising amount of info which is most useful. You can also do this with any local you meet (even the check out chicks/blokes) and you'll soon find out the places to steer well clear of. ;)
4. Seems like you already know about the to-do lists. These are hugely useful. ;)
5. The whole box thing. Don't waste your time trying to get them for free, bite the bullet and buy them from your local storage place. It's worth it - your stuff is worth it too.
Just one other thing re point 7 - it might be a good idea to try something in between. You can have as many blogs as you want on blogger, why not consider making yourself a new ID and a new blog specifically to give to the people you want to stay in touch with. If later down the track you find it's ok and you're happy to let them know about this blog, you can just link them to it and then they can all find you. It's tough to make that decision in the midst of all the moving shyte, I think.
Before you main case you haven't already found it, read the blog 'girl with a one track mind' who blogged openly and never expected the british tabloids to out her when she released a book.
http://girlwithaonetrackmind.blogspot.com/
2. You have been making me laugh a lot and frequently for a coupel of months now
4. Entirely up to you, but may I say that the second child is way easier to cope with that the first one.
8. Bells absolutely make everything funky. This explains the success of both Mike Oldfield and Collette.
10. Good luck with the move. Been there, done that, but I don't think I can add anything to Snoskred's excellent advice, except perhaps to advise you to steer clear of local community singing groups
Snoskred,
Thank you so much for your helpful advice. I have been a little bit fortunate in that
a) my new work is paying some of my relocation costs and
b) I kind of know the town I'm moving to.
That hasn't made it a whole lot easier the first day of house-hunting, but being familiar with a place does help.
Polly
Me too. Perhaps it is
Welsherella....no, she lives in the Northern hemisphere, that might be a problem.
Harpo: glad you enjoyed the Lakoff. As I said, it's a bit of a lefty tome* these days and I really enjoy the deconstruction of the politics of language, first brought to my attention by the picking apart of "clean coal" during a couple of episodes of The West Wing.
INCraig,
Thank you for your kind words. I tend to agree with you re (4), but as I said, different days bring different thoughts.
(8) and TISM (SACRILEGE!!!)
(10) No community singing groups? How about local jazz-dance for older women?
* I almost said "bible", but the last time I saw Frank Brennan he was quoting liberally from it, and I'm sure it's not an analogy he'd like. Not that I would organise my life to make it more amenable to Frank Brennan, I think he and I quite often disagree. Hang on, this is turning into a rant, I'd best halt it right here. Ah....that's better.
Ooh, nice reading list. It almost looks as though you've signed up for English in first year at uni ;) What's next? What's next? For God's sake, keep away from Thomas Hardy!
I don't like shoe shopping either. It gives me nothing but grief. But then I'm not what you'd call a shoe girl. Actually, I don't like shopping at all, unless it's for books.
Redcap,
Doesn't it though? Sadly not - with my years of post-uni experience now I reckon I could be one of those really annoying mature-age students that all the teenagers hate.
I had actually read about half of the list before although am having a very different experience of them 12 years down the track (as also freakishly pointed out by Jennifer Byrne on 'Book Club' this week)
Next in my literature revival is probably Huckleberry Finn, it's been a while since I read it and as you rightly point out the list above is very heavy on pre-20th century English literature. Also before the mindless consumption of classics began I read 'March' by Geraldine Brooks which has put me back to thinking about the American Civil War and ante-bellum politics - Huck Finn the obvious choice there.
I'm just enjoying wandering the shelves of second-hand bookstores and happening upon $3 battered copies of classics - there's nothing like a book that has been well-read and well-loved.
I love Huckleberry Finn. It's so much more satirical than Tom Sawyer. And if you haven't already read it (or even if you have), Cold Mountain would be a nice companion for March.
I have to admit to having a bit of a problem with second-hand books. I know I shouldn't, and I keep trying to get over it, but every time I pick one up and think, "Time to get over the phobia," there's a squashed moth or something that looks like a piece of mummified bacon between the pages. I just finished reading A Book Addict's Treasury and it had a lovely little quote about second-hand books that cracked me up: "Not everyone likes used books. The smears, smudges, underlinings and ossified toast scintillae left by their previous owners may strike daintier readersas a little icky, like second-hand underwear." It's the ossified toast scintillae that does it every time!
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