Random Facts about Me

My birthday should be in January.
Don’t get me wrong, I ♥ the month of May and love that I was born in May.

So why should my birthday be in January? At the beginning of every year, I automatically start thinking of myself as one year older. Case in point, I no longer think of myself as being 31. In my head, I’m 32. It’s a gradual transition. Just last week, I was teasing a friend that she’s older than me (by 4 months) and is 32 while I’m still 31. However, today I was daydreaming and referred to myself as being 32. That will be my age until January 2010 when I’ll start thinking of myself as 33.

It certainly makes birthdays easier – no trauma about being one year older because I’ve been thinking of myself as being that age for a good 5 months or so.

My speech impediments
I acquired a fun little lisp when I got my new teeth. It’s very pleasant (please note the sarcasm). Everyone tells me that they don’t notice it; I’m not sure if they’re just being nice or if the lisp is only noticeable to me. I hope it’s the latter, but if it’s the former, it means I’m surrounded by nice, if slightly dishonest, people. Either way, it bugs me. I struggle to say certain words, tripping over certain consonants, speaking as gracefully as an elephant on roller blades.

I also have a bit of a stutter/stammer. What’s the difference? Anyone??? Thankfully, like my lisp, it isn’t horribly pronounced, but I struggle with it. My mouth doesn’t process the words as fast as my brain whips them out, so I stumble over them or misspeak them. It’s worse in French, obviously, making me wonder if I’ll ever truly speak it fluently if I can’t even converse smoothly in my native tongue. Certain sounds ("sp", "st", etc) have a hard time making it out my mouth initially. I have to shove them out with a pitch fork. (That makes me think of when I had a forked tongue - have I told you that story?)

Dream jobs

I would love to be a book editor. I’m not creative enough to write a good-quality novel and not patient enough to write a worthy non-fiction book, but I know how to write, even if I don't always do it well. Reading someone else’s work, offering suggestions, making corrections, and being a small part of the creation process would be wonderful. I can’t believe people get paid to do it. Lucky people!

Most of you now this one: book store owner. All day surrounded by books and people who love to read books. Aaahhhh. It doesn’t get much better than that in my opinion. If pressed, I’d own or manage one of those big chain book stores (á la Fox Books in You’ve Got Mail), but the ultimate dream would be to have my own unique store. Multi-leveled with open floors so you can see the upper levels, because I think it’s quaint and looks cool. Small in size – not sprawling – almost claustrophobic but only because there are books everywhere. Comfortable couches in which to try out a new book before buying it. Book readings by interesting authors as often as possible; authors like Neil Gaiman and John Updike (recently passed away – d’oh - too late!). A staff that is knowledgeable and who will introduce me and our clientele to new authors, books, and music. For this dream to come true, I’m afraid I’m going to need to be independently wealthy. Independent book stores aren’t financially stable and worrying about how to make ends meet would spoil some of the wonderfulness of owning a book store. So, if you know how I can become independently wealthy, I welcome your ideas.

A non-book-related dream job: jewelry designer and maker. At first, I’d make the jewelry based off of someone else’s designs – not being terribly creative naturally. After awhile, I hope I’d be able to see my own designs and translate them into a remarkable piece of jewelry. My first love is necklaces, but I’m also fascinated with bracelets and pins. I wish I wore pins. I wish I knew how to wear them artfully and tastefully. Rings, not so much, though I do like large rings. If my fingers weren’t so short, I’d enjoy wearing a really large ring every now and then.