10 things about me you may not know

At least once a day I think about this blog and come up with some clever, or what I perceive to be, witty subject matter that I can come home and blog about.  Then I come home, get tired and just don't do it.  But I always read my brother's and sister in law's blog.  Sometimes I get inspired enough to steal one of their ideas and use it for my own blog.  They both wrote a list of 10 things you may not know about them.  Hence the title of this entry and the meat of the matter.  Here are 10 things about me that you may not know...

1.  I was the arm wrestling champion of my squadron in Tech School back in 1990.  I beat 22 females and 3 men before I almost collapsed from exhaustion.

2.  I did a stint in Law school that I loved and still miss to this day.

3.  I was a contestant on "The Weakest Link" TV game show.  I was the first one voted off.

4.  I am convinced that the only reason I succeed at most things I set out to do is because I have failed enough to be terrified of failure.

5.  I have stood on the Great Wall of China.

6. I have a dog that I love so much that I sometimes question if it's normal.

7.  The observation deck at the top of Tower Two of the World Trade center was my favorite place on the face of the earth.

8.  I would love to be able to swing dance, clog dance and play piano, but I have zero rhythm, horrible balance and zero talent for musical instruments.

9.  I sat here for 15 minutes trying to come up with something for number 9, and couldn't.

10.  I am terrified of spiders and currently live in a country with the largest concentration of huge black and green "Banana Spiders" in the Pacific.

Quality vs Quantity

I am a food lover.  Let me just put that on out there, 'k?  I have even gone so far as to refer to myself a food snob.   I grew up poor and didn't really know good food quality until I got much older.  I have grown into an appreciation of food that I didn't always have.  Now, don't get me wrong, I am willing to try new things. I even had squirrel gumbo once!  

Over the years, though, I have come to realize that the majority of folks i talk to love buffets.  They are all about the buffet.  I, on the other hand, have always loathed the buffet, in just about any capacity.  I hate everything about buffets; I can't stand paying a set price for food that I will never eat enough of for it to have been worth the price I paid, I don't like going to a place to eat where I am paying to serve myself  (it defeats the purpose of going out, doesn't it?), using the same nasty dirty food scoopers that everyone and their child has had their unwashed hands all over before I got there and most of all, I can't stand the idea that I am supposed to over look the lack of quality in favor of the mass quantity that is laid out in front of me.  However, I am no longer going to make apologies for being a food snob.  Because I am right.  Period. 

Tonight was a typical example of what I am talking about.  Officer's club.  Mongolian BBQ buffet.  I am there specifically because there is a going away dinner taking place for three coworkers.  You pay a set price, grab a bowl, scoop out the meat (in this case, beef, chicken, and shrimp) take as many veggies as you want, give it to a guy who takes the bowl to the kitchen, cooks it up and brings you the food you scooped into your bowl and you eat it.  All around me there were people with their bowls over flowing with food (all you can eat, after all) and here I am, with a little bit of chicken, a little bit of shrimp, a little bit of meat and some veggies.  And it sucked.  All of it.  There is nothing wrong with chicken, beef or shrimp.  It was THIS beef, chicken and shrimp.  Poor quality, small rubbery chicken andshrimp.  Meat that was so lousy that it could barely be chewed.  And folks were just eating it up.  Like they were starving on a desert island. I just don't understand it.  I will pay whatever price I must pay for a decent meal and would rather eat nothing then have nothing worth eating.

Now somebody bring me a ladder so I can climb down off my soapbox.

My Macy moo

I simply couldn't resist putting this video of my dog and my two nephews playing in Seattle, Washington.  It's good to know that she is having such a good time there!  I sleep better at night because I know she is being loved and cared for the same way I love and care for her.  Life is good...

Annyong haseyo!

Hello from the ROK!  That's the Republic of Korea for those who aren't in-the-know.  Yes, it's been 6 months since i have written and in that time I have been transferred from Shreveport, Louisiana to Osan Air Base in South Korea.   I have been here for two months now and now that I have gotten over the shock of the move, I am happy.  The worst part of this one year assignment was having to leave my dog, Macy.  I am so fortunate and grateful that my brother and sister in law agreed to keep her for a year.  I can't wait for the day i can come home and pet her and hug her again.

I have to live in a dorm here and that is difficult.  The room is small, damp, musty, and dark.  And it's a DORM!  I am 36 years old for cryin' out loud.  Ok.  Enough bitching. 

South Korea is a beautiful, mountinous country.  It sort of reminds me of upstate NY.  It's humid here, which bothers most people here, but I like it.  It cools down in the evenings and walking around is just awesome.  I went on a hike about a month ago up Mt. Songri and visited Bupju Temple and both were just amazing!  It was a 7km hike one way, up hill.  A steep hill.  The best workout I ever had in my life for sure.  I am going to take a trip to China next month which I am very excited about.   I will bring my camera and take pictures. 

Meanwhile, the countdown until I go back to the United States continues...only 10 months to go!  Whoo hoo!

Mommy, I wanna bicycle!!

A friend of mine has been talking recently about getting back into bike riding.  She has a bicycle and hasn't ridden it in awhile and after talking with her about it for a few weeks (in passing only), I told her today that I would look into buying a bike so we could ride together.  Nothing big, mind you.  No Lance Armstrong-ing.  No triathilons.  No racing.  Just something different to do for exercise on a Saturday afternoon. 

It's been a lot of years since I last bought a bicycle.  I think I lived in Germany and my ex-husband bought me a Cannondale.  I know it was an expensive bike (mountain), and I never rode it.  I hated the idea of mountain bikes.  I was much more comfortable with the old 10-speed street bike I had when I was a kid.  I couldn't understand what the draw was for these ugly-ass mountain bikes that everyone was buying even though the majority of the buyers lived nowhere near any mountains. 

What I did remember, though, as I made my way into the bike shop tonight, was that I needed a 24" frame ('cause I am super short), and that I wasn't interested in spending $600 for a leisurely Saturday afternoon ride.  I was ready for anything!  Knew exactly what I wanted and knew how to get it! 

Much like many of my little adventures recently, I was in for a rude awakening.  Do you know they don't measure bikes in inches anymore?  The guy says to me the I need a 47cm frame.  I don't even know how many inches that converted to (the GMAT studying hasn't been going very well. Shut up.)  He also told me that I can't get by without spending over $500 for a bike. Cheapest bike in the store:  $699.   I think I paid $50 bucks for my Huffy 10-speed, that I beat the shit out of and lasted for 5 years (or until I bought a car, I don't really remember).

I left the bike store with my tail between my legs and a handful of catalogs (which, I have concluded, is where the money for the bikes are going).  On the way home I had an epiphany...EBAY!  I was sure I could go search on ebay for my bike! $699 my ass, Mr. Bike Shop Man!  I'd show him!  The Rocky theme began to play in my head and I barely even acknowledged my dog as I zipped over to the computer, full of hope and excitement and pulled up an ebay search...

$699, it turns out, is a pretty damn good price.  *sigh*