7 Weird Things About Me

Jill the Acadian and Christine d'Abo tagged me for this meme last week. My first thought was, only seven weird things? Let's get into the really weird stuff, folks. Why not?



1 - When I was a kid, I liked cheese and mustard sandwiches. No butter - blech.








2 - From elementary school age and onward, I've been totally obsessed with Victorian girls' and women's high button boots. The lace-ups come in second. I love them, too, but not the way I feel about the buttoned shoes. I actually bought myself a pair of shoes at an antique show - they're lace-ups with a slight heel. But they're fragile so no wearing them.

The one and only time I ever had a sleepwalking incident is connected to a dream I had about these shoes. When I was in high school, I dreamt that there were a pair of high buttoned boots waiting for me in the lobby of our apartment building, where the mailboxes were. Luckily for me, my dad was up late watching TV when I went to the front door that led out into the main hallway.

He said, "Where are you going?"


And I said "I'm going to get the shoes..." As the words passed my lips, I realized how bizarre that sounded, which served to push me out of the sleepwalk-y spell. I burst out giggling, tried to explain what my dream had been about, went back to get under the covers and giggled hysterically for 20 minutes or so.


3 - No surprise then, in my humble opinion the female form reached its pinnacle of beauty during the 1870's. I just get all gushy and swoony when I see paintings of Victorian ladies of the period, or watch films set in that time. Most specifically I love the evening wear of that decade.

Painting - Young Ladies Looking at Japanese Objects by J.Tissot, 1869











Painting - Too Early by J. Tissot, 1873

Wouldn't it stand to reason I would think the male form reached its zenith at about the same time? But that wouldn't be weird.





To me, the male of our species was in its finest form at the end of the 18th century, heading into the 19th.




Particularly in military uniform.


















4 - Back in my teeny bopper years, I had a rock solid crush on Leslie McKeown, lead singer for the Bay City Rollers. Apparently I've been drawn to Scorpio males without fail. No matter how much the Rollers were derided as I headed into my twenties, I never stopped thinking he was just my cup of tea. I've always loved his voice, and for Christmas a few years ago I got a compilation CD from my cousin. Thirty years later, I still think he's got a sexy voice. When I'm writing my dark scenes of tragedy, I may be listening to Puccini or Prokofiev, or perhaps Leslie McKeown singing 70's pop ballads.



5 - I'm basically a cheery, optimistic, serene sort of person. Meanwhile, all of my fictional storylines are filled with anguish, violence and tragedy. A lot of times as I walk down the street sorting through various scenes in my head, if I could share the 'audio' portion with someone else, there would be a lot of crying out in pain, or just plain sobbing.


It's the voices...the voices... Sometimes it makes me wonder why I have such a soundtrack of agony playing through my mind. Those are my characters, though, and they're usually going through some sort of hell. One must torture one's darlings, mustn't one?




6 - If given the choice between a midwinter trip to Hawaii, a full-year premium seat subcription to a season of National Ballet of Canada performances, or $2000.00, I would take the ballet subscription without a moment's hesitation.

Heather Ogden in Romeo and Juliet






7 - I would rather stay up late and be productive creatively, than go to bed at a reasonable hour throughout the work week and feel rested. I make this same choice over and over, week after week, month after month. You'd think the fatigue would win at some point. My surge of energy always kicks in by late afternoon, though - without benefit of a coffee. C'est la vie.

Activities of the Common Night Owl by Fredrik Arnerup

Now, whom do I tag, whom do I tag?

How about Joy Renee, Keeyit and Sue?