Suddenly the Internet Feels Like Summer Camp

Time for a break in our less-than-regularly-scheduled programming. I have a list of blogs I really enjoy reading -- a very long list. I couldn't possibly read them every day, although there are a few, like Mary's blog, that I check almost daily. However, I do eventually visit them all. Imagine my surprise to visit DaMomma's blog today and see my name! Seems my cousin Susie posted a meme on her blog, and tagged me...and tagged DaMomma, too.

The Internet is beginning to feel a little like summer camp. Here I am in Japan, and I discover from my friend in Massachusetts (who I've never met in person, but for whom I designed and typeset DaBook) that my cousin in Wisconsin tagged me for a meme. Suddenly, we're not thousands of miles away from each other...it's as if we're all in the same cabin, whispering and giggling after lights out.

So, without further ado (or any more parenthetical remarks), here's the meme, via Susie and DaMomma.

The Rules:

• Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
• Share five random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.
  Share the five top places on your “want to see or want to see again” list.
• Tag a minimum of five random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment in their blog.

The Meme:

• I was tagged by SusieQ.
• Five Random/Weird Facts About Me:
• I was the wardrobe mistress for the Big Apple Circus and shared one of six "bunk rooms" in a semi-truck's trailer with a roommate. When one of us was standing, the other had to stay on her own bunk, as there wasn't room for two of us to stand at the same time.
• I have really surprisingly straight teeth naturally, no braces. For most of my life, dentists and hygenists have assumed I had braces and have been very surprised when I've told them I haven't. Of course, now, at almost 42 years old, it seems that one of my front teeth has decided to turn sideways just in the past year or so, and I may have to get braces after all!
• I don't particularly care for cake, just the frosting. If I could get away with it, I'd lick all the icing from cupcakes and leave the cake part.
• The best New Year's Eve I've ever spent was the year I was part of the overnight team for Room in the Inn. Area churches take turns providing meals and shelter for the homeless during the colder months, and teams of volunteers work the various shifts (set-up, cooking, clean-up, laundry, spending the night with the guests, etc.) That evening, I was one of the two "spend-the-night" crew for our downtown church. I escorted three of our guests to the front lawn of the church for a cigarette break and to watch the New Year's Eve fireworks. We watched the fireworks and the passing revelers, and talked for over an hour. I learned more that night about humanity, compassion, loss and grief than I'd ever known, just from talking to those three men. It was life changing.
• When I was in first grade, our school was still being constructed. A group of us went to the newest girls' lavatory. Before we left, we knew we were supposed to wash our hands, but there was no soap dispenser. I saw a large tin of soft, gooey, brown stuff. "It's soft soap!" I told the other little girls. "Just like Laura Ingalls Wilder used in the little house on the prairie!" They all nodded, impressed with my knowledge, and we all lathered up. It wasn't soft soap -- it was that disgusting waterproof stuff used to make a water-tight seal when installing a toilet. Getting the gunk off was a nightmare, and to this day, if my family thinks I am making something up or guessing with no real knowledge, they'll roll their eyes and say "yeah, soft soap!"
• Top five places I want to visit or visit again:
  • Greece
  • Prague
  • Peru
  • India
  • Space
• Tag at least five friends:
• Resident Alien (Mary)
• Ei's Eyes
• From the Planet of Janet
• I Left My Heart in Okinawa (cousin Emily)
• Rock the Cradle (Paula)

Now I have an inexplicable desire to make a lanyard, or sing a song with hand gestures while sitting on a log by a campfire...