11 Things You May Not Know About Me

I have been knee deep in getting caught up on travel reviews that I haven’t taken a moment to just write something a little fun and different. I mean, every week you ask me some crazy questions for Talk Tuesday, so a lot of you are getting to know different aspects of me by that weekly column. I thought I would just put together a list of little known facts about me that I get asked all the time. So… Do you know these 11 Things About Me?

1. I didn’t go to one school for an entire school year until I was in 7th grade. I can’t even tell you all the names of the schools. I went to two high schools and still have friends from both – Clark High School in Las Vegas for 9th & 10th grades and graduated from Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix.
2. I was in Air Force ROTC in college and wanted a career in the FBI as a behavioral analyst (thanks Silent of the Lambs!)
3. I started my first business when I was 20 years old, sold it at 25, and then lived a year in Hollywood. Fun times.
4. My first writing gig was as a Technical Editor and Writer for a Department of Defense contractor.
5. I ran over a women in a wheelchair. In a crosswalk. She got the ticket, not me (wasn’t my fault!). Her name was Dorothy. I should have paid attention to this sign and not bought Dorothy’s Flowers. A few years later I lost that flower shop because I was sued over a sewer line built in 1959 by my neighbors Catholic Charities. I have not been back to a Catholic Church since. I ended up having to bankrupt $1.4 million and lost my building, business, house, my car, eventually my husband and dog. It is a sad country song. Those were some of the worst years of my life.
6. I was married for 3.5 years, together for a total of 7. I knew I shouldn’t have married him but I wanted the dream – the white picket fence, the kids, the dog, all of it. We tried for years to have a child. So now at 40, I am single without kids and pursuing a different dream and path.
7. I get asked ALL the time if I am one of those feminist women who never wanted kids or a man. People have NO idea how their simple words can affect me. Yes I am a feminist as I think women should be treated equally. I also went to college first and did the career thing, but that doesn’t mean that I also didn’t want a family of my own.
8. I am an emotional empath, which basically means I can feel others emotions from simply walking into a room. Sometimes I have a hard time of putting a wall up to it and then perceive those feelings as my own. I am very sensitive soul and have a deep capacity to care for others.
9. Even though I tore my Achilles almost 15 months ago, there are still some days where I can’t walk. My right shoulder keeps getting progressively worse. I try not to complain about it. It is what it is at this point. I live with daily pain.
10. I live my life by the moment. But now in this moment, I would like to be settled for awhile. I miss having stability and a place to call my own. I want to have dinner parties again and a sense of community. I won’t stop traveling, but maybe slow it down a smidge.
11. I haven’t seen snow in over 4 years and have no idea how to walk in it, drive in it, or live in it. Every day I second guess my decision to stay in Alaska. I have NO idea if I should get in my car and get out before the snow comes or suck it up and rent an apartment and see what this white puffy stuff falling from the sky is all about.

So that’s it, 11 random things about me. How many of them did you already know? Did any surprise you? Anything you still want to know?