crazy concepts of a pre-service teacher

It’s apparent that a bit of a “kick-in-the-pants” is required for me to continue forward on this journey known simply as blogging.  Honestly, I’m shocked to discover that I haven’t blogged a thing since August.  Fortunately, a Meme has come about that will ensure I write something today and hopefully will continue doing so on a regular basis!  I’m really excited as this is the second Meme that I’ve been involved in.  Hopefully, more individuals that I “tag” for this Meme will take the challenge to heart and reveal some unusual aspects of themselves.

First, I should mention that my PLN (Personal Learning Network) is so amazing, that I was actually tagged for this blog by four different people from across the globe: Frank Stonehouse Lupo (of Mexico), Grace Kat (of Australia), Ali Hall (of Australia) and Kim Caise (of the United States).  Be sure to click on the links back to their blogs to learn about them.  If you really want to get the scoop on everybody, then you should check out the wiki for this Meme.  For the individuals that I have tagged: Sara Beauchamp, Sherry Crofut, and Cossondra George there are a few rules which must be followed:

• Link your original tagger(s), and list these rules on your blog.
• Share seven facts about yourself in the post – some random, some weird.
• Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
• Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs and/or Twitter, Plurk, etc.

So, there you have it.  That’s what the powers that be have determined to be absolutely necessary when writing for this Meme.  While the focus of this Meme is to reveal unusual things that your PLN may not know about you, I will try to include things that my Real Life friends may not know as well.

1.  I really enjoy music, but I don’t listen to it very regularly.  In fact, I rarely know all the words to a song and I frequently try to “fake” it.  I know what songs I like, but I often have no idea who the band/artist is or what the name of the song is.  I don’t know what the disconnect is, but it has been this way as long as I can remember.

2. I have a Rathke’s Cleft Cyst that is located near my pituitary gland in my brain.  It is about the size of a grape and doctors do not think it needs to be operated on at this point.  It was “discovered” in 2005 after I had a series of migraines which led to doctors requiring me to get an MRI and a CT Scan.  It turned out the headaches were actually caused by Sleep Apnea.  Now I sleep with a mask covering my face.  It’s very becoming.

3. I love learning about people of other cultures and their cultural and religious practices, yet I have not traveled abroad or had the opportunity to view the world (the furthest is Canada).  I hope that 2009 will be the year to break this “haven’t stepped off the continent” streak.  I am a huge proponent of study abroad and foreign travel, but seem to have my feet firmly planted in the US.

4. I don’t watch reality TV.  I refuse to watch these forms of entertainment because they do not pay their “cast members” as a sitcom or drama with actors would.  This has negatively impacted the profession and actors ability to find work because this type of show can be produced so cheaply.  Needless to say, I am gravely disappointed that such shows are so popular.

5. Apparently, I like to move to places sight unseen.  The first time this happened was when I moved to Chicago for college.  I’d never been to the city and here I was moving to it.  Nigel and I repeated this when a company I was working for moved us to San Francisco and then again when we moved to Houston.  Would you believe we visited Marquette once before we came up here?  Whoa…that pattern’s officially been broken.

6. I am obsessed with saving packing materials.  If it gets shipped to me, I cannot through it away.  I try to use it as much of the “stored items” as possible when mailing things to others, but I have a closet full of air pillows, bubble wrap, and shipping popcorn.  Not to mention all the boxes that are taking up space.  If we weren’t moving in May, I might be more concerned about this (but I think they will all get used then).

7. I could have been an actress.  Really…it was a possibility.  I was bitten by the acting bug when I was in middle school.  Prior to that, I wanted to be a lawyer.  Seriously, can you picture it, me: a lawyer?  Me neither. After having attended Interlochen Arts Camp as a vocal major my sophomore year, I auditioned with the Theatre Department Head at Interlochen Arts Academy for my senior year.  The audition was awful: I was rejected.  It was devestating.  But wait: there’s more to this story!  The following year, my school entered and won the Second Annual High School Theatre Festival held at West Shore Community College (I won Best Actress).  The same man that rejected me was on the judging panel and offered me a post-graduate year at Interlochen…and I turned him down.  By my senior year of high school/freshman year of college, I was actively involved in 15 plays during an 18 month period.  I was on-stage, back-stage, and maybe even under the stage.  I remember sleeping in a bed on the set of the Diary of Anne Frank during the afternoons between classes.  I could go on., but I think that would require a whole different blog entry.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!  To learn more about members of my PLN, check out the following people’s blogs: Sara Beauchamp, Sherry Crofut, and Cossondra George.  You might just learn something that you would never have wanted to know about these talented women.

~ by mindelei on January 6, 2009. Tagged: meme