As always, behind everyone else. But, these lists of questions are so much fun to read on other’s sites, so I thought I’d give it a try here… I don’t typically share much, but these aren’t asking me to share my address and phone number, so I think we’re good. Ha. Most of these are from the post San did several weeks ago. So thanks, San, for the idea!
- Physical stuff? I am short. As in, 5′ 2.5″ on a good day. I cannot use the top shelves in my kitchen cabinets. And do not get me started on that cabinet over the fridge. Or the microwave. My stepladder is my friend.
- Do you have any kids? Nope. Wasn’t in the cards, and it’s actually a good thing. I’m probably way too self-centered to be a good parent. I’ll spoil my nieces instead, thanks.
- Any siblings? Yes! One brother, 14 months older than me. We have always been close – even when in high school. Now, we rely on text and the infamous weekly Family Zoom to keep in touch. He’s the best big brother I could have asked for.
- Where did you grow up? I grew up in central Pennsylvania. My parents still live there, and my brother and his family live about 45 minutes south of them in MD. Most of my extended family also lives there – I am definitely the black sheep in that I left PA at age 24 and have only been back for one short (doomed) stint at a job in Philadelphia. Pros: Close to my family for the first time in decades. Cons: Hated the job. What can you do?
- What did you study in college? All of my degrees are in nursing – BSN, MSN, and PhD. My specialties, though, are pediatric and family nursing as well as genetics and genomics. DNA all the way. It’s been my passion for over 20 years and I love it. And, my specific population of interest is teenagers with chronic health conditions like diabetes, or food allergies, that kind of thing.
- What kind of music do you like? Well, um, yeah, I’m weird, so Celtic and Scottish folk, a bit of bluegrass, Brandi Carlisle, the Chicks, and a whole assortment of other random artists. Oh, and classical! Love, love, love classical music. Not so much for contemporary pop/rock/rap, but I will listen to pretty much anything as long as it’s actually, you know, musical.
- Windows or Mac/Android or iPhone? Mac (home), PC (work), iPhone (both work and home). It’s actually good because I’m pretty good at both OS’s, so I can give my parents tech support for their PCs. Which happens a lot. Even though I’m the kid who doesn’t live nearby.
- What job would you be terrible at? Retail or food service. I’m a klutz and my “customer service” skills are nonexistent. This means that I truly appreciate everyone who CAN work in those jobs. Because if I had to? No one would buy anything, and they’d never get their food while it’s hot. Or, they’d have it delivered to their laps, and not the table (see “klutz”, above).
- Have you ever traveled outside the country? Oh, yes, and I love it. Sigh. Can’t wait to get back to it. Favorite places are too many to count, but Australia, Iceland, France (particularly the South of France), and Canada are all favorites. Next, I’d love to go to the British Isles (Scotland, Ireland, Wales, in particular) but not sure when/if that will happen. Sigh.
- If you weren’t in your current job, what would you be doing? I would love to be a librarian. Think how awesome that would be – surrounded by books all day? Sign me up. But, again, I’d truly stink at the customer service aspect, so… yeah. Not sure how realistic that is.
So there you go, a few tidbits about me. Hopefully you’re not going to run scared now that you realize just how odd I am. (Although, if you’ve been here a bit, you’ve probably realized that already…)
Happy Monday, and happy Thanksgiving week to those of you in the US.
Being a librarian sounds like a dream to me, but I have the same thought – I would not want to have to interact all the time. I just want to be surrounded by books all day long.
And, living in Canada, I’m so glad to see we’re included in your list of favourite places to visit.
I love these sorts of posts…always so fun 🙂
Exactly – I’d be hiding in the back room, sorting books, or in the stacks far away from the desk. Somehow I don’t think that would go over too well. Ha. So, research is a good compromise – I read a lot, and I get to do a lot of it by myself. And, those interactions I do have are usually the ones I want to have (well, except for required meetings and that kind of thing…).
Of course Canada is up there – it has always been. I have had a trip to PEI / Nova Scotia thwarted a couple of times now – once by my own schedule, and once by the pandemic. One of these days…
Do you ever listen to Great Big Sea? They’re a Canadian folk rock (?) band that does sea shanties. My husband and I enjoy them greatly. I have similar taste to music as you, right down to listening to The Chicks way more regularly than I should, and I think you’d enjoy them.
I had not heard of them – I shall check them out! Thanks for the suggestion. And it’s nice to find someone else whose musical tastes align with mine. Believe it or not, I find listening to music on YouTube, of all platforms, to be the most effective for finding groups / individuals whose music I might enjoy. I have a subscription to Apple Music but… don’t find it as user-friendly. *shrug* Just yesterday, I found Heron Valley Band on YouTube and really enjoyed the songs I listened to. So, maybe another one for the list. 🙂
I’m totally with you about the kitchen cabinets!! I’m also short and the top shelves in the kitchen are for my husband. 🙂 However, I also have a step ladder that I use sometimes. With such a small house, sometimes you just have to store things in awkward places.
Glad to see you mentioned bluegrass! I really enjoyed the video you sent with Béla Fleck and Chris Thile – they are both quite outside the bluegrass genre nowadays but Chris has done some performances and recordings with Michael Daves, who’s my singing teacher. Check them out! I totally agree that YouTube is very convenient for finding music. I’m especially happy to find full concerts there.
This is really funny, as you are one of the people I pictured as being much taller than I! Stepladders are truly an amazing resources for those of us who are vertically challenged. Ha. I store mine in the weirdest place – it’s too hard to describe, but it’s tucked in a totally awkward spot that is close to the kitchen (Where I use it frequently).
I will check out those videos with your singing teacher! That’s so much fun. I know it’s not specifically bluegrass, but have you listened to Goat Rodeo, with Yo-Yo Ma, Chris Thile, Stuart Duncan, and Edgar Meyer? (I had to look up the last two names, sigh.) They have some amazing stuff. Fun to see musicians who I have pigeonholed (e.g., Yo-Yo Ma) doing different things. 🙂
I haven’t heard of Goat Rodeo but I’m guessing Chris Thile wouldn’t play with anyone less than great. He’s a very good player. Stuart Duncan used to play with Ricky Skaggs, Alison Krauss or someone like that. I know I’ve seen his name in some top-level bluegrass band, at least. I recognise Edgar Meyer’s name too.
Love your expression “Vertically challenged”! 😂
I strongly suspect Chris Thile is able to be pretty picky about the people with whom he plays. When you’re that talented… (Side note: Just as I wonder what it would be like to be tall – ha – I also wonder what it would be like to be someone who truly excels at something… someone who is known as one of ‘the best’ in whatever area…)
And yes, vertically challenged! I love that one. So much more sophisticated sounding than, well, “short”. 🙂
I loved reading this! I had no idea you’re from central PA..what part? My husband is from Boiling Springs (near Carlisle) and my mom is from Mount Joy. I went to college at Penn State so I’m very well versed in that entire area! I also appreciate that you like classical music..it’s my favorite as well. Would much rather go to the symphony than a regular concert haha!
My goodness, it’s a small world! I mean, I knew that, but it’s always funny when it pops up. I grew up in York – just south of Carlisle! In fact, I spent a couple of summers at Dickinson College, taking College Classes for Nerds in High School. (It wasn’t really called that, of course, but that was the premise… :>) My parents still live there, so I hope to head back there the week before Christmas. As much as I love them, though, I simply could not live there. And I had no idea you went to Penn State! Main campus, I’m assuming? That place is HUGE!
Anne – we have a lot in common! (I mean, duh.) My brother is ALSO 14 months older than me and I am 5’2″ on a good day. 🙂 I had an old stepladder that I kinda hated and I finally invested in a really good one, and it’s life-changing for this shorty. Haha.
Being a librarian does sound like fun, but dealing with people all day does not. Also why I wouldn’t want to be a bookseller!
OK, first, your “I mean, duh” had me LOLing at the end of a long day yesterday. So thank you for that. 🙂
And yes, we do have a LOT in common. I know you’re close to your brother, too – there’s something about that number of months that just lends itself, I think, to close relationships. Close enough in age that the younger one isn’t *quite* as annoying as they could be, but far enough apart that you get to be in separate grades in school.
I’m trying to figure out what kind of job would let me work with books all day but not interact with people. Hm. Let me know if you have any ideas?
Thanks, Anne, for letting us get to know you a little better. I really enjoyed it. If you’re weird, I’d say it’s a good weird. I am tall (5’8″), hated it growing up, but love it now. I have two children and two stepchildren, and together, we have 10 grandchildren. One of our teenage grandsons has Type 1 diabetes, so I especially appreciate your work in that field.
Christie, I am envious of your height! I’m glad you love being tall now. I would like to just have another inch or two. Enough so that I do not have to climb into the freezer case at the grocery store to reach the spinach that is, inevitably, as far back as possible. (This happens with frightening regularity, for some reason…) And wow – 10 grandchildren! I hope they keep you busy and happy. Type 1 is hard – particularly when you’re a teenager and, well, you just want to be a teenager. Hearing the stories of kids who have conditions like that is, oddly, one of the joys of my professional life. I figure the more we learn about what they go through, the better prepared we are to help them navigate life as a teenager and beyond.
I am still catching up on my Feedly… and can’t explain any other way why I haven’t read/commented on this post before. It’s been fun to learn more about you, so thanks for picking up the blog idea 🙂
I personally have switched to iOS products, but my work is on Windows and I am pretty good at both operating systems (and I am the go-to tech support in my family, too :)).
I would also be terrible at retail, I think.
I’m still reading through NaBloPoMo posts, so you’re doing a lot better than I am! It coincided with the busiest time of my semester, so… yeah. Unfortunately (and not by choice) my blog reading / commenting really suffered.
Yay for iOS products. My father just had to get a new computer and it has Windows 11 so now my work computer isn’t exactly the same as his. Which means a lot more googling so I can provide my tech support. 🙂