Monday, October 20, 2008

Tag--I'm It. And So May You Be, If You Wish To.

My friend Jana has tagged me at her blog.  Here are the rules:

1.  Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
2.  Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
3.  Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving them a comment on their blog.

So, here are my 7 random and/or weird facts about myself:

1.  I used to take autoharp lessons.

2.  My grandma used to send us boxes of nylon underwear she'd sewn herself, taking "granny panties" to a whole new level.

3.  I can't resist a hot beverage-- On cool days I drink coffee or tea all day long (decaf after 1:00.)  No sweet, flavored coffee drinks, though.

4.  I've been to 14 countries.  (Airport layovers don't count.)

5.  I got lost at Universal Studios.  In my car.

I had volunteered to help with the production of an AFI "Women in Film" student film.  My first duty was to pick up some bagels and drive across LA to Universal Studios, where, with a poorly photocopied map, I was to find my way to the street where the house from Psycho was.  

My first surprise was that there are no hidden, secret ways to get around Universal Studios.  All the roads were the ones used by the tour trams.  I drove through the deserted Old West and a snowy city streetscape before encountering an extremely irate tram driver with a tram full of passengers.  

As approximately 50 Japanese tourists leaned out of the tram to get a photo of the excitement (me), I got out of the way as best I could, and, red-faced and flustered, made the first turn I could find.  Suddenly I was driving over water.  And the scene was hauntingly familiar.  Ah, yes.  Now I could place it.  It was just like that time when I was a toddler and my grandma (the one who made my underwear) took me to UNIVERSAL STUDIOS and JAWS came at us out of the lagoon.  Yes, that was it.  As the water lapped at my tires, I said a fervent prayer that Jaws wasn't activated by a motion-sensor.

By the time I finally arrived at the set, I was fighting back tears and shaking so badly I could barely get out of my car.  Hollywood is every bit as tough as they say it is.  

6.  The one time I rode in an ambulance (going directly from the airport in New York to a hospital in Queens after getting food poisoning my last day in Zambia but being mistakenly treated for malaria), the siren was broken.  I was sorely disappointed.

7.  My worst job ever was being a food server at a convalescent home.  My second-worst job?  Receptionist at a siren factory.

So, there you have it.  I'm going to break the rules of the game a bit, as I generally don't like to tag people.  I'm going to list everyone from my blogroll and some of you I've been meaning to add.  If you care to participate, I'd love to know 7 things about you.  If you prefer not to--that's fine too.  And if you don't have a blog or don't feel like dedicating a post to this, feel free to leave us some random/weird facts about yourself in the comments.  Have fun!

1 comment:

Jana said...

Ahhhhh, the auto harp....how many songs sung at school with that blasted instrument!! I'm so honored you decided to participate:) I was sad to realize that you don't ONLY wear socks to work too. :)