2. Although I was her second baby, they gave my mother Pitocin to speed labor up. No pain drugs. She's tough. And still pissed about the Pitocin.
3. I have one older brother. I have always really liked him.
4. My earliest memory is, when aged almost 2, I fell into a swimming pool in winter. My brother saved me by sticking his leg in for me to grab. I remember being under water very distinctly, and I remember feeling calm.
5. When I was small, and not so small, I was not so about coming when called. So my parents would rumple cellophane - you know what I'm saying - candy wrappers and such. Got me there like a shot. Works on my kid too. Thanks, mum. I think.
6. I am an optimistic person.
7. Although I get terribly stressed out when I am running late. Even for things that don’t matter. It’s my one big tic. Tim has learned to accommodate it. Most of the time.
8. My ears are different sizes. The one on the right is little cauliflowered. The doctor told my mum that I'd always wear my hair long.
9. No. I haven't. In fact, it was very short at my
10. I have never broken any bones.
11. But I've been hospitalized for a kidney infection while in boarding school.
12. Oh - I was in boarding school. I didn't like it that much. But I had asked to go.
13. When I was 6 going on 7, I told all my friends that Jaws was going to be the movie at my birthday party. It wasn't, but my mother got a bunch of irate phone calls.
14. I really liked sharks as a kid. My gran had all these books about fish and the ocean, including an artist's impression of a feeding frenzy, featuring an eviscerated Hammerhead. Yeah.
15. When people hear I am from South Africa, they often ask if I've ever seen a Great White Shark... Only on National Geographic Channel, people...
16. Gran also had a linen wall hanging of stylized Vikings next to her bathroom. They're scared the shit out of me. I called them the "Pussy Cats" and would not go to the bathroom unaccompanied.
17. I'm very allergic to cats.
18. When I was in High School I was running through the corridors (not allowed) and fell and accidentally punched out a pane on the classroom door.
19. I have quite an impressive scar on my wrist - although it's faded since it happened more than 20 years ago now.
20. I played the left hand and the pedals on the chapel organ in high school. I was OK, but was not really into practising. The girl who played the right hand, was. The playing quality was somewhat uneven as a result.
21. The worst job I ever had was dressing up as Santa Claus and collecting money from people having dinner in restaurants for a kid's charity. It was a great cause, but a lousy gig. I did it for a week.
22. No wait... That wasn't the worst. The WORST was a gig that turned out to be walking suburban neighborhoods trying to sell BAD reproduction oil on canvas paintings. We were told to always make sure the husbands were home, as they made the purchasing decisions. I lasted one night.
23. Top those. What can I say? I was a teenager, and I used to fund my own vacations.
24. I actually graduated to some better jobs. For example, I was a production assistant on Africa leg of the first season of The Amazing Race. Really. I have one of the original clues from when they landed in Johannesburg.
25. And I can't say anything about it, because I signed a scary non-disclosure agreement. It was wild. But that's all you're getting from me.
26. I stopped tanning at 25.
27. I took Ancient Greek at University, and was really bad at it. Actually, I deregistered before finals to avoid failing.
28. But it was good for something. Our lecturer said that the friends we made in Ancient Greek would be our friends for life. And what do you know if that friend isn't now teaching at a fine North Eastern liberal arts college. Mind you - I've been bad about emailing lately. A? Are you out there?
29. I have met Nelson Mandela, and have a small South African flag he signed.
30. Tim has danced with him. They are both pretty bad dancers, so I am sorry I missed that.
31. I have lived in Texas, and I really loved the place. It's so Texan.
32. When I sold my flat in South Africa, we used the proceeds to buy a nice couch in the US. OK. That's only part of the story.
33. It's not that the South African Rand was *that* weak, but more that I didn't have much equity in the apartment.
34. (It's the journalism part of me that makes me add the last bit, but the writer part that makes me take a big pause before explaining.) It's a very comfy couch. I am sitting on it now.
35. I love my car. It’s a Mini Cooper.
36. If you got stuck sitting next to me at a wedding or a big do, you'd probably have a good time, because I'm interested in people, and know a little bit about a lot of stuff.
37. No really. I used to be a journalist, remember. Everyone's stories are interesting to me.
38. I only got that 'living one day at a time' thing after I had Josh. Kids will really show you how illusory the notion of control over your life really is.
39. Just below the surface of my daily life is the terrible fear that something awful will happen to Josh. And that I'll drop dead of sadness if it does.
40. I have opened a bottle of Champagne with a saber. Twice. It's called 'Le Sabrage'. So French, eh?
41. I have never been a skinny chick, but I am content with my body. This is a recent thing, and is entirely attributable to Tim who has never said a mean word about it, although lord knows there is room for improvement.
42. I am a Post-Modern literary snob, but my child likes ALL books, and it really hurts to read some of the crap they publish for kids. I need to cull his library.
43. My favorite book as a kid was Richard Scarry's Great Pie Robbery. It was published the year I was born and it's out of print now. (Oh. I just found it on e-Bay.)
44. I had no idea how much I wanted a child until I had a baby.
45. I have no interest in sport, although I can watch golf.
46. I've been down the deepest gold mine in South Africa, Western Deep, and have a piece of ore bearing rock from the trip. It's pretty. White and black flecked rock like granite.
47. The gold concentration was around 3 percent per ton from that part of the mine. That gives you some perspective on how much rock was moved to make that band on your finger.
48. I would love to learn to be a turntablist. Like this
49. I used to think I’d write a book one day, but I don’t think I will anymore.
50. The hardest thing about immigrating is the small stuff. Like the food. Everything tastes different here. And you spend hours looking for alternatives. But they’re never as good.
51. When I became US citizen, I had to promise to bear arms if asked by my country. I really hope it doesn't. I'm on the downhill slope to 40, and not nearly fit enough.
52. Josh and I are both
53. I find it really hard to make decisions. So I tend to just mentally ‘pick one’, because if I analyze it too much I’ll be paralysed.
54. I really hate camping. Luckily, Tim does too.
55. I love good wine, but the South African wine we drink here we would never have drunk back home… However, it’s all we can get.
56. I was a vegetarian for years. No more. Now I am constantly plotting my next biltong purchase from a store in California. It’s a kind of jerky – but so much better.
57. Once when I was serving a table of Spanish tourists in Cape Town, I asked, in my dodgy Spanish, if they wanted hair conditioner instead of cream on their desserts. Gah.
58. I voted for the Green Party in South Africa in the last election before I left. They didn’t get quite enough votes for a seat in parliament. Ah well.
59. I’m a very bad Scrabble player. It’s not about knowing big words, it’s about knowing all those clever little ones, but even more, it’s about strategy. And I spend all my time trying to come up with long words. No good.
60. I’m better at Trivial Pursuit. But I’m not really a big board game person.
61. I have short legs so I wear my pants really long in an attempt to make them look longer. But Josh is bothered by too-long pants and is constantly trying to pull them up for me.
62. It’s cute.
63. I know the Pope’s astronomer… As in galaxies and planets, not horoscopes. And, I guess he’s the ex-astronomer, he retired last year.
64. I think guavas are disgusting.
65. While I would never believe ads back home, I fall for everything here. It’s very annoying.
66. I’m working on it, and through a large selection of products I've bought that don’t work.
67. I had an orange and purple Chopper named Esmeralda when I was 7. Yeah. The 1970s…
68. We moved to the States on August 30, 2001.
69. My first American job was as a Morning TV producer for an NBC affiliate. I worked from 11pm to 7am. With a 40 minute commute across state lines at either end.
70. Since then, I sleep with one hand over my eyes as if it’s daylight whenever I go to bed.
71. I always cry when I leave a job. Except for those two bad jobs mentioned earlier.
72. I don’t like the phone. It’s another immigrant hang-up. It works differently here in subtle ways and my first few phone calls went badly. My accent used to freak out those speak-your-choice systems.
73. I hate housework, but I quite like doing laundry. But not so much the folding part.
74. I find art museums boring. I usually find a bench for Tim to find me at when he’s done ogling the stuff.
75. A woman I respected once told me that the best facial moisturizer was Boots calamine lotion. I used it for a while.
76. I am a music fascist and use an iPod to control my sound environment. I can’t relinquish control to the randomness of music radio
77. I have visited 29 states and 18 countries.
78. I used to squeeze the toothpaste tube from the middle, but now I understand how that made my father feel.
79. Math is my nemesis. I still have dreams about sitting in an exam room and not knowing what the hell to do. I swear, numbers make my blood run cold.
80. Cockroaches make me scream. Josh once caught one and tried to put it in his mouth. I about died. Instead I screamed a lot, and he dropped it in fear.
81. I still don’t feel like a grownup. And I’ve stopped waiting for it to happen.
82. I used to be able to sleep whenever I liked. But motherhood has turned me into the world’s lightest sleeper.
83. I hope I’m able to nap like a champ again one day.
84. No tattoos. Can’t decide what or where, not that I’ve ever really given it any serious thought.
85. My grandfather, Henry, was a navigator on a fighter plane in WWII. I never met him, or my other grandfather Noel, who was born on Christmas day.
86. Who shares my birthday? Snoop – he’s three years younger than me. Fo’ shizzle.
87. I have attended Simon Vega’s Elvis party three times. Held at his home, which he has named
88. Simon has even written and recorded a song about the King. We own it.
89. I’ve never been a bridesmaid. A good thing, I think.
90. Since moving to the US, I’ve started reading a lot of non-fiction to try to understand this country.
91. But a lot of the basic day to day stuff will always elude me. I wonder if Josh will think I’m dorky and clueless. I hope not.
92. I think Times New Roman is a God awful font. Actually, most serif fonts suck.
93. I love watching small town Rodeos.
94. I don’t have a favorite book, or movie, or color or food. I’d say that’s too limiting, but really I just don’t have the energy for the internal debate required to make the decision.
95. I hate those blasted ‘getting to know you emails’ that you have to fill in and forward to people.
96. In the 80s, used to stay up all night playing
97. I never imagined I would want to stay home with a child, but I can’t imagine anyone worth my time more than the boykin.
98. I always eat colored candy, like M&Ms in order so that I can create patterns with the remaining colors.
99. I love grey, rainy days. Or at least, I did when I could curl up in bed with a book. Now a grey rainy day means a cooped up toddler. ARGH!
100. That’s it. More than you wanted to know, and too much to read through.
