Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Six Random Things

I've been tagged! Courtesy of Nina, I have been hit with the random things meme. I don't do too well at these, because I am not very interesting. Bear with me; this post is going to be boring.

1. I am a chocola-holic. In general, I don't have an addictive personality. I'm not hooked on drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, or gambling, but I desperately crave chocolate - in the form of candy bars, ice cream, cookies, donuts, hot cocoa or brownies. Hershey's, Nestle's, Ghiradelli's, Cadbury - you name it, I am there. I can't go to the movies without a large box of Sno-Caps. Graeter's Double Chocolate Chip ice cream makes me swoon. Milk chocolate or bitter-sweet, it doesn't matter to me, as long as it is pure chocolate. I am not one for nuts, fruits, caramel, or other additives in my chocolate. I want it unadultrated -
malted milk balls or candy bars with crispy bits like Hershey's Krackel or Nestle's Crunch are the exceptions to that rule. White chocolate doesn't count as real chocolate, and as for carob ... Blech!

2. I can crochet, but I can't knit. I can make you a scarf, hat, mittens, a shawl, or an afghan, as long as I work with one hook, not two needles. I made money in high school selling "beer can hats." I cut out panels from aluminum cans, punched holes in them and crocheted around them, then joined the squares into hats. Hey, it was the '70's; bad fashion was in!

3. I have never been ice skating. Don't think I have the ankles for it. I can roller skate and ski, but ice skating doesn't appeal to me.

4. I suffer from motion sickness, most commonly in cars on windy, hilly country roads. When I was a child, my mom prepared for every car trip by bringing along a bucket and a wet wash cloth. There are many spots in southeastern Ohio that were dubbed "Hysterical Places" by my punny family, because these were "places where Kathi threw up." If you come to the New River Birding and Nature Festival in West Virginia next spring, better be sure to let me sit in the front of the van!

5. I'm anosimic. That's a fancy word for "I lack a sense of smell." I know I lost it when I was about 12 years old, but I don't know why. I can remember some smells, especially the smell of horses and hay. In a way, being anosmic has its advantages in my job, but it can be a drag when you only find out the milk has spoiled after you take a big drink. I always worry if my house smells bad to guests or if my perfume clashes with my scented hand lotion. I am campaigning for stores to provide me assistance, under the Americans with Disabilities Act
, in the form of a designated smeller. How else am I supposed to know if the melons are ripe?

6. I can drive a stick shift, drive a pick-up truck, and pull a trailer. In fact, I can drive a stick-shift pick-up truck while pulling a loaded horse trailer. I can even back up!

(I told you this would be boring.)

Now, for my victims
, I pick:

1. Lisa at Altered Intersection
2. Kyle at As the Mind Wanders
3. Kathy at Life, Birding, Photos and Everything
4. Donald the Birder
5. Helena at Adventures of Bird Girl
6. Phoebe at This Random Life

These last two blogs are of young people who haven't posted much lately. C'mon, grrls - don't let the old folks show you up by being more tech-savvy than you!

Here are the rules for Six Random Things:


1. Link to the person who tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Write six random things about yourself.

4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.

5. Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.

6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

7 comments:

nina at Nature Remains. said...

The anosmic part must be very frustrating!! Especially because I would imagine you miss a bit of the benefit of your chocolate addiction!

Perhaps the iphone will develop an app to help you out? Wouldn't that be great? Just point and it will tell you--thumbs up/thumbs down!

Beth in NYC said...

Ah another member of the club - I'm anosimic, too! In my case, it's part of a condition called Kallman's Syndrome. Living in the big city, I have been spared a lot of the more pungent odors but I'm a little sorry I don't have those scents that stir memories, like most people. I don't wear perfume but I do encounter the gone-bad food issues from time to time, too. I've always said if I had to lose one of my five senses, I suppose sense of smell would be the one that would least affect my existence.

I'm also a chocoholic. :-)

Kyle said...

Argh, you got me Kathi! So would offering you chocolate get me out of having to come up with six things about myself? Don't I embarass myself enough on a regular basis?


Heh. I'll see what I can come up with...

Kyle said...

PS - Did you say "beer can hats"? That's definitely a new one on me. :-D

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Does your inability to detect odors affect yout sense of taste?

NCmountainwoman said...

Nope, not boring at all. And I remember the beer can hats.

Kathi said...

Beth:
Yes, when people say that scents evoke the strongest memories, I feel a little sad that I miss out on that. However, missing diesel exhaust, skunk spray and doggie doo-doo odors is a pretty fair trade-off.

Kyle:
You don't have to participate in the meme if you don't want to. I tried to tag different people this time, not the ones who always get picked. But, chocolate would get you off the hook quicker! And yes, beer can hats. They were ... not pretty. You could do the same thing with soda cans, but "Coke Zero" isn't as red-necked as "Budweiser."

Lynne:
When people say, "If you can't smell, then how do you taste?" my answer usually is, "I taste pretty good." {wicked grin} Actually, I get the basic flavors - sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. However, I do believe that I miss a lot of subtle flavors, and I definitely can't do wine tastings, where a lot of the enjoyment is "in the nose."

~Kathi