3.26.2008

Ten Things I've Done You Probably Haven't: A Meme in One Act

The directive: List 10 things you've done in your lifetime that you think are pretty unique.

Okey dokey...

1. Had a baby at 25 weeks gestation.
Yeah, I’m playing hard ball with this one. If you have, God bless you. I understand. This is something that I would never, ever wish on anyone.

2. Marched in a protest around the state capital building.

Had a buddy who was the student representative on the state Board of Regents and he coerced a bunch of us to blow off classes one day during summer school to head to Tallahassee to protest proposed college tuition hikes. We all had placards: "STOP TUITION HIKES NOW" and did our thing, marching and chanting around the perimeter of the capital building. Hey, it was no Kent State, but it was as close as I was gonna get. Please -- it was the '80s. The only other protests happening that I knew of were the ones regarding apartheid. And at that point in my slightly pampered sorority girl life, I wasn't about to chain myself to the administration building doors, regardless of how I felt about a cause.

Anyhoo.

Our little protest happened to be a bit of a media event -- it must have been a sloooow news day. We get back to Gainesville that evening. And there's an answering machine message from my parents. Who had been watching the evening news and saw a piece on the student protest. Which featured me, front and center with my placard. Of course, I hadn't bothered to inform them of my plans in advance. It could have been worse -- at least I wasn't chained to the doors of an admin building somewhere.

3. Lost my virginity underneath my parents' Christmas tree.
HA! This is a good one, isn't it? A little bit of TMI on Wednesday, dontcha know...

4. Been to a Super Bowl.

'Twas Super Bowl XXV. New York Giants v. Buffalo Bills. Great game, won in the last seconds by the Giants. I happened to be sitting around a bunch of Bills fans. Yes, grown men do cry over sporting events. It was a crazy game, as the first Gulf War had started literally days before. Lots of security. And a transcendent rendition of the National Anthem by an on-top-of-her-game Whitney Houston. Truly memorable.

5. Worked as an AFDC/Food Stamp specialist.
I've had a jillion jobs in my life and times, but this one was by far the most unique and most stressful. I didn't do this long -- just about a year. But nothing else I've ever done career-wise has impacted me as much. Personally and politically.

6. Torn all the ligaments in my left ankle.
Aerobics injury. Thought I'd just sprained it. Wrapped it up tight and took two more high-impact classes on it that week. The pain became unbearable and so I went to an orthopaedist who gave me the bad news, a lecture, an air splint, orders to stay off it for a minimum of eight weeks and a script for Darvocet. This happened twenty years ago. And my left ankle. Still twinges periodically.

7. Got busted by Disney cops for "inappropriate participation on a ride." No. Not what you think. Grad Night, Disney World. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. My galpal and I had held our legs just so when the helpful assistant lowered the safety bar on our little ride car. Done so with the express intent of jumping out mid-ride and running around the inside of the place. Darn those security cameras. We were given a very stern talking to by a couple of official looking dudes and sent on our merry way with the promise to behave ourselves. You'd think with all the drinking-on-the-sly going on that night that security would have had more important things to do. But no. Does that girl with the BIG hair and fabulous blue eyeshadow look like a menace to society -- even Disney society -- I think not.

8. Taken an adult tap class.
Oh man. I won't go into huge detail, because I think there's a whole story to be told with this one... but suffice it to say that this was a riot of epic proportions. In a good way. I was the youngest person in this class -- which was taught by a dancer buddy of mine I knew from work -- by decades. Lots of decades. Let's put it this way: my classmates all knew where they were when they heard that Glenn Miller's plane had gone down.

9. Given a workshop at a national conference.
A highlight of my professional life. I presented a workshop on the nuances of school volunteer recruitment. And it was pretty damn good, if I do say so myself.

10. Had to use my emergency brake to stop my car because I'd completely worn the pads off my regular brakes and rendered them useless.

Yeah. I know. My dad still brings this up, 15 years later. What can I say -- I was poor and really girly about car stuff. That car (Pontiac Grand Am) was a piece of shit to begin with -- the head gasket blew on it when it was only two years old. Amongst other things. Although this brake stuff -- can't blame it on the car being a lemon. Trust me when I say that I tried, though.

8 comments:

Jen said...

Okay, so this is scary... we have some overlap.

Have done the protest thing at a couple of state capitols.

Stretched out all ligaments and ripped one in my left ankle. Needed 6 mos. of physical therapy. Ouch.

I was the youngest person in a line dancing class, and I think some of your classmates were mine. ;-) I also took an "adult" belly dancing class where I was the oldest. And I was dyin', let me tell you!

janey jay said...

That is scary coincidental, jen -- especially our mutual left ankle injuries. Wow.

You are a brave woman to take an adult belly dance class -- that's something I've always wanted to try, but never had the nerve. Maybe someday...

Jill said...

I hope the baby born at 25 weeks is okay! I had major surgery at 22 weeks - they took Anthony out, put him back in and stapled me up. He's 8 years old now. =)

And thanks for the blog add on your sidebar. =)

Jill

janey jay said...

Oh wow -- that's some scary pregnancy stuff, Jill.

Will's (the 25 weeker) is doing really, really well, considering his crazy health history and everything he went through. He's got his share of challenges -- with cerebral palsy and developmental delays being the major issues.

However... he is a living, breathing, singing miracle for whom I am eternally thankful and by whom I am blessed each and every moment of each and every day.

Yes, I am very proud of my boy.

Sherrie said...

Wow, I'm still shaking my head about the Christmas tree one...that's REALLY unique! How's this for weird though....I was an AFDC/FS specialist (actually a "senior public assistance specialist II", also called a "sixteen" for reason's I can't recall) for 8 soul-sucking years. What a waste of most of my 20's. I worked in the Clearwater office, were you @ St Pete?

janey jay said...

Oh my stars -- 8 years with HRS. Sherrie, I don't know how you did it. And remained sane. That year nearly did me in.

Yes, I was in the St. Pete office in the beautiful Plaza 500 building. We should probably swap stories some time -- I bet you have some doozies.

Sherrie said...

Yeah, those 8 years gave me a lifetime of stories, that's for sure. However, it was so horrible that it drove me back to college to a get a degree and a job that I actually love, so it was ALMOST worth it. I was there from 1992-2000, I still have all the stupid screen abbreviations and denial codes taking up valuable space in my brain- I wish I could dump it all!

SusanD said...

Christmas trees and tap dance!! YAY!