I'm one of those strange people who like filling out forms and surveys that you get in the mail, so I was delighted to receive this interview meme (my first ever official meme!) from thenisaid.
Interview questions:
1. How did you and your husband meet?
I met Dan at hotel restaurant at a brunch, where some family friends were trying to fix me up with his best friend. It was sort of When Harry Met Sally-ish.
2. What was the coolest thing you ever did?
Well, once I got stuck for about an hour on a chair lift at the local ski slope and had to be evacuated by sliding off the chair lift onto a seat-like contraption hanging from a rope which was flung over the cable and dangling 30 feet or so above the ground. Oh wait. That's the coldest thing I ever did. (Really, my butt was frozen solid after sitting so long on that metal chair in the frigid air of a Minnesota winter, waiting to be rescued.)
The coolest thing I ever did is a lot harder to choose. I guess I'll say it was the 1992 hillwalking trip I took while I was living in Scotland. This is the one where I hiked 10 miles from the Dalwhinnie train station (=middle of nowhere) carrying a heavy backpack which was borrowed from someone much bigger than me, and therefore didn't fit properly (=great pain in shoulders), stayed in a bothy (=abandoned shack used as shelter while camping) which had just been treated with Creosote (=major high headache from the fumes) and spent four days climbing the local munros (=mountains over 3000ft -- spectacular views) with three guys I hardly knew (=wouldn't you like to know!!). It was one of those experiences where you spend much of the time tired, sore, and stinky, wondering frequently if you were insane when you decided to do this, but which afterwards become the coolest thing you ever did. Life is like that sometimes.
3. What do you remember most about learning to drive?
My dad making me stop and start on a steep hill (it was a manual transmission car).
4. What do you do when you're worried?
Well, my biggest worry time is at night when I am trying to fall asleep. I tell myself that there is absolutely nothing I can do about X (whatever I am worried about) in the middle of the night. Now is the time for sleep, and I can worry about X in the morning. It will still be there. If necessary, I will get up and write it down, just to convince myself it will still be there in the morning and that I won't "forget" to worry about it later. Believe it or not, this usually works. Apparently, I'm very convincing.
5. How did you get into dancing?
Sheer luck, mostly. For most of myself I was convinced that I was completely uninterested in dancing. Growing up, I scorned the girls who took tap, jazz and ballet after school. I nearly got in a fist fight with a little boy who "accused me" (well that's how I saw it!) of being in the ballet class.
In 1989-1990 I studied at the University of Edinburgh, and during the Freshers Week, they had a societies fair where all the clubs and societies at the university had information tables. For some reason the table for the New Scotland Country Dance Society caught my eye, and for some other reason, I decided to go along to their introductory night and try out this Scottish country dancing. I guess I thought it might be an interesting way to experience an aspect of Scottish culture. I was hooked immediately, and now I am a Scottish dance fanatic. I'm not sure why I took to it the way I did, but I have a couple of theories. I'll save them for a separate posting, though.
If you'd like me "interview" you, leave me a comment.
I liked your description of your walk in Scotland. I always loved that picture of you at the rail station. I thought it was so cool that you had that adventure.
Posted by: Mom at August 30, 2005 2:09 PM