So I've decided to detour in favor of something else. As a friend once put it, blogs are curious creatures because they tend to make readers feel a personal connection with the writer. Provided the writer is good, more or less, at communicating the perfect balance of information about himself or herself and information that has the appearance of being highly personal without actually being terribly personal. In short, a good blog writer makes readers feel they are on familiar terms. But a good blog writer would still have plenty to reveal if he or she ever met readers in person. It's an interesting balance.
Especially because sometimes I wonder: exactly how much can my writing tell you about me? It certainly doesn't do anything to inform you of my height, weight, eye color, or any physical characteristics. Unless I tell you so. (5'8", you wish!, hazel, glasses, blind right eye) It doesn't tell you anything about my family. Unless I tell you so. (Two brothers, two sisters, two brothers-in-law, one sister-in-law) It doesn't tell you how often I talk to my mother. (At least three times a week. Probably more. And 95% of the time, these calls start with, "Hi Mom. So I have a random question for you . . .")
But even given the parentheticals in the last paragraph, how well can you actually say that you know me? So in the spirit of giving you information about myself, here's a bulleted list:
- I own 300+ books. I haven't read 55 of them. (I counted the other day)
- My sister used to call me Potato. It was a derivative of the much longer "Katie Patatie the Big Fat Lady."
- Incidentally, I've never really been fat.
- But I am the fattest one in my family. It's all relative. The rest of them look like sticks.
- I am extremely loyal. And if someone hurts a person I'm close to, I have strong urges to hurt them in return.
- I usually don't follow through with hurting people. Too many logistical problems.
- If you ever want to hear me discourse for hours, ask me about my favorite book. I will proceed to tell you why it would probably be easier for me to pick a favorite star in the sky. And then I will start breaking literature into genres and telling you what my favorite book in each genre was.
- I have yet to see anyone who looks good wearing bright orange.
- I refer to mushrooms as "fungus." They're gross. And the word "mushroom" is not disgusting enough to describe them. But the word "fungus" works well. Especially when used with just the right amount of disdain and a nose wrinkle.
- Text language usually drives me crazy. But I make allowances for people I like that don't drive me crazy in person.
- In my short life span, there have been several people who liked to call me Kate. My name is not Kate. It has never been Kate. And it never will be Kate. But if it's a cute enough guy calling me Kate, I'll let him get away with it.
- My mom and I get wickedly competitive at Scrabble. And whenever I run across good 7-letter words, I make a mental note.
- Crossword puzzles are cool. I hate sudoku, because it involves numbers.
- I will attend just about any event as long as a goodly number of my friends are there. Even the opera. Even a baseball game.
- But I'll leave said event early if people get upset because I'm mocking it.
- I make a killer fungus-less stroganoff. Ask my roommates. If you know them.
- It amazed my family to learn that I have some cooking ability.
- I'm addicted to tortillas. And bread. The best bread in the world is my mom's homemade cinnamon raisin bread.
- My younger brother agreed to take an Institute class with me this fall.
- I haven't been on a date since the first week of January. In 2007.
- It doesn't bother me that it's been that long since I went on a date. But it bugs my mom quite a lot.
- Broccoli is the best vegetable ever. In my opinion.
- Tomatoes are fruit. Period. I don't care who says they're a vegetable. They're a fruit.
- Actually, I lied. Fresh peas are tied with broccoli as the best vegetable ever.
- By typing about bread, broccoli, tomatoes, and peas, I've managed to make myself hungry. And I won't be eating lunch for another hour and a half.
- I think people who casually throw phrases from other languages into their conversations are pretentious.
- I often wish I understood said casually throw-in phrases.
- I'm not a big fan of terribly political poetry.
- When I'm cleaning, I like to dance and sing and clean all at the same time. I'm a good multi-tasker that way.
- My roommate introduced me to The Office and now I'm a little addicted. (As in, I get a little sad if I find she's watched it without me.)
- I introduced my roommate to Robin Hood and now she's a little addicted.
- When I watch Jeopardy!, I yell the answers at the TV. And I yell at the contestants if they don't know an answer I find obvious.
- No, I do not think they can hear me.
- When it rains and I have an umbrella, I like to twirl it and hum "Singin' in the Rain." Sometimes I even like to dance around with it for a little while.
- And no, I don't care if people driving past find that odd.
- And yes, if you ever see me, you're welcome to join in!
