The splendid seven also known as more useless information
I recently met JackMcMad via Bock the Robber. Both of them are Irish gents. And since I’ve been having so much fun here at the Cardiogirl Empire with my own Irish fixture, Claire, I wanted to see what else Ireland has to offer. And, as if she were reading my mind, Claire posted a link to Irish Bloggers which is how I found these two Irishmen. And now we have completed the circle of friends.
So Jack McMad posted a meme and tagged me. Yay! And since I want to keep him as an Irish friend (and I feel mentally and emotionally wrung out right now) I shall provide you with seven more weird facts about Cardiogirl. And since I feel beat up, I am only tagging one person. And that person is Elle. Rock it sister, I want to see seven facts about you tomorrow! If you want to do it rock on, if not that’s groovy, too. I am phoning it in, folks.
1. For some reason, I have very tender feet. If I grew up on a tribe with the Native Americans I would be named Neurotic Tenderfoot. I don’t like existing here on Planet Earth without shoes on. The bottoms of my feet are actually quite delicate, thank you very much, and I am not comfortable walking around my house (much less elsewhere) without shoes on. We have hardwood floors throughout, so perhaps if we had wall-to-wall carpeting this might play out differently.
But right now, I make sure to leave an old pair of Chucks in the basement to wear as slippers about the house. I’ve been toggling between the purple pair and the light blue pair, in case you’re curious. I do this because I hate rooting around in the dark, under the bed, looking for a pair of low tops to wear when I wake up for the day.
2. There are many fashion fads out there that I think require a certain personality to pull off. I can’t really nail down what kind of personality I think is required to pull these fads off, but I know I don’t have it.
The two things that readily come to mind are painted fingernails (long or short, but mostly long) and leather jackets (mostly the bomber jacket, but all types of leather coats fall into this category.) In my opinion manicured nails seem to indicate a high-maintenance chick, no offense to all the chicks out there with lacquered nails. Don’t hate me because I’m low-maintenance.
3. I have a very warped view of pain tolerance. I usually try to suck it up and deal quietly with the pain. I am very concerned about being viewed as a hypochondriac and frequently I do feel that I can manage my physical and mental pain by focusing and concentrating all of my efforts.
Recently I saw an episode of “Mystery Diagnosis” where a woman in her late 20s had a series of terrible headaches which included vomiting and intense pain. She made quite a few trips to the ER and went undiagnosed for a while. Eventually she had a headache that was so severe she told her husband she wanted someone to poke a hole between her eyes to relieve the pressure.
When she arrived at the hospital she found out she had suffered a stroke. The craziest part of all of this is that I was actually impressed that she was able to suffer through the pain of a stroke. I know that is really messed up. But I wondered if I could handle the pain of suffering a stroke, like she did. I know, even I realize that’s not normal.
4. I’m surprised to admit I really like Aly & AJ. The song I’ve been listening to lately is “Potential Break-up Song.” I think these two sisters are 15 and 17, but they have really powerful vocals.
Anyway, my favorite part of the song is when she says “Now all I want is just my stuff back, do you get that? Let me repeat that, I want my stuff back.” The delivery is just a flat command and then she actually reiterates it saying “let me repeat that.” I posted the song so you can hear her delivery for yourself. Those lyrics are roughly at the 1 minute 30 second mark.
I know the song is about a romantic break up, but these lyrics hit a chord with me because I kind of feel like based on current circumstances my former view of the world has been corrupted. And I would like to tell the universe (and certain people) the same thing:
We got along
We got along
We got along until you did that
Now all I want is just my stuff back
Do you get that?
Let me repeat that
I want my stuff back
So to paraphrase, this is Cardiogirl calling. Universe, we were getting along just fine until you threw all of this crazy stuff at me. Now I just want the world to be the way it was. I want my stuff back. Let me repeat that. I want my virtue back.
5. I really despise my middle name, because all four of my sisters have the same middle name. I refuse to use it or acknowledge it except on our mortgage and our taxes. Mr. C reminds me every year at tax time that I have to use my middle initial when I sign the tax forms. I dislike it so much because it reinforces my feeling that my parents see all of us as sheep, just another one of the herd and no one actually stands out as special.
My parents made an extra effort, all of my life, to tell all of us everything was equal and no one was more important than the other one. They went so far as to force me to get a high school class ring — even though I told them repeatedly I did NOT want one and dissolved in a frustrated bout of tears — because everyone else had one. I’m the youngest one — so it is written, so it shall be done.
I don’t know where that ring is, and I hate that ring. I’m glad it’s lost.
6. I secretly exacted revenge on my parents by not wearing a particular necklace in my high school graduation picture. It was a diamond pendant that all of my sisters wore in their pictures. The necklace was actually lost for a while between pictures. But four of the five girls found it in time.
When it was my turn to have my picture taken I took the necklace with me, but kept it in my pocket. No one accompanied me on the photo shoot and my parents didn’t notice in the proofs that I had not worn it.
Now all six of those high school graduation photos, 8×10s, hang on the wall in my parent’s house. Every week, when my kids and I visit, I look at the picture and am glad I do not have a necklace on. It is a silent act of revenge — a secret I have kept for over 20 years.
7. I have huge, colossal issues with control.
