25 Random things about me !!

I was tagged in Facebook but thought I would put these random facts about me here in my blog in case anyone is interested.....


1. My first boyfriend was in kindergarten at the age of four. His name was Michael. We used to 'touch tongues' as thats what we thought grownups did. I have no idea where he is now, but we didn't get meningitis!

2. I was born in Lower Hutt, Wellington. When I got married, my Marriage certificate said I was born in Lover Hutt. It caused a lot of laughter at my wedding.

3. My very first job was a fruit stacker at a very popular Green-Grocery. I used to pack the fruit up to make the shelves look inviting. The owner started dropping our pay and cheating us out of our wages. I fought for my rights by ringing the Labour Department after I had left, and managed to get $800 in back pay. The owner then fired all hte existing staff, so I made another phone call on their behalf and he had to rehire them. My first experience of fighting for rights when I was only 17. Funnily enough I now live over the road from this same shop which is still going strong. Different owners though.

4). I lived in Barbados for one year at 17. It was a steep learning curve about the English class system alive and well on the island. It went Expatriots, Coloured, Blacks, Reds. I fell in love with the most wonderful person there, but it was not to be. Arrived home heartbroken, but first love is always the hardest!

5). I ended up marrying a selfish, bad tempered, violent Scotsman when I was 23. The marriage lasted 3 years.

6). I'm enormously proud of my daughter and her acheivements. I love her to bits and consider her my best friend.

7). I have two Burmese cats, one seal, one blue. They rule my life. You are most likely to find me on my sofa, laptop on my lap, one cat perched on my lower legs, and the other perched on my shoulder. I am unable to move.

8). My goal is to one day write a travel book. I would love to go back to Barbados and do a then and now comparison. I believe the island has changed enormously to when I lived there. I can use photos I took back in 1979 and take try and take the same images 30 years later. I also have a goal to one day write the novel I've been writing in my head for the last 3 or 4 years. I just can't seem to get it onto the computer.

9). I'm competitive by nature. I love playing games. Losing is not an option. Scrabble, Oxford Dictionary word game, cards. I will NOT play trivial pursuit. It's dumb, because I never win!! A friend of mine will not play srabble with me again. if I do lose, I do not get upset. I get even. I just make us play another game. Until I win. Then I crow! I think I may have a problem!

10). I worked in the Market Research Industry or nearly 20 years as an analyst. I particularly liked Social Research. I medically retired from this 5 years ago and still miss it. One of the biggest jobs I worked on was the Sexual Lives of Gay men. They had an 0800 number to ring and then take part in an hour long telephone survey. The 0800 was 0800 69 69 69. I learnt more about the sexual lives of Gay Men in New Zealand that I didn't really need to know. I learnt lots of new words. Apparently the job came to me because of my open mind. It's now so open that my brains have fallen out!

11). I'd like to learn to be an artist. I painted my first piece of art last year and it is hanging in my dining room. No one believes me when I tell them I did it. I did another one a few weeks later which was terrible. I haven't done any since. This probably tells you that unless I find it easy, I bow out!! I need to be more disciplined.

12). I do lots of reading but only really like non-fiction books. Auto-biographies, War Memoirs, Animal Observations or Vetinary books (Africa Wildlife in particular), and Armchair Travel. I do read fiction occasionally but get very bored with it.

13). I read the Lord of the Rings Trilogy in one weekend when I was 12. I did nothing else all weekend.

14). I read the Diary of Anne Frank when I was 8 years old. It shaped my whole view on human rights issues which haven't wavered since. I hate any type of intolerance to others with a vengeance, and it started from when I read this book.

15). I taught myself how to play the recorder when I was 7. Started learning the piano when I was about 8 or 9. I was the School orcestra's pianist for a number of years. I wanted to be a concert pianist, but ended up losing my hearing so that finished that dream. I did play the piano in nightcubs and pubs while living in Barbados, as in 'in-between' or a jazz band. Met lots of people this way and it was a lot of fun.

16). I love fishing, but hardly ever get to go. My dream is to own a small boat where I can launch off and just go out and fish. Some friends took me fishing a number of years ago. I was the only one that caught anything, and I've never been invited again because of it!!!

17). I cry in sad movies/tv programs or books easily. My family laugh at me for this. I even cried during the children's movie 'The Secret Garden'.I haven't been able to live that one down.

18). I can't sing. Well - I can sing it just has a rough passage out. I still do it though. Even my cats hate me singing and they'll put their heads over my mouth to stop me. That always makes me laugh so it's a very effective way to make me stop!

19). I have climbed Mt Ruapehu up to the Crater Lake. It took 6 hours from the Top of The Bruce. No chairlifts were working at the time so we had a very long climb. It was really hard and at one point I wanted to give up. The group I was with didn't let me and am so glad they didn't.

20). I do a lot of walking - will often walk rather than take the car to an appointment if I can. Sometimes will walk 4 to 5 hours. Recently have started walking with a friend at 6am before she starts work for an hour. I miss the walking that we were doing in Woodhill Forest last year when we were training for the Oxfam 100km walk. I'd like to do it again.

21). The only thing I can kill without guilt is mosquitoes. If a plant is no longer needed in the garden, I try to give it away rather than just pull it out. I have a number of plants in my garden that are self sown - like the Golden Totara that are totally unsuitable for my garden, but can't bring myself to 'kill' them. I'm a big softie!

22). I go round everywhere looking at things as if I'm taking a photo,so I look at things with the mind of a viewfinder, in the same ratio. I love insects and bugs and like getting up close to them for photos. Even spiders. Non photographers hate travelling with me as I take too long when I'm in action. I get frustrated when travelling with non photographers as they can't see all he missed photo opportunities that they won't stop for!

23). I want to go to Europe. My dream is to rent an apartment in Italy somewhere for 3 months, use that as a base then take day trips aroud exploring. I also want to live on a Greek Island for 12 months or so. So far my sum total of time spent in Europe is 4 days in London on the way home from Barbados. I would also like to see the Galapagos Islands, South America, Russia, Croatia, Spain, Outback China, The Maldives, Africa, and Rural America!

24). I am very blessed to have a lot of very close friends, many that are from school days. I really appreciate them being there, and when we get together there is much fun and laughter. That means there a lot of good times that I can look back and reflect upon when times get rough. I'm also blessed to have a supportive family that care about what I do, and help me through the bad times.

25). My sense of humour often gets me into trouble. Once while I was in hospital and the doctor asked me how I was that morning, I joking said if I were a horse, I'd have been shot by now. I got put on suicide watch because of it! I don't seem to tolerate people that don't have a sense of humour. My humour includes, sarcasm, black humour, filthy jokes, and silliness.