June 20, 2007
Seven Things
The meme I was tagged for was the Seven Random Things. (Thank you, Naomi. I love me some memes!)
1. Please don’t avoid me on the street and at Guild and at Ferals and online after I confess this crazy thing, but I anthropomorphize numbers to the nth degree. Watch: Seven and eight are married, but seven is weak and whipped and eight is bitchy and domineering. Nine is an in-law of some type to seven and eight. Five is handsome, courageous and successful. Four is a younger sibling of five. One is a demigod of some sort but doesn’t like the responsibility. Two is young, sweet, nice and a little naïve. Three is a foster child.
I hear there’s medication for these kinds of problems.
2. Before I met TMK, I was in three other relationships. Doesn’t that sound weird now, since all you’all’ve ever known is me ‘n’ her? But, no, before her, there was Lise (the college relationship and The First Big Heartbreak), Nan (the body builder; oo-la-la), and Mary (the lean and hunky yet irresponsible and shiftless playah).
3. After my precious kitty-of-my-heart Savannah died, both TMK and I saw her ghost sitting halfway up my spiral staircase. She “visited” on and off for a couple of months and then stopped coming. After my equally precious kitty Courtenay died, TMK felt him jump on her bed. Without thinking, she reached over to pet him but...
This is all the more curious because I don’t believe in ghosts, although TMK does because she’s seen one, a friend’s deceased grandmother, I believe. If you really want to creep her out, ask her to tell you the story.
4. I am fascinated by ethics, morality, the grey areas of right and wrong, and how different cultures and religions can see one issue two or more completely different ways. This led me, in my younger years, to apply to law school. Although I was accepted, I ended up not going. TMK drove me to the school for my first day of orientation…but ten minutes later we found ourselves at the zoo instead. To this day, I’m still not sure how that happened.
5. On one of my many field trips when we lived in Asia, I watched a sea turtle lay eggs. I feel lucky, lucky, lucky for having seen this.
6. I’m funny about money. I tend to be very tight with it 95% of the time, but then, occasionally, I go crazy overboard—which…ahem…explains the Chrysler convertible. Let's just say, when I impulse buy, I really impulse buy.
7. When we lived in Brazil, we lived halfway up a high hill. Further up the hill lived some “black magic” Macumba people. As a rule, the local Brazilians were suspicious of the Macumba and warned us to stay away from them but, instead, my parents made an arrangement with the Macumbas that if they guarded our house, we would supply them with water. From what I remember, it worked well, although they may be the people who ate our turtle.
---------------------
Despite the rules of this meme, I’m only going to tag one other person, with her permission. Take it away, TMK!
I’m still plowing through the emails and comments from folks who’ve met their "Dulaan 10,000" or Bust goal but, as of today, I’ve marked these additional Brigadiers as “done:”
Amy Maceyko
Amy Skopik
Carol Frank
Celeste Grant
Cheryl C.
Christy Moyes
Deb Wagner
Elizabeth Morrison
Eunice Chang
Jackie Gorman
Jennifer Hall
Josiane Richer
Kathleen Day
Kathy Clark
Kristine Taylor
Laura Graham
Laurie (ladybugwrangler)
Lucy Willingham
Lydia
Marianne Frost
Michelle Dimon
Nancy Grant
Rita Noetzel
Romy Russell
Ruth Wylde
Sharon Wagner
Susanna Hanson
Suzie Racho
Toya McClurkan
If you don't see your name on here, and you've sent me an email or left a comment, just know that I'm still working through them. In the meantime, thank you all so very much!
The latest report from F.I.R.E. is that they’ve received 9,101 items. 2,985 to go! I mailed two boxes last weekend, have four more ready to go today or tomorrow and—oops—last night, stumbled across one more bag of items. Urk. It will go out this weekend. And for those of you who worry, and I know many of you lovelies do, about my shouldering the cost of all this mailing, although it is usually my absolute pleasure to do it, this year an Anonymous Donor gave me a check large enough to cover it all. You know who you are, Anonymous Donor; this big hug and smooch is for you.
Thank you to everyone who is nurturing and supporting me as I make my way through the Baby Surprise Jacket House of Fun Mirrors. I can almost see you at the end of the tunnel, waving me in like a third-base coach. As Erika said, I'm mostly glad to see I'm not the only one. I'm determined to keep going, though, because this is one project I've wanted to do for years, and I'm not going to let some iffy instructions get the better of me.
I had found the knitwiki info and the Dawn Adcock's cheat sheet but those were the things I mentioned that interpreted the pattern just differently enough from me to reduce me to eating my hair. I'm doing my own version of notes now, and am ever hopeful. And since apparently I don't think I've been punished enough, Sweet Caroline, I'll take you up on your offer to send me your spreadsheet. Will you mail it to me at rymorriss AT yahoo DOT com?
Ryan, I'm a brigidier too, and I've sent off 8 items. whew! That was close!
Posted by: Jenn on June 20, 2007 03:19 PMHey! Ryan used a baseball metaphor. Ha! TMK
Posted by: The Mysterious K on June 20, 2007 03:27 PMOh, I believe in ghosts because I've seen them. I don't know that they're necessarily supernatural, though. My parents used to doubt until they moved to the old New England farmhouse 20 years ago. Since then there have been enough sightings by multiple people to convince them. Mostly I just think we haven't sorted out an explanation for the phenomenon but wonder if quantum physics might not hold an answer.
Posted by: Mel on June 20, 2007 03:30 PMYou are way off on the numbers. 9 is a total hottie that 7 is always chasing after, but 8 is a bodygard and knows that 7 is a snake and won't let him near her. I'll give you 1 as a demigod, but 3 is a cookie baker of the highest order.
Posted by: Elaine on June 20, 2007 03:42 PMMel, as a vet, have you heard of other deceased pets "visiting" their owners?
Elaine, you made my day. You're wrong, but you made my day. ;-)
Jenn, I'll mark your name in my next round of updates!
TMK, har, har, har.
Posted by: Ryan on June 20, 2007 03:54 PMI believe there is a name for people who anthropomorphise numbers (and no, it's not "loonie"). Some people associate a specific color with a number -- maybe that's what I'm thinking of. Anyway, I'm pretty sure it denotes exceptional sensitivity, creativity, and intelligence. [*vbg*]
My box hits the post office tomorrow. Four sweaters, five hats, and one scarf. Woot!
Posted by: kmkat on June 20, 2007 03:59 PMKmkat, maybe you're thinking of "synesthesia?"
Posted by: Ryan on June 20, 2007 04:07 PMI have heard and felt a cat ghost. A very strange thing to be visited by someone you loved, looked after and had to part with. Oh, and I occasionally have the dreams...
If you have to do the impulse shopping, do it big. ;^)
Posted by: Cookie on June 20, 2007 04:27 PMLove the numbers thing, stay away from the meds.
I hear colours and music tells me stories.
My animals who have traveled on, come by every now and then in my dreams, we have really good times.
I'm getting very nervous now, having plans to knit EZs BSJ....
Dude. What about six? Is she chopped liver or what?
Posted by: Lee Ann on June 20, 2007 04:39 PMSent off my three little items on Monday, as well as a check to F.I.R.E. to assuage my guilt over not hitting my quota (and to help ship all the warm fuzzies to their recipients!).
When I was a kid, I thought of even numbers as being benign and nice, and odd numbers as being mean (5 and 7 especially).
And dang, girl, you've had a colorful life. I hope to visit a hillside in Brazil sometime before I die.
Posted by: Becca on June 20, 2007 05:32 PMsynesthesia is the experiencing of one sense through another; smelling a color or seeing music or hearing texture. Some autistics paint or draw pictures depicting their interpretation of numbers, but I'm not sure that's the same thing. There's got to be a name for what you do with numbers, but the closest I know of it the "Letter People" video series (see youtube) that was ever-present during my childhood. Mr. F has fancy feet, Mr. M has a munching mouth, and Mr. J collects junk, including jalopies, jackets, and jewelry.
Posted by: jen on June 20, 2007 06:10 PMTMK - story - story - story = please.
hugs from PA
connie
My dear Othello, who left us at the ripe old age of 19-1/2, appeared at the corner of my vision a couple of times - and when I found Evangeline and brought her home from the Shelter, I distinctly saw the Big O sitting near her once as she slept; he looked straight at me and faded. From the first, she took to his favorite spots around the house, too.
LOVE this post, Ryan. Hmm,numbers, huh? Numbers and I are like magnets with opposite polarities. But crayons? Oh, there's a box of personalities! :o)
Posted by: Dale-Harriet in WI on June 20, 2007 11:10 PMI'm done! Five items in a box, in the mail (with a check even!)
Posted by: Kirsten on June 21, 2007 08:15 AMRyan - The number thing is very cool. As youj described them, it unrolled in my head like a mural - do you draw or paint?
Ghosts - our apartment is in an old Victorian house. Oddly, we lived for 11 years on the third floor which was full of spirits but we moved down to the second floor 4 years ago and there's been hardly a glimpse since.
My 36 Dulaan items are done and on their way :)
Posted by: Robbyn on June 21, 2007 09:23 AMI have never heard of anyone else having personalities for numbers! For me 2 is naive, 3 is eager to go on with things without enjoying the present, 4 accidentaly lures people into the holes that 5 digs and 6 helps them out. 7 doesn't want the help and ends up in some messes, 8 is living large and 9 has a superiority complex since he helps everyone get to the all powerful 10.
Good to know there are others out there!!!!
About the Baby Surprise Jacket, I loved EZ's remark in the middle of the instructions: "Work will begin to look very odd indeed, but trust me, and press on." What an understatement-- I felt like I was knitting with my head turned inside out. Press on, Ryan-- it will all turn out right in the end. (And I love those stripes; I think they'll look terrific. And if the colors need balancing, there's always i-cord edging.) Good luck!
Posted by: Carol in North Bend on June 21, 2007 10:12 AMThe ONLY way I survived elementary school math was by anthropomorphizing the numbers. Each number had its own personality, but I also had it boiled down to a sort of on-going war between the odd numbers and the even numbers, with the even numbers being the good guys. Every problem was a battle, and one or the other side would win depending on whether the final number was even or odd.
Also, I sent out my last (and significantly smaller) Dulaan box on Monday--there's a picture up here: http://www.arraskysong.com/middle/2007/06/aminals.html (I broke down and got a real blog to supplement the LiveJournal.)
Posted by: Emma on June 21, 2007 12:17 PMRyan,
Read "Born on Blue Day" It's about a guy who associates colors and shapes with numbers. It's fascinating how he uses the characteristics of the numbers to do big math very fast. He even drew a landscape of what one big number looks like to him. Excellent book.
Erica
Posted by: Erica on June 21, 2007 01:49 PMRyan, here's the take on numbers that's been rattling around my head since I was seriously little: 1 is the baby of the family, and is of neither gender; two is a little boy; three is two's big sister; four is their mother; five is their father; six is their beer-drinking (!) next-door neighbor, also neither male nor female; seven is a disapproving older female; eight is a (male) college student; nine is a businesswoman; ten is a place-holder (no gender).
I've never told anyone this (but hey, who reads blogs?!). I'm just down the road in Auburn; if the men in the white coats come for you, they can swing by and pick me up on their way back to the Laughing Academy...
Posted by: jeanne on June 21, 2007 01:55 PMI was tagged for this meme too, I haven't done it yet.
Your responses are one of the best.
Finished my 5, actually 7 and they will be in the mail today. (Including a Baby surprise !)
Judy Scott-Hammerquist
I'm sending off 5 adult size hats today, with a check.
Posted by: Barbara Williams on June 22, 2007 09:32 AMHey Ryan and TMK - this is Papua New Guinea (PNG) girl saying it was great to meet you today! Love your random items - I have never seen a ghost but I feel them - there was one in my in-law's beach house in Long Beach WA for a while until I told it to go away since I had a hard time sleeping there.
My Sudest (don't know where it is - look it up (hint in Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea) villagers beat your Brazillian black magic villagers. :)
Posted by: Jamie Carnell on June 23, 2007 09:02 PM