100 Fascinating Facts

I just wanted to thank all of you for stopping by my cyber gallery yesterday. I was so excited about it, I didn't even try to go to sleep until 3:00 in the morning. My co-workers gathered around my computer first thing, and we took our first stroll past all the paintings. I felt giddy and bubbly all day long. I had a film festival screening to go to last night, so I was dressier than I normally am for work.

A special day all around, and your comments really touched my mom and charged her up to get back in the studio.

Today I'm doing the '90 Useless Facts' that Akelamalu posted last Sunday. But I've restored it to its previous 100-item format by adding a few more questions of my own at the end. And because I couldn't possibly bore you with 'Useless Facts', I've renamed it 'Fascinating Facts'. Here goes:


1. Slept naked? - I've tried, but it's not practical when you've got a heavy load up top. The girls need wrangling - that's a job for some sort of comfy shirt.
2. Taken a shower with someone? - Yes, with the hubster.
3. Kissed a member of the same sex? - On the cheek. Not a real kiss. That's reserved for My One and Only.
4. Driven a car? - I love driving.
5. Stolen anything? - Like blog post ideas? As in this one?
6. Been in love? - I'm in love now and highly recommend it.
7. Been dumped? - Not really. Both my prior relationships were a mutual recognition that we should move on. Still felt horrible to let go, though.
8. Stole money from a family member? - Steal, no. Borrow, yes.
9. Gotten in a car with people you just met? - Do cabbies count?
10. Been in a fist fight?

- No, but I grabbed a coffee out of a guy's hand and sprayed him with the contents when he made a remark I didn't like.
11. Snuck out of your/someone’s house? - No. It never even entered my mind.
12. Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back? - Luckily, no. With my husband, there was a long delay between first having feelings for him and when we started dating. But we were close friends during that delay, so it was complicated and wonderful all at the same time.
13. Been arrested? - No, but I was questioned by store security over my credit card use. This was before things were more electronic, and if my purchase went through at the counter, sometimes I was in fact over my limit. This was also during my stint at film school, when I was stretching every penny into a dime. I was absolutely, completely mortified.
14. Hugged a stranger? - Yes. When you work with the public, strange things happen!
15. Met up with a member of the opposite sex somewhere? - As in a date? I'll say yes to this question, while wondering if I'm missing something.
16. Left your house without telling your parents? - No. My parents were cool. I didn't feel the need to be secretive with them.
17. Had a crush on your neighbour? - Yes. When I was a girl, my teenaged next-door-neighbor looked like Donny Osmond.
18. Ditched school to do something more fun? - No. I was a square. No sneaking, no ditching. I enjoyed the social aspects of school too much to want to ditch it.
19. Slept in a bed with a member of the opposite sex? - I'm beginning to wonder if this group of questions started out with a much younger age category than me...Yes, after 15 years of marriage, I'd say that I have on occasion slept in the same bed with a man. And a handsome one, too!
20. Lost a friend in a shop? - I tried to make it look as if I lost her, but I was really trying to ditch her. Just kidding! Actually, I usually shop by myself.
21. Been on a plane? - Yes, generally back and forth between Toronto and Halifax.
22. Been to an island? I've been to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia; to Tancook Island, NS; to the Tuskett Islands, also NS; to Prince Edward Island; to a little private island in McGregor Bay, Ontario to stay in a cottage for a blissful week; to Centre Island in Toronto; and to Mackinaw Island in Michigan.
23. Slept in until 3? - Of course. Night owls don't need any reason to sleep in until 3. It's the people that start slowing down and packing it up for the day at 3 that I worry about.
24. Miss someone right now? - So many someones! All my Toronto friends and relatives, and my Michigan friends and relatives. There's a constant ache for all of them. All the time.
25. Laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by? - The laid on my back part, probably a while ago (as in years.) But sitting back and watching them? Whenever I can.
26. Made a snow angel?

- Oh yes - hundreds. I can still hear the squeak of my snowsuit pressing out the shape in the snow.
27. Played dress up? - I used to do that with my Gram's clothes and jewellry (the one I live with now) all the time. I'd go get all dolled up with my little sister while Mom and Gram visited, and then we'd shashay out and pretend to meet them for tea.
28. Cheated while playing a game? - My sister and I used to play the 'Star Trek' card game that Kirk made up in the gangster episode, 'A Piece of the Action' - Fizzbin. The rules were printed up in a Star Trek magazine I'd bought, and we would laugh so hard, because one of the rules included wrestling your opponent down if it was a Tuesday or a Thursday, or something to that effect. Freakin' riot!
29. Been lonely? - I sort of have a low-grade loneliness for Toronto going on every day, really. When I lived in Toronto, I had the same longing for Nova Scotia. I'm just fated to be homesick, no matter what.
30. Kissed more than 4 people in one night? - Only in a New Year's Eve or a party or post performance cheek-kissing way.
31. Touched a snake? - I think I would remember something like that. I've seen them in a natural setting, but they're always too speedy to get ahold of.
32. Ran a red light? - Not intentionally...
33. Been suspended from school? - Definitely not. See answer #18.
34. Had detention? - Only when the whole class was kept behind.
35. Been in a car accident? - Yes, while riding in a streetcar in Toronto. I barely felt the impact, but the car was toast.
36. Used a fake id? - No, but I did slide through into restricted movies with a group of friends, and into bars when I was underage because my also-underage boyfriend was playing bass in the band.
37. Crawled through a window? - Yes, in my childhood house, if it was locked and we forgot the key, I could climb up on the oil tank and slide the locked window open by rocking it back and forth. Really secure house, eh?
38. Been lost? - Not really. I have my dad's sense of direction, rather like being a human GPS device. Not that I can't get confused sometimes, but if I've been somewhere once, I remember how to get back and forth.
39. Been to the opposite side of the country? - No. The farthest west I've been in North America is Chicago, Illinois when I was 3.
40. Cried yourself to sleep? - Definitely when I was a baby. I was colicky. Now I'm really mellow. Go figure...
41. Done something you told yourself you wouldn't?

- I'm really extreme about keeping my word, especially to myself. So if I must go back on my word, it's after a major internal struggle. The worst one was when I vowed never to work in retail again. I could see the inevitable coming, and how I fought it inside! But I ended up going back to it for 3 lo-o-n-n-g years.
42. Laughed until something u were drinking came out ur nose? - Of course. I laugh a lot, and unfortunately I get what can only be described as a laughing attack. It's actually painful. Something strikes me as uproariously funny and it's like I'm having a seizure. I totally can't breathe (it activates my asthma.) My husband always goes on emergency alert when I'm laughing like that.
43. Caught a snowflake on your tongue? - Still do.
44. Kissed in the rain? - Does kissing in the house while it's raining count? My husband hates the rain. He would never get the urge to kiss me while standing in the rain! LOL!
45. Sang in the shower? - But of course. Sounds great in there.
46. Had sex in a park? - Ahh, no. I'm too private for that.
47. Had a dream that you married someone? - Well, now that you ask, I've had several dreams over the years with weddings in them. They all had to do with the state of my relationship at the time. The best dream like that was when I dreamed my very, very good friend Brad and I were getting married, and then a few weeks later our relationship had changed and we were seeing each other romantically. And then we really did get married.
48. Glued your hand to something? - Nothing that couldn't travel around with me, like sparkles.
49. Got your tongue stuck to a flag pole? - Funny, I never once had the urge to do something so ridiculously dumb. Then watching 'A Christmas Story' cured me of it, that's for sure.
50. Ever gone to school partially naked? - Luckily, when I was in school our fashions included clothing that didn't reveal torsos, etc. Lucky me!
51. Been a cheerleader? - No! LOL! I'm the non-sporty girl. Drama Geek, yes. Cheerleader, no.
52. Had more than ten boyfriends? - No. I had my first boyfriend at 15, then a year later I had my second boyfriend, then six years later I had my third boyfriend who became my fiance and then my husband. I'm not the Betty & Veronica dating sort.
53. Didn't take a shower for a week? - Probably got close to that, some of the times I've been really sick. Too sick to move me kind of flu.
54. Ever too scared to watch scary movies alone?

- The only thing that's ever creeped me out that bad was during the end of 'Twin Peaks', when Bob came creeping through the window. It was totally spinechilling. Then after the show was over, I went upstairs to bed while Brad was still watching TV. About a half hour later I sheepishly rejoined him because I didn't want to be up there by myself and have that image of Bob in my head.
55. Played chicken? - It seems to me I've played this in regular traffic, but only after realizing I'd been roped into it by idiotic drivers with death wishes.
56. Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes? - No, but I've fallen into a few marshy bog-type puddles in my time to aproximate the same result.
57. Been told you're hot by a complete stranger? - It depends on how the 'hotness' was described. Remember #10?
58. Broken a bone? - Hmm. Where do we get started? My right foot when a door smashed into it. My right middle finger when my family dog flipped over with my hand gripping her collar. My right shin when I stumbled on the cement steps at Queen St. subway. My right knee joint bone when I slipped in the woods and landed on a rock. Notice a right-side thing going on? All I can say is, good thing I never took up contact sports.
59. Been easily amused? - I'm a big laugher. I have a dark sense of humor, so what might not seem funny to most people can have me in tears from laughing so hard.
60. Laugh so hard you cry? - Question Person, are you distracted or what? I'll have to refer you back to #42.
61. Mooned/flashed someone?

- I streaked in the rain one time with my best friend.
62. Cheated on a test? - Drama Geek/Square, remember? We don't cheat, we actually try to retain things.
63. Forgotten someone's name? - I have, actually. And when I remembered who it was, I then realized I'd dumped this person into the Recycle Bin inside my head, which was awfully embarrassing, as she was so delighted to see me...
64. Done something dumb while drunk? - Are you kidding? I only get more fascinating, the drunker I become. Doesn't everyone?
65. Blacked out from drinking? - No, but I almost blacked out from eating a piece of pecan pie.
66. Played a prank on someone? - A few times. Both victims were absolute pricks, so my normal sense of compassion had utterly deserted me.
67. Gone to a late night movie? - A night owl, go to a late-night movie? What kind of crazy-ass question is that?
68. Made love to anything not human? - Do incredibly intense fantasy lovers count?
69. Failed a class? - I know this is going to sound suspicious, coming from the nerdy geek, but I only barely passed grade 11 chemistry. In grade 12 math, my marks were so low my teacher asked my parents if I would drop out of the class so his class average would go up. At film school, my technophobia threatened my ability to proceed to 4th year with the rest of my class. I HAD to pass 3rd year techie class or else. So my friend Robin borrowed gear from school and took time to walk me through setting up the camera, loading the film, etc. so I could pass that course by the skin of my teeth. Thank you, Robin.
70. Choked on something you're not supposed to eat? - I often choke on inhaled things that I'm allergic to, like cleaner fumes, paint fumes, fragrance, smoke, mold spores in the air, etc., etc. It always catches me by surprise, too - there I am, walking along, minding my own business, breathing away, and then BAM! Cough attack. Makes regular life that much more exciting.
71. Smoked pot? - Inhaling smoke just doesn't appeal to Asthma Girl. But I did get stoned one time at a post-theatre party in a small cottage where everyone else was smoking pot. After awhile of inhaling the secondhand smoke, I realized that fidgety me hadn't moved in a really long time. And that all the colors had gotten more brilliant. And that everything was so damn funny!!
72. Cheated on a boyfriend? - No. I'm of the opinion that if it's not working, it's time to stop. No need to cheat. Just break up and move on.
73. Celebrate the 4th of July? - I did for the first 6 years of my life, when I lived in Michigan. Now it's Canada Day for me on July 1st.
74. Thrown strange objects?

- Hmm. What could be considered strange when one works in film or theatre? For example, I might throw dirt past a fan so it looks like a sandstorm on camera. It's all relative.
75. Felt like killing someone? - See #10.
76. Thought about running away? - Not really. I usually want to run off, though - a totally different feeling. Like running off with my honey for a weekend together. We've never really been able to do that. I'm looking forward to it someday.
77. Got a piercing? - Each earlobe.
78. Made a parent cry? - Yes. Usually over some sort of card I wrote for them, or a poem, or something like that.
79. Cried over someone? - Me, cry? I cry over everything. I cry when I'm sad. I cry when I'm glad. I cry when I'm sad or I'm glad or I'm mad.
80. Kept somebody else's clothes you borrowed? - Not much of a clothes borrower. I've got a hard shape to match with anyone else!
81. Dated someone more than once? - In the realm of actual dates, no. I've only had a handful of those painful torments.
82. Have a dog? - Yes, my warrior princess, Xena.
83. Been in a band? - Not me, but my first two boyfriends were in bands. Boyfriend number one played saxophone, and boyfriend number two played electric and string bass. Second boyfriend is the true musician - he still makes his living that way. He was a bit of a prodigy. He went to a jazz clinic once (I went with him), jammed for the bass player giving the clinic, and when they finished the jam, that musician walked across the stage to shake boyfriend number two's hand. He was all of 17 at the time.
84. Drank 25 sodas in a day? - Not really, no. But I do drink a lot of water. I may have drunk the equivalent in water in one day.
85. Broken a CD? - Not yet.
86. Shot a gun? - Only an air rifle at the exhibition. And I was a good shot.
87. Wanted someone but could never have them? - Actually, I've been very lucky that way. I've only ever really wanted three people. Boyfriend number one. Boyfriend number two. And my husband.

The questions run out here, actually, so I've added thirteen of my own.

88. Have you ever been fired from a job? - No, but I've been laid off from one.
89. Do you like a clear blue sky, or one with big fluffy clouds? - Though the clear blue sky can be breathtaking in the fall against the golds, oranges and reds, I prefer looking at a sky filled with clouds. My favorite clouds are the types that have a bit of purple and blue mixed in with the white.
90. Have you ever strongly identified with a different country/culture than your own? - I love Scotland with the intense passion of a Highland Jacobite, yet I'm a thirteenth-generation French Acadian. I did grow up in Nova Scotia, and there is a heavy Celtic influence here. But not enough to explain my obsession with all things Scottish. The Scandinavian countries come up second. I think Nordic faces are mesmerizingly beautiful, and I really love listening to Swedish, Danish and Norwegian speakers. The folk art from there is a big favorite.
91. If you were a musical instrument, which one would you be?

- Hmm, that's a toughie. I have always had a fascination for harps, the big ones. And I love how they sound. I would probably be a gilded golden harp.
92. Have you ever been sailing? - Yes, boyfriend number one used to take me sailing in his family's two-seater sailboat. He lived on a lake. He used to pack a little lunch for us, sail us over to one of the little islands in Lake Charles, and play his Irish tin whistle for me. He was a very romantic and completely charming first love.
93. Have you moved around a lot, or stayed in one area? - I've moved around a fair bit. I've lived in Michigan, Nova Scotia, Ontario and back to Nova Scotia.
94. Were you ever escorted home by police? - Not so far...
95. Have you ever had an idea for which you considered getting a patent? - Not really. All my big ideas are usually social change oriented. I'd need to rule the world in order for them to be implemented.
96. In what sort of dwelling do you reside? - A single family home, which we have made into a two-family set-up. My mom and gram live on the main floor, my husband and I live downstairs, each with our own entrance.
97. What is your birth order? - I'm the oldest of two sisters.
98. Have you ever lived through a natural disaster or a major man-made crisis? - We went through Hurricane Juan here four years ago. The main power of the storm lasted a little over an hour, and because a hurricane is a massive low-pressure system (which gives me migraines) every single gust of 120 kilometer-an-hour wind made my head feel like it was going to explode like the 'Total Recall' heads.
99. Have you ever been resuscitated by medical staff? - Not from unconsciousness, thank heaven. I did have an emergency room visit with an asthma attack that got me close to that, though.
100. Did you ever wish you could time travel? - Yes, very intensely. I think every historical author wishes she could see the past with her own eyes.

Now, I tag Kelly, Christine and Amy.