Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Seven Things You Don't Know About Me

Since I didn't get around to doing a post today, I thought I'd swipe DL Foster's idea over at Perspectives in Motion and start my own "7 things you probably don't know about me" thread.

Below are seven things about me, feel free to share seven things about yourself that I or others reading might not know!


1. I played basketball and field hockey in college. In basketball, I had an accurate outside corner baseline shot (and this was before the 3-point shot! arrgghh!)

2. I used to be active in Mary Kay Cosmetics sales. Won the free use of two Grand Am cars and was a Director with the company for several years.

3. I was so scared and had bad nightmares after seeing the movie The Exorcist for the first time. The second time, I laughed...especially the spinning head & pea soup spitting scenes. (Perhaps the hilarious Saturday Night Live skit about it helped?)

4. Our family used to play Monopoly a lot when the kids were younger. My son ALWAYS beat all of us!

5. I loved riding the "Swiss Bob" at the Seaside N.J. boardwalk and any of the old wooden track roller coasters back east. I hate the new loopty-loop ones, though!

6. I'm a Star Trek fan (especially the original series and ST Generations)...used to be a fanatic! I even attended a Star Trek Convention in New York City in the 80's!

Uh oh...down to my last one?

7. I love dogs (have 2); love comedies (Jim Carrey is a favorite); love to laugh, kid around, tease and be teased with the family; learning to play golf better; walk for exercise; go to lunch with the girlfriends; shop with my daughter; go to the driving range with my son and husband; go to baseball games, some football games (USC and Chargers); watch movies; talk; and type on the internet! (except, you all knew that last one...te he)

Now it's your turn!

10 comments:

Andrew is getting fit said...

7 things...hmm.

1. I speak multiple languages.
2. I'm originally from South Africa but now live in New Zealand.
3. My second wedding anniversary is 11 days away. :)
4. I love scifi too! I'm a trekkie. I love BSG, Stargate etc.
5. I think Superman is the greatest of all comic book heroes.
6. I read - a lot. At least 1 book a week. Usually more.
7. I teach Business Computing at University. Speaking of which I'd better go to work. ;)

GMpilot said...

1. I was briefly on the track team in high school, but sports generally bore me to tears.

2. I too have been a Star Trek fan since day one—it wouldn’t surprise me if our paths actually crossed at that New York convention. The series I least expected to like turned out to be my favorite: Deep Space Nine.

3. Of the foreign countries I’ve visited, I most enjoyed Japan and Spain.

4. I walked around for three days with a ruptured appendix (without realizing what it was).

5. I’ve never owned a credit card. If I can’t afford it, then maybe I shouldn’t have it.

6. In 1979, I took a military flight one weekend to someplace I had no business being, to help with evacuation of US citizens from there. I could hear gunfire, but it never seemed to occur to me that I could get shot.

7. While I appreciate nature, my idea of a good vacation prefers museums over beaches.

Okay, hostess, there’s my seven. I haven’t heard anything from your fellow Blessed Ones yet.

Christinewjc said...

Ebsfwan,

Wow! I'm impressed! You speak several languages? Which ones?

What was it like growing up in South Africa (or, if you weren't there very long, New Zealand)?

I have always wanted to visit Australia. New Zealand sounds beautiful, too.

You have been married for two years?


We have a lot of Star Trek and scifi fans on this blog! That's cool...

I agree. Superman is the best!

What kind of books do you like to read?

You are obviously a very learned person...you teach at a university!

Yeah...get to work! ha ha j/k!!

Christinewjc said...

GMpilot,

1. Would watching sports bore you too, or just participating in them?

2. Another Star Trek fan! Wow...so far there are three of us! Ha! That's funny...you were at the NY convention in the 80's!

3. I haven't been outside the good ole' USA much. Only Mexico, Canada, and Aruba.

4. Ruptured appendix? Don't you feel any physical pain?

5. Smart move. Credit cards were my downfall back in my 20's and 30's.

6. Alright, you have convinced me. You are a brave man!

7. When he was alive, my dad loved the museums...especially the aerospace ones. I enjoy visiting them now and then.

My fellow blessed ones? You mean my fellow Christian friends who post here? I guess many are busy these days.

Andrew is getting fit said...

English, Afrikaans, A touch of Mandarin. I can read Dutch & Flemish & struggle through German.

Growing up in South Africa was extremely strange if I look back at it with mature eyes. I grew up there under Apartheid. Church and State both promoted racism as a policy approved by God and so maybe that explains why I am so against biblical sponsored discrimination.

NZ on the other hand is probably one of the most progressive countries in the world and so it suits me much better.

Just for fun I'll throw in the fact that even our conservatives voted for Civil Unions. Interestingly, back in South Africa, gay marriage is legal as the government couldn't condone discrimination on religious grounds. ;)

Happily married to my darling wife (bet that is a surprise) eagerly awaiting the pitter patter of tiny feet. :p

And teaching is my passion. It's great fun.

GMpilot said...

”1. Would watching sports bore you too, or just participating in them?”

Watching them. Although not quite a couch potato, I’ve long since concluded I’m a scholar, not a sportsman.

”3. I haven't been outside the good ole' USA much. Only Mexico, Canada, and Aruba.”

Travel is fatal to prejudice, as Mark Twain once remarked. If you wish to maintain your comfortable illusions about the rest of the world, you better stay home, and you should certainly stay away from some of the places I’ve been.

”4. Ruptured appendix? Don't you feel any physical pain?”

Well, not now…that was thirty years ago. I was stationed in Virginia then, and often took the bus home to Philly on the weekends. That particular weekend, I went to D.C. instead, because there were two sci-fi cons going on there. It happened en route, and yes, the pain was intense, but it went away. (So did my appetite.) It didn’t come back again for 14 hours, and the intervals got shorter over time. I went to sick call the following Monday, but only the corpsmen were there; they had me slated to see the doctor the next day, and confined me to bed. That night, I collapsed and got shuttled to the base hospital for emergency surgery.
The doctors told me later that I should have been dead. I told them it hurt too much for me to be dead.

“My fellow blessed ones? You mean my fellow Christian friends who post here? I guess many are busy these days.”

You, no doubt a busy Christian lady, found time to post here…and only us hedonistic heathens could find the time to reply? You can’t believe that. It takes at least three times as long to compose a reply as it does to read one, and I’m probably as busy as they are. No…you can’t possibly believe that.
There’s more activity here than on your forum, yet very few people seem to be interested in dialogue. Let’s see how many get social about this subject.

Christinewjc said...

Ebsfwan,

You said, "Growing up in South Africa was extremely strange if I look back at it with mature eyes. I grew up there under Apartheid. Church and State both promoted racism as a policy approved by God and so maybe that explains why I am so against biblical sponsored discrimination."

It must have been very hard to grow up under Apartheid. I can now see why you are so strong in your anti-discrimination beliefs. However, I still believe that racial issues are far different from homosexual behavioral issues. We will just have to agree to disagree on that.

Secondly, God's Word trumps man's thoughts, feelings and finite "word(s)". God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Man's thoughts, feelings and ideas can change on a whim. That is one of the huge mistakes that misguided people often pursue.

At what age did you move to New Zealand?

You said, "Just for fun I'll throw in the fact that even our conservatives voted for Civil Unions. Interestingly, back in South Africa, gay marriage is legal as the government couldn't condone discrimination on religious grounds. ;)"

Do you mean that conservatives in New Zealand voted for Civil Unions? I think that people in America might be more likely to vote in favor of that, too. It's the fact that gays want to change the time-honored (and God-given) definition of marriage that they most object to.

For example. A traditional Christian parent can tell their young children that Paul and Sam live in a civil union. There is no sexual connotation (like marriage) to such a union (even though they engage in one privately), so the parent doesn't have to get into such a touchy subject. (BTW, I'm talking about young children, ages 5-11). My children grew up in elementary school not having to be indoctrinated into the gay agenda propaganda. Yet in Massachusetts, because "gay" marriage is legal, the young children are force-fed the liberal left's agenda on this subject. Sheesh! Can't they just let them be children without getting them subjected to sexual behavior politicking?

About South Africa. I guess they don't have freedom of religion, freedom of association, freedom of conscience, and freedom of speech regarding gay politics and issues? They don't have the same constitution as the U.S., so it seems that conservative Christians who believe the Word of God about homosexual behavior being sin just probably have to shut up and be indoctrinated? Sad...truly sad.

You said, "Happily married to my darling wife (bet that is a surprise) eagerly awaiting the pitter patter of tiny feet. :p"

Glad to hear that you are happily married to a woman!! Yeah...it did cross my mind that perhaps you were gay.

How exciting that you and your wife are expecting your first child!

Being a parent has its trying times, but my experience has been mostly good! I love my family so much and they are truly the biggest happiness in my life. Raising them to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior has made all the difference in the world. That I know for sure. Keeping our family intact all these years is a true blessing from God and I thank Him every day for my wonderful, loving, faithful, and family-committed husband! We truly are soul mates!

How wonderful that you enjoy your work. Teaching is a wonderful and important profession. My brother lives in Virginia with his family and is a high school government teacher. He's one of the most well-liked, yet very challenging teachers at the school. But the students love the course, despite the difficulty! He recently won a "Best Teacher Award" and I'm so proud and happy for him!

I was a teacher for 2 1/2 years right out of college. I taught Physical Ed., health and safety to K-6 grades. I loved the little ones...so cute! The sixth graders could be challenging, but I worked hard to teach them soccer, softball, basketball, flag football, floor hockey and volleyball in the limited facilities we had. At the time, the outside area was only a tar playground, so it limited some of our activities.

I left teaching when I became a cosmetics company director. I also found my niche (and my husband!!) through temporary secretarial work. There were some men in Mary Kay. I even had a guy in my unit.

According to our recognition magazine (and at Seminar in Dallas, Texas)I saw that a few of the skilled salemen appeared on stage and received keys to pink Cadillacs! But they weren't the marrying kind...for me, at least...haha!

Christinewjc said...

GMpilot,

OK...you're a scholar and obviously, in your scholarly opinion I am to be consider "prejudice" because I'm not a "world traveler" like you?

...just another one of those things that make me go hmmmm.....

Earth to GM! There are 22 shopping days till Christmas. People are B U S Y !, don't ya think? Well...since you don't celebrate it I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you don't know the typical routine(s) of getting ready for the holiday.

Hedonistic heathens? Welp...perhaps you have accurately described yourself, but Ebsfwan might not fit into such a category. But I'll let him respond, if he so desires.

GMpilot said...

No, I consider you ‘prejudiced’ because you have some very definite opinions on people you’ve never met in places you’ve never been. For example, the disparaging way you spoke of the Thai people after the tsunami two years ago, in essence blaming them for the catastrophe that struck them.
Heck, you’ve even badmouthed people from Mexico, and you’ve been there!

Whatever gave you the idea that I don’t celebrate Christmas?

I don’t celebrate it as the birth of Jesus (especially since no one knows exactly when it supposedly happened), but I certainly celebrate it. I have very good memories of most of my past December 25ths: The smell of a fresh-cut Douglas fir in the living room (my father always bought the real thing, not those metal-and-plastic travesties available at Mall-Wart now); the twinkling lights throughout my old neighborhood; wrapping the gifts; the smell of food.
Shopping was exciting. I always looked forward to seeing that huge bronze eagle in John Wanamaker’s lobby, and the dazzling “Christmas Tree with a Million Lights” and the fantastic Christmas village with tiny lighted buildings and a little train eternally chugging along among them. But the only religious thing I enjoy about Christmas is the music…and it’s mostly confined to Bach.

Even the Christmases I spent away from home were great--even the year when I stood watch on Christmas eve, and it rained Christmas day. I had good food, good company, and was in a place I wanted to be. So yes, I know all about the typical routines of getting ready for the holiday. You assumed again, just as you once did with me watching Forrest Gump.

BTW, my holiday shopping is already done. If others want to aggravate themselves that way, that isn’t my affair. This way, I have more time to spar with you.

Hedonistic heathens? Welp...perhaps you have accurately described yourself, but Ebsfwan might not fit into such a category.

And perhaps I have not! I am a heathen, but I don’t live exclusively for pleasure; military service ain’t lollipops and roses, lady. As for ebsfwan, I’m sure he can represent himself--I didn’t claim to speak for him. I have noticed that so far there’s only been the three of us. It could be that none of the other readers here want to let anything be known about themselves...but I would find that very funny.

Andrew is getting fit said...

Hmmm...hedonistic heathen.

Am I hedonistic? Not really. I have a good life with wonderful family and friends. Compared to a lot of people I probably live a life of luxury but compared to my friends I think I'm relatively frugal.

Am I a heathen? By your standards maybe I am.