Tagged

I have been tagged!

Jemma Brown of diaryofamonkey.blogspot.com tagged me on yesterday's post. I haven't heard of blogger tag and was surprised to be 'it'. The rules, yes there are rules for everything ...

Here's the rules.

1. Let others know who tagged you.

2. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.

3. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.

4. Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been tagged.

So I have to come up with 8 random facts about myself. Things I haven't written about before, little quirks of my nature. So, here goes.

1. I hate and abhor chain letters, with their flagrant promises of riches and their astounding threats of death and dismemberment. It seems to me to be a mixture of the worst of behaviour therapy. Do this and get that. Don't do this and really get that. I never forward them and then feel a vague sense of dis-ease for the next few days. The same dis-ease I see in other's over promised and frequently punished who live under the care of others.

2. I absolutely love the Big Apple. No, not New York City, but the Big Apple that's just off exit 497 on the 401 near Prudy Corners. For those unlucky enough to never have stopped there, the Big Apple is just that, a giant several story building in the shape of an apple. We've stopped there regularly for years and it wasn't until I was in a wheelchair that I realized what a wonderful place it was. Though there's a very long ramp up and in, it's quite accessible and they make the second best sugar free apple pie in all of Christendom.

3. Every night when I go to bed I get a pang of sorrow for the loss of my sweet dog Eric who used to start every night out sleeping on the pillow between us. He wasn't a small lap dog but a medium sized mutt who would occasionally rest his chin on my shoulder and snore. I can't help it but every single night I go to bed I look at his pillow with tears in my eyes.

4. We go to the movies at least once a week and I tuck into a bag of popcorn and dive into the plot. I love escaping my life and entering into someone else's reality for just a couple of hours. Movies at home on DVD are just not the same to me. I need to be in the darkened room in front of the big screen. I like the big action movies and the small intimate movies. Give me a story and people I can care about and I'm the best audience alive.

5. The hardest thing I ever had to do at work was write a report documenting abuse. I had to fill in a form, marking on a line drawing of a body where the bruises were and I had to actually measure the marks. The largest was, I still remember 6 x 4 inches. I vowed that day that I would work towards a day where vulnerable people were no longer hurt. This memory still carries me in the work I do today.

6. The easiest day I ever had at work was when one of the guys I was counselling asked me to be his best man at his wedding. We talked and laughed that day and I was astounded at how full I could be of joy for another. He grew up in an institution and never thought he'd see the day that he would marry. His family said they wouldn't attend or support the marriage and I knew that I was 3rd choice after his two brothers. But it didn't matter. It was the most relaxed few moments I've ever had with someone in my care.

7. I am terribly fond of sunflowers. I like them in all forms. The huge fields of sunflowers we used to see near our home in Quebec when we lived there. The small sunflower I have on my desk right now. I actually stop, occasionally, and just look at it. It's beautiful. It manages to reach up to the sun, track it's progress, and be absolutely silent - as if in awe - of what it worships. I'd kind of like to be like that.

8. For some reason I can't explain, I find Christmas wrapping paper in England to be far superior in design to our own here in Canada and the United States. I buy vast volumes of it every year and we haul it back through customs. It feels weird to explain to a customs agent that I'm bring back 50 dollars worth of wrapping paper. But the pitying look I get from the agent is worth the cost of the paper. Joe says that we have enough paper to last us until Christmas 2046. What does he know?

9. I pray daily, and often. I never ever lecture without praying first. I know this bothers many, some because they have no faith and others who believe I have no right to faith. But it's no-one else's business. I find that prayer centers me, connects me, and confirms me. Prayer is like food for my soul. It matters to me.

10. Oh, my gosh, I just now realized that it was only supposed to be 8 ... so I'll stop. I'm so used to lists of 10. So ignore a couple of these and you'll have your 8.

Now the hard part. I'm supposed to tag 8 other people and I'm not going to do that. It's a little 'chain letter'ish to me and I don't want to impose this on anyone else. Please don't misunderstand me, I enjoyed being tagged and enjoyed writing this list, but others may not. So, here's what I'm going to do. I unoffically tag all other bloggers who read this list. I'd like you to play if you want and just put your blog address in the responses. Then we can all come visit you and read your list.

It's fiddling with the rules.

But ain't that what rules are for?