This post is inspired by Victoria. Hers was so fun to read it inspired me to play along.

1. I have a strong affinity with cats. Cats have always found me strangely appealing. When I was young, cats would find & adopt me in the weirdest places; camping in the middle of nowhere, in a field, or walking down the street. Even now, strange cats follow me down the street or run out to see me. They are my pet of choice. Don’t get me wrong, I love dogs too, but they are way too much work. Cats are cool. They hang out and do not demand too much.

2. I am very crafty and am accomplished at many old school “girly” things. My Nana and my Mom taught me how to sew, knit, crochet, and embroider. I do all of them off and on depending on my mood. I recently made my boyfriends a super plush bathrobe for Christmas and I like to make outfits/costumes to wear at parties, festivals and fire circles.

3. I need something to constantly focus my attention on. I am not good at just hanging around and making idle chit chat, or just sitting quietly with nothing to do. I used to drive my mother crazy because I always needed to be busy.

4. I have already lost both my parents. My Mom died when I was 28 and my Dad when I was 38. My Mom battled with breast cancer for 8 years. She never got to the place of acceptance around dying and resisted talking about it. We never really got to say goodbye. In our last coherent conversation, she told me to stop working so hard and to start living my life right now, don’t put it off until the future like she did, because you never know what is in store for you. She was 55 when she passed away.

My Dad died rather suddenly. He had emphysema, but was just as the beginning stages of it. He had just turned 70 and was hospitalized because he was having oxygen issues. The family thought that this was going to be the first of many hospitalizations. He was confused and scared and wanted to talk about the end of his life. I was the only one up to that conversation. I am thankful that I could stand in that place and discuss how he felt and where he was at with it. He passed away the next day.

5. I am actually really shy when I first meet people. People often assume that because I have a strong presence that I am out going, but that is not the case. I tend to feel awkward and shy about approaching people and starting conversations. This is especially hard for me in big groups of people that I do not know. My worst nightmare is big networking events! I do much better in one on one conversations, or if someone approaches me. Then it is all good.

6. I hate to be in the middle of big crowds of people. It makes me twitchy. I am cool if I am at an event where everyone is seated, but at parties, or events where there are lots of people milling about I need to be on the outside edges looking in. I need some personal space and a good observation point….or I bail and go home.

7. I was a bouncer in a popular night club in Boston for 3 years. Back in the early 90’s I was a total badass and into the club scene and it was my ambition to be a bouncer. It was fun. I was good at defusing situations without violence. I eventually stopped doing that and became a Reggae Promoter for 4 years.

8. I started on my path to real spiritual & personal development when I was 37.( Nope…I have not always been this way and it is not always easy for me). For most of my life I was  angry, frustrated and unsatisfied. Life did not feel easy or very meaningful. I was good at my job, made lots of money, and had an active social life, but there was a big gaping hole in me that I tried to fill with all kinds of parties, booze, sex, and food. I did not treat myself very nicely and I was good at blaming everyone else for my dissatisfaction. Finally a series of events happened that made me wake up and head in a new direction. This is where I landed. Now, I love my life.

9. I really want to go up in a hot air balloon! I think it would be so cool! Anyone want to join me???

10. When I was in high school I used to do the morning announcements and announce the basketball games and wrestling matches. I had dreams of being on the radio. During morning announcements I had to say the Pledge of Allegiance. At least twice a week I would mess it up somehow….forgetting a line, or getting the words backwards. One time they shut me down mid stream because I was laughing so hard. Now my dreams are manifest with my online radio show. I love doing it!

So…do you feel like you know me better?

Do you feel like playing along?

You can by sharing some random facts about yourself in the comments or creating your own blog post and linking back here.