Saturday, February 26, 2011

Stylish, moi?



Little Blue Mouse has bestowed upon me a Stylish Blogger Award, for which I thank her warmly! So here's what I need to do:

1.  Thank the person who gave me the award and link back to them
2.  Share seven things about me that you didn't know
3.  Pass the award onto 15 great bloggers
4.  Let those bloggers know they have been awarded
I enjoyed reading Little Blue Mouse's post on this, which led me to some other great blogs.

Hmmm, let's see, seven things you don't know about me... at least, I THINK you don't know them. 
In no particular order...



1. I have always dreamed of being a drummer in a rock band. I did get an "A" in percussion when earning my Bachelor of Music degree. I also got A's in my rhythm training classes. I have a strong desire to hit things with sticks. My parents gave me a clarinet when I was 9, which is why I ended up as a clarinetist, but I should have gotten a drum kit. Initially, I wanted a cello because I love Beverly Cleary's book Mitch and Amy, and Amy played cello.
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2. As a child I was constantly writing poetry and got  a poem I wrote published in the kids' section of the tabloid Toronto Sun newspaper. It was called "Flight of the Gull" and was suitably melodramatic. I think I was inspired by Jonathan Livingstone Seagull. I loved that book and cried at the movie (I was 9 at the time.) I was a rather dramatic child. I fell in love with Neil Diamond after the movie, but we're divorced now.

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3. When my mother taught me the facts of life, I got a bit confused and thought that to make babies, men peed on women. Then I told my friend next door. Who told her older brother. Who told her I was wrong. And I told her that her BROTHER was wrong.

I was wrong.

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4. In high school, my bad friend Lynda and I wrought havoc in the school library. First, we left a banana on a remote bookshelf to see how long it would take a librarian to notice. The last time we checked, in 1982, it was black and rotten. For all I know, it's still there.

And when no one was looking, we also rearranged the letters on the library notice board to say rude and outrageous things.

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5. When our dog chewed the the legs off my Skipper doll, I put her in a little wooden domino box, pretended she was paraplegic, and said the box was her wheelchair. I spent a LOT of time playing with Barbies. But I also spent a LOT of time playing with Tonka Toys, Hot Wheels, and Dinky Cars! I was an only child, so my Dad did all the "boy" things with me: baseball, laying with Lego, learning to use a hammer and nail...

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6. I know how to change an I.V. bag. I know this because Gordon got typhoid fever during our trip to Cambodia and Vietnam in 2004. I found a US-trained Cambodian doctor, who came to our hotel room in Phnom Penh. He hooked up the I.V., then told me I had to put a new bag on when the first one emptied (Gordon was dehydrated.) I managed this successfully, but while I was out of the hotel room for a bit, Gordon dragged his sorry ass to the bathroom and got a kink or bubble in the I.V. tube (the details escape me now!), because he didn't hold the bag up high enough. I couldn't get the thing flowing again and feared the air bubble would travel through his bloodstream and make his brain explode, so I took the I.V. out. He survived. 
He also learned a valuable lesson about checking  how long a typhoid fever vaccine is good for BEFORE you travel to a typhoid fever zone. Apparently seven years is too long between typhoid vaccines.
After we got home, I bought him one of these.

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7. I learned to drive on a Mercedes 240D sedan and a red Triumph Spitfire. My nutjob of a mother was married to my nutjob of a stepfather at the time, and he liked cars. My favourite was the Spitfire convertible. I also took driving lessons from Young Drivers of Canada (which I think taught me fantastically well; they teach defensive driving) and my instructor had a Dodge Omni, which is what I took my test on in 1980. I learned to drive on a standard transmission, and I still drive a stickshift. I can't stand driving a car with automatic. When Gordon and I bought our first car, I made him go out and take lessons to learn to drive standard, because I refused to buy a car with automatic transmission. He is now glad he learned to drive stick!

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Right, now I nominate these 15 bloggers for the Stylish Blogger award:
Go forth and multiply. Or something!


18 comments:

  1. Awwwww, these things are great!!! My life isn't nearly as interesting! I'm gonna have to think of some good facts from the past to throw in! Wow, I'm so honored, Nat!!!!!

    PS - I loved Skipper, too. She was way cooler than my Barbie. Barbie was kinda stuck-up, Skipper was a sweetie, or so I thought at the time! Ken liked Skipper more, too...

    ~Lynn

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  2. Anonymous12:17 pm

    What fun! Loved reading all of your "secrets", Natalie. And thanks for the nomination---now I need to put on my thinking cap!

    I loved driving a stick shift too--had everything from a VW beetle to a Porsche 912 to a Toyota Landcruiser and enjoyed each of them. Now I drive a Toyota RAV4--not a stick shift but very fun to drive. This grandma loves her wheels!

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  3. Very revealing post. I'm worrying about the banana. You were a Renaissance child...and still are.

    Being a lefty made it hard for me to learn stick shift but I finally got the knack when George taught me. Loved my little Corona and Datsun, even drove our Ford econoline whose gear shift lever broke off & I had to shift with vise grips.

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  4. thank you so much...
    its lovely to hear more about you too!
    lovely
    x

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  5. Brilliant facts!

    It's only the past couple of days I'd heard of a stick shift. We seem to be the opposite over here where the majority of people learn to drive in a manual car (what you call stick shift). I don't know anyone who has an automatic.

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  6. Thank you, dearie! It may take me a bit to think of ten things I've yet to reveal. It's amazing how quickly your whole life leaps onto the page when you're blogging regularly...even stuff where you read your own post and say, with Lewis Grizzard, "I don't think I'da told that."

    You named some of my favorite blogs in your fifteen, too. Just goes to show what great taste you've got *^).

    Enjoyed your revelations mightily and now feel like a perfect stick shift wimp. Can real women drive automatics? And can you help me think up a really good chicken name for Hen's Teeth's new member?

    I have more questions than answers today.

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  7. Lynn, I'm sure you have PLENTY of interesting things to say! That's why I love your blog! And Ken always did go for the younger ladies...

    TTPT, your vehicles were even more varied than mine! They all sound like fun, too. Go Grandma.

    Fran, I'm kind of worried about the banana too... love your Econoline gear shift story! We had a Pinto wagon that popped out of reverse if you didn't hold the stick in place with all your body weight. It was fun parallel parking that thing.

    Hi John! :)

    LBM, I get that. My Dad and my father-in-law, who were from England and Scotland respectively, looked down on manual transmissions! Cars with automatic transmissions do cost a bit extra, but the vast majority of people in North America drive "automatic". I hate it. I feel it takes away some of my control, not to mention the fun. My Mum also gave up manual eventually.

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  8. Nance, if it makes you feel better, it's only seven things. :) But hey, reveal ten! The more the merrier! :)

    I try to remind myself when I blog that even though a million people aren't reading, a million people COULD be reading, and hence I should govern myself accordingly. It's hard sometimes. And the high school librarians can track me down now...

    I am a big fan of your taste in blogs and life, ha ha! And OF COURSE real women can drive automatics. Let us not be judged by the transmission we choose, but how we navigate our journey through life. Wow, I just made that up. It sounded pretty good!

    >And can you help me think up a really good chicken name for Hen's Teeth's new member?

    Hmmm, let me think on that. Betsy Bantam? Sandra Silkie? Charlotte Chook? Hey, this is fun!

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  9. Anonymous3:10 pm

    I'm really glad that making babies does not require urination. I enjoyed learning all those fun things about you.

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  10. Hey Natalie, some very interesting facts you've shared with us, made me laugh, you were a very imaginative child..........
    Congrats on the award and thanks for my nomination, I'm afraid Little Blue Mouse beat you to it though.........
    Thanks for following, it's a cloudy, drizzly, gloomy morning here and I am lovin' every minute of it......
    Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

    Claire :}

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  11. I love those little stuffed germs! It's no small feat to take infectious diseases and make them adorable.

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  12. Gosh, Nat, I'm touched. Thanks! I'll have to think of something as interesting for me. The challenge is on!

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  13. Thanks for the nomination! I truly enjoy your blog! Your banana story cracked me up. I reminds me of the time I forgot that I had a banana in my backpack. I bought a new backpack and left the old one (with the banana) in my closet for months. When I finally found it I was surprised to find that it didn't smell...it just turned black and dried up. I really wonder if your banana is still there! :D

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  14. Love the post. This would be a great party game too!
    -I too, think a manual transmision is the only way to drive (stick shift).
    -I had Scooter, cousin of Skipper and my dog chewed one hand and mauled the feet,(she had bendable knees!)
    ...and I must add that lego are not for boys. They were one of my favorite toys as a child along with my grandmother's button collection!

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  15. CogDis, I am glad too!!!

    Oops, sorry about that, Claire. Enjoy the rain. :)

    Ahab, I completely agree. That's a real talent!

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  16. Ronna, it did bring back some interesing memories, doing this little exercise.

    David, it comforts me to think that if the banana is still there, it's dehydrated. :)

    Elisabeth, oooh, buttons, I always loved buttons! Fortunately I never stuck them up my nose, unlike SOME kids I knew.

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  17. Awesome post and thanks for sharing those hilarious memories from your journey. Glad Young Drivers of Canada was there for the ride :)
    Suzanne
    Young Drivers of Canada

    http://youngdriversofcanada.wordpress.com/
    http://twitter.com/youngdrivers
    http://facebook.com/youngdriversofcanada

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  18. Suzanne, no kidding, I credit my near-perfect driving record with my YD training. My last ticket (and I've only had two, for minor things) was in 1986. I've avoided MANY many accidents because of what I learned at YD.

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Thank you for all your comments, which I love to read!