Tuesday, June 27, 2006

29 Things About Me

Olivia, over at Olivia's London Dispatches, had a cool entry in her blog (she has a great blog, btw) where she listed 29 things about herself, and since I loved it... I thought it would be fun to do the same about myself. And since I'm bored at work ... actually I have nothing to do, so why not waste some time. ;)

Was thinking about things last night and wondering what I'd list, so here goes my try at it. Things are in no particular order... I'm just gonna put them down as they come to mind.... and I'll probably think of tons more stuff that I like better after posting this... but... here it goes.

1. When I was little, prob 7 or 8 or something, I used to believe my barbie dolls came to life at night after I went to sleep. I'd put them in their barbie corvette and sit it in a particular spot in my room then in the morning when I got up, I'd check everything to see if it had moved and, more often than not, I believed they had. I told no one.

2. I hate to touch raw meat. I can't tear it apart and I hate to stick my hand into meat - like turkeys - to clean the insides - refuse to do it. It really grosses me out, plus I'm really weird about germs.

3. I hate killing anything. I feel sorry for ants whenever I've sprayed them w/ Raid - so I usually don't (even tho they're really bad here) - and, usually, if I use it, I'll step on them to put 'em out of their misery. My husband laughs at me... but I hate seeing them squirm around on the floor after spraying the Raid.

4. I used to imitate Mae West when I was little. My SIL, Ruthie, would tape me on the recorder... I wish I had those tapes.

5. I wanted to be a movie star when I was a young girl. I'd watch all the 1930's, 40's and 50's movies and musicals, and would hope for the day that I'd be able to sing like them. That day never came :(

6. I was in love with Elvis Presley. I cried, mourned and locked myself in my room for days after he died. I remember my brother telling me that he was a drug addict and died of a drug overdose and I got so angry w/ him. I refused to talk to my brother for weeks after that. I couldn't believe he'd say such a thing... and, come to find out, it was the truth! I still love Elvis. We went to his house when we were in Memphis several years back. Me and the hubby wrote on the wall... I'll never forget it. I have a huge poster of him but I think I'll have to sneak to put it up... and lots of magnets on the fridge. Man, was he handsome of what!! Ok, in his younger days...

7. I collect magnets and have one from every place me and hubby have been. Every time I look at them on the fridge, it brings up great memories. I'd have to say the one from Vegas is my favorite... it's a martini glass w/ three cards in it... very cute and different.

8. I'm pretty shy and it's gotten worse since living in Bahrain. When I'm w/ large groups of ppl that I don't know, I don't talk usually, unless I have to. If I only know a few ppl and am in a large group or at a party, I tend to stay around and talk only to the ppl that I know. Sometimes the shyness is pretty intense and I refuse to go to events or out to strange or new places... but I'm working on it.

9. When I was in kindergarten or first grade, my babysitter pretty much kidnapped me. She had seen an ad we placed about our missing cat - actually brought the cat to us - and then my mother hired her to babysit for me during the week. One day she took me out of school and took me home w/ her. She didn't tell my mother, had lied about where she lived, and it took several days for my mother to find me. She was a weird woman. I don't remember a lot about it other than sitting on these steps at her house and laying on the bed, watching TV... and she had some man who visited her quite often. I can see flashes in my head but I don't remember a lot of the specifics. After the police got involved, they found out where she was living, which was about 3 blocks from our house. When the police went to her house - w/ my mother - the lady swore she didn't have me. Not sure if they got a search warrant or what, but they were finally able to get me. I remember that night... it was dark outside and I can remember running to my mother.

10. I hate going to the movies. I'd much rather rent it on DVD and watch it at home. I didn't used to be like this but over the years, it's gotten a lot worse. I get bored and prefer to be able to stop the movie if I don't like it or get up and do something else if I so choose.

11. I love the pump hand soap from Bath & Body Works. They have a new foaming kind that is just splendid. My younger sis gave me some for Christmas and I love them. I love all of their products... too bad there isn't one here!

12. I love to cook and try new recipes. I tried making some Indian dishes a while back and I must say, they were really quite good. I also love to make sweets/deserts. I especially love cup cakes! altho they're really easy... ok ok, I love deserts! :)

hmmm.... I'm having a hard time now... (Olivia, this is hard!)

13. I love cheese and would love to go to France for the cheese. Well, not only that, but... you know what I mean. I can make meals out of cheese and crackers w/ fruit and wine. ummmmm... so so good. gosh, that sounds good right about now! ;)

14. I'm not crazy about Arabic food, but I do love hummus, foul, falafel, grape leaves, baba ghanooj (eggplant dip), labna, biryani w/ chicken... and I LOVE certain Egyptian foods like kishk, um ali (yummmm), and I love the way Egyptians make breakfast and all the different things they serve. It's soooo good. You can get some of the best bread there w/ all different kinds of cheese (see.... I love cheese!).

15. I really miss the U.S. on days and wish we lived there, but I love my husband more and am willing to live here for him. Altho, one day, I hope we'll move back. But living is a whole lot easier to do in this part of the world... believe it or not... well, at least in regards to some things it is.

16. I'm scared of scary/horror movies. I refuse to watch anything that has to do w/ the devil... just don't like it. Sometimes after watching something scary, I can't go to the bathroom or any place in the house by myself if it's dark! My husband LOVES scary movies and insists on watching them.... and then loves to scare me! He's a brat. But hey, I guess this is my payback for scaring little kids. I'd dress up like monsters on Halloween and scare the life out of them... gosh... I really loved doing that. This is obviously my pay back!

17. I've dissected all sorts of animals, including piglets and even owl throw-up - which was actually pretty cool. When I was in high school, the class got mad at the teacher and we all took pieces of our piglets that we had been dissecting for weeks and put it up in the a/c vents.... I wonder what that smelled like after months of sitting there?! It was at the end of school, so I'm sure the janitor is the one that found it.

18. I'd love to work with animals - it's a dream job of mine. I'm talking about big cats (like tigers, cheetahs, lions and such), and training dolphins would be the best job I could imagine having. And wolves... I'd love to work with wolves. Working at a zoo would be a great job.... I'd start from the bottom up, shoveling poo... I'd get my whole body dirty if it meant that I could eventually move into a position such as that. Or... have a huge animal farm... that would be very cool.

19. I love watching the Amazing Race. It would be so great to be able to have an adventure like that... I think it's a great way to tackle so many fears that we deal w/ daily.

20. I hate germs and have a fear of things spoiling. I'm sorta a clean freak because of it. I insist on anybody who touches raw meat to wash their hands immediately if they're in the kitchen w/ me and I don't like to leave anything sitting out... ppl leave things sitting out here, especially meat. I don't. I think it's sooo easy to get sick from something like that.

21. I bite or pick at the skin around my nails. It's a nervous habit that I've broken a few times but I still keep coming back to it. I have a few smooth stones that I carry to keep myself from doing it, but sometimes I don't think about getting them out.

22. I love to draw w/ charcoal but I don't do it as often as I'd like. I also love to paint but I get aggravated w/ myself because I go thru stages of liking what I'm painting and then not liking it or I become somewhat of a perfectionist w/ it, so it tends to take me a long time to finish something once I've started. Wasn't like this when I was younger, but the older I get, the worse it becomes.

23. I love yoga. Used to practice all the time but haven't in months. It really relaxes me and gives me a lot of eternal peace.

24. I like going to the gym but can't find one that I like here. I'll have to admit that most of the girls that I meet at the gym here, I don't like. So, it's easier for me to walk on the treadmill at home. I like going to the gym tho cuz of the free weights... maybe once summer is finished, some of those girls won't frequent the place as much or... I'll buy some free weights for home. That's an idea!

25. I love to burn candles in the house. I have all kinds and will burn them in all the rooms. I only like the kind that are highly scented... to me, there's nothing better than walking thru the house and smelling all of these fresh, sweet scents. It brings such a calmness over me.

26. I love mexican food. Mainly tex-mex and one of my favorite restaurants in Dallas is Chuy's. There's also a place in Deep Ellum that has the best mexican/latino food... and the best margaritas... oh I miss Dallas! And then there's a really good place over off of the M streets... can't remember the name of that street... gosh, how quickly one forgets.

27. I love to be pampered and love massages, facials especially, foot massages and morrocan baths! Never had a morrocan bath until I came here... they're great! This weather dries out my skin a lot so they are really good at taking the layers of dry skin off. If you haven't had one, do indulge! I will say tho, the more expensive places do the best ones. I've tried these small little shops and they aren't good.

28. I've traveled to some great places including Jamaica, Hawaii, Barbados, Mexico, and London, several states in the U.S. including Florida, George, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, California, Texas, Oklahoma, Nevada, Arizona, Arkansas, but would love to see tons of others.

29. I want to see Paris, Germany, Italy, Greece, Holland, Switzerland, Japan, Ireland, Russia and Australia... to name a few. I'd also love to go on safari in Africa... that would be great. I've talked to a few ppl who've done this and they say it's the most amazing thing they've ever done... I want to do this bad.


ok... this is it. took me a while but it was fun. i'll prob think of tons of other things later and wish i had put one thing rather than something else... but oh well.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Brilliant idea!

You seem to have a quite a history, kidnapping no less!

(TechZ goes off to write his own 29 things...this could take some time :D)

Um Naief said...

yeah, i think it's a great idea too. olivia's list is quite nice as well and thanks to her, this was a lot of fun.

i didn't really know what to call what this woman did... it's not that she took me to another state, but she did take me. i think she wanted a daughter from what my mom has said. we found out some things after the fact about the woman... oddly enough it was years before things like this were a common occurance in the States.

MoClippa said...

Love the post! At least you came out okay from that babysitter incident... and yes Karma does exist, and it IS biting you in the ass for scaring kids!

Great idea, I'm going to definatly have to check out Olivia's as well as soon as I get a chance!

Leilouta said...

I hate killing anything as well. I can't even spray roaches and I hate roaches. Once I had to save a fly that was struggling in the toilet . I love ants and my brothers used to step on them in front of me. I hated them for it and felt so bad for the ants that I went back to the garden when my brothers were inside and fed them bread while telling them how sorry I was .

miss lady bug said...

i loved both yours and olivia's. i posted one of my own as well. this is such a fun idea.

it's uncanny how many things we have in common. i guess that comes from being related, lol.

what is a moroccan bath? i've never heard of one.

Um Naief said...

leilouta, i'm the same way. i can't kill cockroaches and i hate them. i save animals... like moths and such. one thing i hated about our housemaid is that she was so cruel. one time she pulled the legs off of a grasshopper right in front of me and laughed... i hated her for that. i dont like such cruelty.

mae mae... i can't wait to read your list!

moclippa.. i'm glad you liked it. hope you'll do one too. :)

Olivia said...

Oh yours is fantastic, much better than mine - and you even made it to 29, my age, and I couldn't! There is so much I want to say about yours, I hope you don't think me a bore if I answer a few!

1) made me laugh! an thanks for telling us, at least ;)

2) I don't really like doing this either, but I figure the enjoyment of eating the delicious meal is worth the ick. I'm, always proud when my lightly dusted veal escalope comes out tender.

7. When I lived in the US I brought over some from Houston. My Dad's friend has covered his fridge door with magnets from everywhere. Do you want me to send you some from London?

8. I am shy in large loud groups too. I am better one to one or at a limit of 4, and will easily reach out to someone I sense is shyer than I am. Weirdly, if it is MY event (that I have organised or that is about moi), I sparkle and mingle like a pro.

9. Maybe she borrowed you. That is quite a story, maybe it's just as well you were really little or else it would have been more traumatic.

11. I've just bought a hand soap/lotion set from Designers Guild (shamefully expensive!) called Shanghai Rose which has hints of incense. It haunted me when I tried it at the store, so went back the next day and bought it. Shame on me!!! I'm not being funny, it was 18 pounds, just double that number to get the dollars.

12. Me got lazy in kitchen this year, oomph. I need a man to inspire me, to reach his heart through his stomach...

Hey, you know it took me two days posting and reposting just to get 20.

14. Mediterranean and Arabic food share many recipes, but with different seasonings. I have never been keen on the fruits and honey in Moroccan food, for instance. Or I prefer Greek baklava to the mideast ones like Moroccan merhaba which adds cardamom. So who made biryani first, the Indians or the Arabs?

16. I used to be scared of the dark, so even passing a TV with a horror movie on it would have me huddled in bed under the covers later on. But now, I can watch these films. OK sometimes I scream and have to watch the worst bits from behind my fingers (know what I mean?), and if my eyes are closed too long while washing my face I get creeped out at the thought of something behind me. Oh, and I have to keep my feet clear of the ground in case anything reaches out from under the chair...But I am not afraid of the dark......

17. You're wicked! Wasn't the teacher looking?
Remember when I said I'd dissected piglets too? My group finished early and then we asked if we could look at the brain. It was just mush.

20. I am the same - in fact only this afternoon, I finally asked my landlady to ask the housekeeper to clean the inside roof of the microwave. For weeks I have nearly gagged at the thought of putting my food in there, and I cover everything splattery with a paper towel or a plate anyway, and since noticing the roof crust, I cover my mugs and my donuts too. Landlady said, "How DO you notice these things??? If I did I'd go crazy!"
I said I was a detailed person, but didn't mention how clean I used to keep the lab.

23. Same on every point, except I get internal rather than eternal peace ;)

26. I've been to Chuy's in Dallas! It was after I'd moved to Houston and I was visiting on a conference, coz when we lived in Dallas I hadn't learned to like Tex Mex food yet. After we moved to Houston I discovered Los Cucos, YUMS!
I miss their beef flautas and the thin warm tortilla chips with the red salsa and green stuff that's not salsa or guacamole...and pico de gallo and puffed cheese tostadas and homemade tacos, and my neighbour's cheese enchiladas. :'(

Sorry...I wrote too much...
*guilty*

Olivia said...

You guys are funny!

Thanks for liking my list, but it's just sunk in that you all want to do 29! You have to do your age, and I got stuck at 20.
I'd say that was a good number, I mean 50 would be like pulling teeth.

:P :P :P

Anonymous said...

wow, I knew I knew you, but reading this has given me so much more info. It makes me sad for some reason... wonder why? I miss you. Tons. Okay, I am crying now, shoot.

vampyregirl said...

I totally can relate to the shy thing! Although when people know me they can't remember me being shy, but I am very quite when I first meet people! However, I totally dig scary movies. Not gross gore, that's just disgusting, but the real scary mind freak kind of movies, I really dig!

Um Naief said...

mae mae, i forgot to tell you about a morrocan bath. they're really great. you lay in a steam room. they take this morrocan soap (it's black) and they cleanse your body first w/ that. it stinks... has a very strong scent. then (at the place i go) they take mix all of these herbs together w/ milk and water & prob other stuff too (not sure what all it contains) and they rub this all over your bod... then you soak in that for several minutes. they come in, rinse it off and then scrub your body w/ this glove thing that takes off all the dead skin - sometimes you can get really red from it and it can hurt - then they take this other stuff w/ yogurt, flower essence and more herbs and rub that over your body... once again you lay and let that soak in. then they rinse it and ... tadaaaa... your body is smooth like a baby! ;) it's very nice.

olivia, i'm glad you liked the list. i didn't know that the number was based on your age... oh gosh, don't think i want to venture there! ;) you know, w/ yoga, i feel internal peace too, but mainly eternal - it's a really good feeling it gives me. i believe, if i'm not mistaken, that biryani is an indian dish but because so many Arabs make it, i listed it as such. i have a magnet from London - from the first time me and the husband was there together... i love that magnet. i agree w/ the meat... turkey is very good and i always really enjoy it after the fact but... eeekk, doing the deed in the beginning is just not for me. i have hosted a few parties and, to think about it, i did shine... so obviously it all depends on the situation. going to new places and mtg new ppl is what's really hard for me - especially here because i feel like i stand out, if you know what i mean. that's a weird feeling. i think i'm gonna try this hand soap that you mentioned. i'll look online for it today. i splurge, like you, on such - not all the time but sometimes because there's nothing better than having a good smelling soap and lotion. ummmm... it's so nice. and no, the teacher was out of the room when we did this. we didn't put tons but just enough. you have a stronger stomach than me... i wouldn't have been able to look at the brain. i think the green stuff/sauce that you're referring to is tomatillo sauce (if that's how it's spelled). i love that sauce! my gosh, it brings back so many good memories for me. i've never tried this place you're talking about. only been to houston a few times - didn't much care for it - no zoning. the weather is a lot like bahrain - very humid. and you didn't write too much - i LOVE all of your details!!! :)

anon - WHO ARE YOU? i'm hoping you're my sister... and if so, did you forget your username and pass?

vampryegirl, i hate gore too. i love "edge of your seat" kind of movies.. is that what you mean? you know, when i was young, i LOVED scary movies. there are some that i would love to see again. maybe you'll remember. there was one about this guy who brought this gift to his girlfriend or wife and it was this little ... i can't think of the word (gosh, i hate when that happens).. it was a little man - a tiny statue - and it had this verse written on the bottom of it. he told his girlfriend not to say the words and she did. well, this thing came to life and tried to kill her w/ a knife. it terrified me but i'd LOVE to get the movie. have you seen this? i loved all the old scary movies w/ dracula, the mummy and such. so, what kind of scary ones do you like?

The Moody Minstrel said...

Tooners, the more I hear about you and from you, the more amazed I become! Life has definitely been more than the usual share of adventure for you, hasn't it? It has clearly shaped you, too.

Hmm...I'm almost afraid to try making a list of my own...

Olivia said...

Oooh I'd be excited if you found that Designers Guild set online!

And I thought it was tomatillo. I prefer it to salsa verde.
*slurp*

Thanks for answering all that guff I wrote down!

LouLou said...

Tooners,

What an interesting list. And I was really struck by the kidnapping too! What an experience.

I hate killing things too. The way some people just run over stray animals over here drives me nuts.

Um Naief said...

moody... here's to you making the list! i can't wait!! and here i thought my life was somewhat boring... hmmmm.. maybe not! ;)

olivia, i have yet to look for the product online. hopefully i'll get around to it tonight or tomorrow. like i said, i'm bad about doing this stuff on the weekends.

loulou, you know, i've seen a few ppl on the roads who seem to try their best to hit animals w/ their cars.... i can't stand that. some ppl have no kindness in their hearts.

Sabra said...

Wow. Yeah, it would take some work. I'm sure I could come up with 29 things about me, though. [However, if I tried to come up with my age... Oh, wait, I'm still 29! This past year I celebrated the 17th anniversary of my 29th birthday - so, yeah, still only 29...]

The meat thing? I have boxes of those disposable gloves for this purpose alone! I thought it was just me would couldn't touch "raw" meat, fish, poultry - poultry? I don't / won't eat anything with feathers. Thus, won't cook it for my husband, but WILL cook it for the "Kids." I'd cook a turkey with the "stuff" in it before sticking my hand in to get it out. Nope. Not happening in this household. And, after cleaning meat, fish or - especially - poultry - have to sterilize everything that it came into contact with.

Last week I made one of the young men at the Commissary put on a new pair of rubber gloves to get my salmon after I saw him touch chicken... Nope. Can't have the two touching, ever!

I don't feel bad about killing ants, roaches, etc. It's survival of the fittest – and I just happen to be more fit than them. There is NOT enough room in this house for a roach AND me! Animals, different story. Sometimes even have a hard time eating meat when I think about it…

Perhaps if I was a bit more on the shy side I could keep my butt out of trouble more often… Unfortunately, I don’t see it happening – me ever being shy – I go to a party and introduce myself to everyone! Talk to strangers in coffee shops... [Used to talk to strangers in bars, but, ahh, we don’t have any of those, here!]

I ship a dozen “antibacterial” soaps back from B & B Works ever year. My husband, one day, a long time ago – when we lived in the States – said he liked the new soap I next to the kitchen sink. Was amazed he even noticed there was a “new kind” of soap! Have been buying it ever since. Tell me what kind you want Tooners, I’ll bring back a bottle for you when I return in August.

I really miss the U.S. on days - and lately more days than not - and wish we still lived there, but I love my husband more and am willing to live here for him - most of the time - not, today, however. And one day, we will move back... Living is a whole lot easier to do in this part of the world... Umm, yeah. Depends, I guess, on what you call "living." Well, at least in regards to some things it is - only I'm hard pressed to come up with what those "some things" might be... Yeah... Okay. I just won't even get started on this one – and today? Not even speaking to my husband – he’s the one that brought us here! I think it would just be better if I don’t talk at all…

Germs? I won’t even touch a light switch in a house we move into until I’ve completely disinfected it with Clorox! Everything gets a Clorox cleaning! Same for new clothes. I will not wear anything new until it’s been washed. What if someone else tried it on and didn’t have deodorant on or something? The thought of sharing a hair brush with someone makes me physically ill. I ALWAYS wash my hands after touching money – and if I can’t wash – I carry wipes. Oh, yeah, we go through a lot of wipes, and it makes my husband crazy when we go out to eat – anywhere – I whip out the wipes – I won’t let him eat until he’s used one.

Someday – after I return on the first of August – I’ll work on this kind of list, too. I’m not so sure I’m going to want to share it, however. Wonder what people will think of me then?!?

Olivia said...

Sabra - have you ever watched Monk, about the OCD detective who needs wipes for everything?

I could be like that, but in London, it would probably drive me nuts.
So frequent washing has to do for me, and I sometimes remember to carry one of those tiny bottles of Purell I bring over every time I go to the US.

Using wipes is a very American and Japanese thing to do.

The longer I live here, the less often I remember. In a way, I have to strengthen rather than coddle my immune system, so I don't fall ill EVERY time someone sneezes in the train!

Um Naief said...

You know, I've never seen those wipes here, but I use anti-bacterial spray like crazy. I go thru papertowels and am always in need of them.. I'd rather have the wipes tho.

I love the Munk. I watch it all the time. I'm not as bad as him, but I think Sabra is! ;) Girl, I would have never thought someone was worse than me w/ germs!!

Anonymous said...

Hi! I live in Dallas. Chuy's is by far my favorite Tex-Mex restaurant. Did you ever try their jalepeno ranch dip? Mmmmmmm.