Sunday, January 4, 2009

I've been tagged again...

I didn't sleep well last night. A touch of insomnia mixed with anxiety, mixed with the beginning of a stomach bug. It was one of those nights when your head will just NOT turn off. I know you know what I mean! One of the things that kept running through my addled brain was the fact that there were things that I should have written about in my 7 Things post that I didn't. Since I have been tagged again... I decided to add some more things...

1) I am truly a "Jane of many trades and a master of none" I have, over the years, had more different jobs than I can count. Every time a specific job comes up, my kids ask "mom have you done that?" The answer is almost always yes... I have been a babysitter, dogwalker, window washer, short order cook, waitress, mural painter, caricature artist, fast food manager, deli sandwich maker, baker, messenger (in NYC... NOT FUN!), pizza maker, pizza delivery person, carnival worker, party clown, party planner, direct sales person (Pampered Chef), food chemist, factory auditor, microbiologist, teacher, trainer, and customer service rep for a mail order catalog.

2) I spent the evening of my 21st birthday locked in a gym with The Secret Service and about 5000 balloons. Walter Mondale was running for president and was going to make a speech at my college. I was to be on the stage as the President of the Student Council. Once I was cleared by Secret Service I had to stay in the gym overnight for the speech at 9am the next morning. I spent the evening helping the "balloon people" decorate the gym. It was there that I learned one of the most important skills that I gained from my college experience... making balloon arches... I am an EXPERT balloon archer..

3) I was single handily responsible for a MAJOR scare St. Mary's of the Assumption in Elizabeth NJ. My first fall teaching chemistry, the students were taking a quiz and I snuck into the back room to prep for a lab. I DROPPED a bottle of concentrated hydrochloric acid on the floor and the room filled with fumes. The entire school was evacuated and the fire department, and HAZMAT teams were called. Many of us ended up in the emergency room for inhalation irritation. It was right before lunch and made the 12:00 news with helicopters and everything! There were all kinds of rumors... in the emergency room I overheard one reported telling another that a teacher had "Blown up" a lab and three were dead... And to think.. it could have all been avoided if the prep room only had a bucket of baking soda!

4) I once drank a whole bottle of Southern Comfort (before it was legal for me to do so).. needless to say.. even typing the words "Southern Comfort" gives me the heeby jeebies...

5) When I was a food chemist I became an "entomology expert". I took a two week class in Florida on how to identify bug parts in food. With the right tools I can tell the difference between a grain beetle mandible and a paint chip. Let me just tell you that IMPORTED pasta does not have to follow the same standards as we do here... nuff said.

6) I have not swam (swum?) in my own pool in the past two years... hope to change that this year.

7) I once thought about becoming an ordained minister. About 12 years ago I felt that I was called to become an Episcopal Deacon. A deacon is an ordained minister that works mainly with the lay people and their ministries. At the time I was working a LOT with the church's youth and really felt the call. Why did I not do it? Every time I got up to preach, I would cry. I could not put the emotional side of what I was talking about aside... I could not preach without making it personal and personal made me cry... no one wants to watch me cry... it is not pretty.

So... there it is.. 7 more things... I will not tag anyone else this time. I think most of my PLN has been tagged by now. IF you have not.. consider yourself tagged and JUST DO IT!

2 comments:

  1. and I bet you have another 7 in you as well. Fun to read, Patti...thank you for sharing.

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  2. Patti, are you up for an interview from Physical Science students on food chemistry?

    ReplyDelete