Seven Random Weird Facts About Me

Michelle tagged me for this one. I tried to think of things that most regular readers of this blog would not already know (of course my mom and husband know it all). What that has resulted in is a pretty boring set of facts. I've already told you all the interesting stuff! So here goes nothing. Consider yourself duly warned.

1. I used to have perfect pitch (in music, this is the ability to identify a note by letter name simply by hearing it played or sung). My elementary music teacher discovered it one day, and I remember her being amazed. I didn't understand what the big deal was at the time, since to my ear an "A" was an "A" and a "B" was a "B" and the sound was completely different. But now I do, because I am losing my perfect pitch. More often than not, I am about a half step off. So I hear an A but think it's an A-flat or A-sharp. I guess by the time I'm 80 (thinking positively!) I'll be hearing A's and thinking they're E's. The decay of the flesh is no fun.

2. I like grammar. A lot. I took structural and transformational grammar in college and actually thought it was fun. You can close your mouths now.

3. I have a recurring dream in which I find myself back in school (but I'm not of the age or situation in life that it makes sense for me to be there). Typically in the dream I am unable to find and/or open my locker (I can't remember the combination). Then I am late to class, usually math, and I realize that not only have I not done my homework but I have missed weeks of instruction and have no clue what is going on. (All you amateur psychoanalysts feel free to try your hand at this one.)

4. Until I was about 12 years old my hair was so long I could sit on it.

5. When I was in college I came down with what appeared to be a case of pink eye. When it didn't respond to standard pink eye treatment, the doctor sent me to an ophthalmalogist, who diagnosed me with iritis, an inflammation of the iris that is systemic in nature, not caused by infection. My iritis became chronic and has recurred periodically over the years. It must be treated with steroid drops, which with long use can cause cataracts. I now have tiny cataracts in both of my eyes. My last recurrence of iritis was about 5 years ago.

6. When I was little I had a severe open bite. None of my teeth touched except the back four molars. As you can imagine, biting or chewing anything was a challenge. The orthodontist told my parents that the root of the problem was my malformed jawbone and recommended surgery (meaning they would break and reset my jaw). My parents declined the surgery. After four years of braces I had a pretty decent smile, and because I still wear my 25-year-old retainer (I never lost or broke it!) my teeth are still aligned. But my jaw is moving, and the open bite is slowly returning. I saw an orthodonist a few years ago who said the same thing my first one did--the only permanent fix would be surgery on my jaw. I don't want to do that, so I may be getting braces again when I'm about 50--not for vanity as much as for chewing!

7. I am the youngest of eleven in a blended family, but for much of my growing up I felt like an only child. My father was a widower with four children, and my mother was divorced with six. They married and had me. But there is about a 25-year span between me and my oldest sibling, and the one closest in age to me is nevertheless seven years older. I wish I could say we are all close, but we aren't.

I'm going to tag a few people that will no doubt have much more fascinating random facts than I can muster! Elephant's Child, Caitlin, Melody, Dan, Pastor Weedon, Susan, Susan, Jane, Lora and Hannah, go to it! (There are more I'd like to tag, but I think I've already exceeded the prescribed number, and besides, I'm tired of creating links. So if you want to play, don't wait to be tagged . . . just play!)