I’ve seen a few different bloggers posting this survey, and while I don’t really consider myself a true blogger, I figured, ‘eh, why not?’
Three ways that I’m still a kid…
Oh Lord…
1. I still love when my mom cooks for me. Always will. My mom wasn’t the world’s greatest chef or anything – in fact, she will readily agree that most dishes don’t turn out the same twice (usually because someone talked to her while cooking and she left something out…) And I have most of her recipes, but there’s something that can’t be beat about going home and having mom cook up a meal.
2. I love watching cartoons. Classic cartoons, not the sci-fi anime junk on the tube these days, but the originals. Bugs Bunny. Daffy Duck. Yosemite Sam. Marvin the Martian. Woody Woodpecker. I’ll even go to Duck Tales, Chip’n’Dale, and of course, the Smurfs. Now, don’t get me wrong, most of the cartoon movies are decent… Ratatouille, Cars, any of the Disney movies. Yeah, Saturday mornings were the best “tv time” ever…
3. I have a need to feel accepted wherever I go. Outwardly, I can keep this in check, but internally, I am nearly always searching for some hint that what I am doing or saying is “correct” and that I am not making a fool of myself.
Three ways that I’m already old…
1. I have aches. Every morning, it takes me a good ten to fifteen minutes before my muscles will do what my brain is telling them to do. If I sit in one position for too long, my joints get stiff. And when I kneel down, my knees make all sorts of snap, crackle and pop noises!
2. I say things like, ‘Back in my day’, ‘When I was your age’, and ‘Because I said so.’ I also look at teenagers of today and cringe to think that they are our country’s future… most of them seem to be dreamless, uncreative, unproductive, lazy, ambitionless, and downright rude with no sense of morals, honor, or respect. Wow, I sound like my grandpa…
3. When I discover a new activity or hobby I want to try, I tend to think in terms of ‘it’s too late for that.’ In reality, I know that there’s plenty of time for change, but if I don’t give myself that slap to the face, I get caught up in a ‘it is what it is’ way of thinking. It’s never too late for change…
Three things that I want to do…
1. Go to the Culinary Institute of America. I cannot even begin to describe how badly I want to go there. I’m not certain I want to work full-time as a chef, but I want that knowledge base. I want to know, with complete confidence that can only come from the best training available, that I am comfortable in the kitchen, cooking big or small. I want to know how to create wonderful meals, and how to pair all sorts of different ingredients together to create flavor masterpieces.
2. Travel. I have lists of places I want to go, with the things I want to see. Some are close: New York City, Charlotte, Philadelphia. Some are a bit farther away: San Francisco (soon!), Seattle, Hawaii. Some are WAY far: Sidney, Australia; Italy; back to Paris; Russia; Japan. Unfortunately, I would need to win the lotto two or three times, so that I could stop working and just start traveling in order to check them all of the list.
3. Learn other languages. I took Spanish in high school, and would like to learn it better. I have taken a few American Sign Language classes, and had a blast with that. And I really want to learn French, mostly because I want to go live in Paris for a year or two. But I am always so impressed when someone can speak more than one language, something I think the rest of the world has a better handle on than the U.S.
Three ways that I’m a stereotypical boy…
1. I hate to clean. With a PASSION. I would rather pack everything up and MOVE than clean the house. Dirty dishes. Yeah, they’re the devil. And I agree with Bill Engvall – why bother dusting? You dust the shelves, the dust goes up in the air, and then lands on something else. Why bother?
2. I’m a lazy slob. Don’t mean to be, but… no, I guess I do mean to be. I live alone. Nobody comes to visit me. If I decide to drop my clothes on the ground, who cares? If I make a pile of my junk mail, instead of just sorting and shredding it, who’s to say? If I didn’t live alone, or if I didn’t live in a crappy apartment, maybe I’d care more… but I don’t, so I don’t.
3. Clothes are clothes. I have five polo shirts – one for each day of the work week. I am not a fashion queen, I don’t know what goes with what, and I really don’t care if my socks match my belt match my sunglasses. More important things are out there.
Three ways that I’m a stereotypical girl…
You know, I probably could come up with an answer, but in the name of self-respect, I will refrain…
Three things that I like about myself…
1. The thing I like the most about myself is my love of learning. It’s also the thing that has caused me the most confusing, pain, and financial ruin! But I absolutely love learning new things, to the extent that as soon as I learn, I tend to drop it all in the dust as I run off to learn something new. And there have been a few times that I have been called a know-it-all, but then again, I can solve a lot of potential problems just because I have tried so many different hobbies and such.
2. I am a very caring person, to a fault. I have been an EMT for about seven years now, and recently upgraded to being a medic, and absolutely love it. It is so gratifying to help someone in their time of need, to help calm someone’s panic, to hold a hand in a time of family loss, to know that I made a difference in providing a future for someone.
3. I am a very loyal person, until you cross me… then, good luck. For those that I trust and consider friends, I will go to the ends of the earth to help. But the reverse is also true – if you aren’t on that list, it takes a lot for me to go out of my way to assist. Until it’s something that needs help (see EMT above, or helping / caring…)
Three of my everyday essentials…
1. I hate to say it, but I feel lost without checking email and / or Twitter at least once a day. I need to catch up with the few friends I have, see what everyone else is doing, check in with my parents, or see how my sister’s pregnancy is coming along. Without the interweb, none of this would be possible for me, which is why it’s an essential. Those days when I cannot check in, it feels like I am missing out on something. Although, that said, after a few days of “disconnect”, I get over it and it takes a concerted effort to get back into the habit of checking…
2. A shower. Not a bath, but a shower. Doesn’t matter what I am doing, what I have planned, or anything else, I need a shower every day. Sometimes more than one. I may wait until later in the day, especially if I know I’m just going to be working out, or doing something that will get me stanky again, but when that’s done, it’s into the shower.
3. My family. This ties a bit into #1 above, but I have a very small family, and since I live hundreds of miles away from my parents, and thousands of miles away from my sister, I rely on their emails, phone calls, and texts to give me strength... especially since the divorce. If it weren't for my family, I would be nothing.
Three things that scare me…
1. Snakes. They’re the devil. I am a firm believer that snakes are the main reason that God invented shotguns. Yep. The only good snake is a dead snake.
2. I hate disappointing others. While I am quite good at it, I hate the feeling it gives me to see their disappointed faces. Growing up, my parents used this to their advantage to get me to do chores around the house. My ex-wife used to use this tactic to get her way. I have had friends use it to get what they want, to manipulate me, etc. Thankfully, I have recognized this in myself, and in others, and am able to resist it - sometimes, disappointment is unavoidable.
3. My biggest fear, ever, is to die alone and insignificant. The older I get (another "how I'm old" phrase...) the more I realize that once we're gone from this planet, there'e nothing left of us except the memory of what we did. I do not want to be one of those people who just takes up space on the planet for a few decades and then fades away into obscurity. I want people to know my name (hopefully for something positive...), I want to be remembered by more than just my immediate family. That's part of the driving force behind becoming an EMT, and now a medic. A good friend recently told me that I have an unending need to help others regardless of the sacrifice and pain it causes myself. That sums me up pretty good, actually. And honestly, since the divorce, the whole "alone" aspect of it has become more prominent. I live alone, eat alone, vacation alone. I have gone entire weekends without speaking a single word. Without that daily connection, both mentally and physically, with another human being, it's very difficult to feel anchored in reality...
Well, there you have it. Some light-hearted, others a little deeper. What are your three's?
