June 22, 2007
Speaking of Numbers, I Present TMK's "Seven!"
Above and beyond the thrill of finding out that other people anthropomorphize numbers—and not just lightly, but truly, deeply, madly, just as I do—I very much enjoyed reading the “number stories.” They were so fun, colorful, detailed! Who knew that the number three could be a foster child, a cookie baker, eager to go on with things without enjoying the present, or two’s big sister? Made complete sense to me. Although we all agree, of course, that my number stories are the only accurate ones. ;-)
But, wait, there’s more.
Fellow synesthetes—which we officially are, as you will see—I've discovered that there is an actual name for our “condition:” ordinal linguistic personification. And the condition is common enough—or rare enough, depending on how you look at it—that we merit our very own Wiki-frickin-pedia entry. Read away! And then let’s form an organization, distribute leaflets, sew a flag, and take over the earth. Who’s with me?
To MaryB—who teased me ever so slightly and, as always, good naturedly at Guild on Wednesday for this latest weird revelation about me—emboldened by this new information, I now I say, neener, neener.
To TMK, who is astonished to learn this about me after 20 years, another neener, neener. I have a "condition." I can’t be held responsible for my actions.
And to Lee Anne, number six is the often overlooked younger brother of number five, Prince Harry to Prince William, Cinderella to her ugly sisters, Harry Potter to Cousin Dudley. Which explains why it’s the one number I forgot.
And now, TMK's Seven Random Things! For those of you who have straight-girl crushes on her, here's your chance to learn more about The Mysterious One:
1. Numbers: In response to Ryan’s post of 6/20: After 20+ years together, her anthropomorphization (is that a word?) of numbers came as a complete surprise to me. I had no idea that she felt this way about numbers. When I see a number, I see...a number.
2. Reading: When I read a novel, I actually see the story I’m reading as a movie with sound and everything (in my head, of course). I get so caught up in what I’m reading, that I don’t hear anything around me. Ryan has to stomp on the floor or clap loudly to get my attention before she can talk to me. [Ryan's Note: We liken this to when Whoopie Goldberg tries to get the attention of the deaf nun Alma in "Sister Act." I have been known to yell "ALMA!" at TMK to get her attention. It works very well.]
3. Travel: I’ve never been further east than Denver/Phoenix. Because of this, I’m convinced that all those landmarks you see in movies (Empire State Building, Capitol Building, etc.) are simply sets on a studio production lot and that the East Coast doesn’t actually exist. This has been exacerbated by my ever-hopeful denial of the existence of the current White House occupant.
4. Ghosts: When I was in college, I lived next door to a hard-living Brit named Robert. One day I looked down the hallway of my apartment and saw an elderly woman in a blue dress watching me. When I tried to talk to her, she disappeared. I was telling Robert about it the next day. He said, “Oh, that’s my grandmother. She checks in on me by visiting my friends.” It turns out several of his friends over the years have seen her, but Robert never has. But descriptions of her are always the same. This was almost 25 years ago and it still makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
5. Dialysis: My dad was on dialysis for 11 years so I grew up with a dialysis machine in the house. This was a miracle in itself as he was a Type 1 diabetic. In the 70s, machines were in short supply and diabetics were not high on the list for a dialysis machine; he was one of the first to receive one. My mom was an awesome caretaker and gets a lot of the credit for the number of years he survived. He opted not to have a transplant due to the high risk of rejection. The man who invented the artificial kidney was from the UW; when he died I thought about going to his memorial service to tell his family what he had done for mine—but I chickened out (see #7 below).
6. Career: I do quite a bit of work for a company whose whole business is travel and vacationing. When I first met with them, I told them one of my selling points is that I’m always available for projects as I don’t take vacations. Silence in the room. Then someone said, “Never? Never ever?” That’s the year Ryan and decided to go to Sedona for a week.
7. The Bottom Line: In reality, I’m not really a very interesting person. I’ve never traveled, I’m a Type A workaholic and I’m a homebody. Until 4 or 5 years ago, I would have anxiety attacks before social engagements and would often back out at the last minute (read: coat on, ready to walk out the door to go to the event). This was very annoying to everyone I ever went out with. [Ryan's Note: Then I got ahold of her. See "Sedona" above.]
Things are looking up with regard to the BSJ, mostly because at Guild, Janine quietly slipped her copy of this in front of my nose. I had no idea such a marvel existed! (Although, in a way, it validates what I'm feeling. One pattern that requires an entire class taught on it and the production of an entire DVD? I rest my case.) I haven't watched it yet but I'm sooooo looking forward to it. I'm toying with the idea of making TMK watch it with me to make up for all the endless hours of baseball she makes me watch. Good plan, n'est-ce pas, knitters?
Posted by Ryan at June 22, 2007 10:40 AMNooooo!!!! Please don't make me watch a knitting DVD. Please?!
Posted by: The Mysterious K on June 22, 2007 11:41 AMI *heart* your blog and *heart* the two of you. Thank you for sharing the number anthropomorphizing ... I think I would have enjoyed math much more if I'd been blessed with your imagination :) Unfortunately, numbers have always been just numbers to me (although they turned evil somewhere around 8th grade). I do remember someone in a college English class saying that she always associated numbers with colors -- 5 was blue, 7 purple, and so on -- so whenever she saw a bunch of numbers she really saw a nice palette of colors. How cool is that?
Posted by: Liz on June 22, 2007 11:52 AMYes, marvelous idea. It's only fair.
TMK: I love it when you guest blog or partially guest blog as today. You have such a lovely voice, I can hear you speaking in my head.
I think I have straight-girl crushes on both of you, but not to worry. I live on the east coast so I don't really exist anyway.
*poof*
See, not here.
Posted by: Margot on June 22, 2007 11:59 AMRyan, I think that sounds like a great idea. Just make sure she doesn't have a book on her. ;^)
TMK, you are interesting because you are you. I'm sorry, but it's true. Deep down, I think everyone is interesting. Well... except me. /runs
Posted by: Cookie on June 22, 2007 12:18 PMWe dont' know each other (well, I know more about YOU than you know about me because I read your blog whenever I can!!) and I usually make it a practice NOT to disagree with folks I hardly know in public...but...you've got the numbers thing ALL WRONG. Numbers are NOT people, they do not have personalities. Numbers are COLORS. That's right, they are colors. FIVE is red, FOUR is green, if you want yellow you want a TWO. NINE is brown. And that ol' lucky SEVEN is blue. I can't explain any of this...it's just the way it is. Always has been and always will be. Questions?
There was an article in the New York Times about people (that would be you and me and a few other people!!) who associate things other than numbers with numbers...colors, personalities (although the jury is still out on THAT one
;-) ), sounds, and I think that's all. If I can find it I'll pass it on to you.
Ah, you see, when I hear music, I see colors. And everything I do has to be patternized - detailed out enough so I can see my path through it. Drives my dh crazy.
TMK, I have several ghost stories myself. One of them happened over 25 years ago and when I tell the story the goosebumps happen.
You both are extremely cool, creative, intelligent people. Glad to "know" you.
Posted by: Sandy on June 22, 2007 12:25 PMTMK - You are terrifically interesting. Everything you have a passion for (wood working, gardening, spinning, cooking) you excel at. When you put your mind to something it is as if it is already done. I think you are cool beans. Ryan too, even if she's wrong about 3.
Posted by: Elaine on June 22, 2007 12:37 PMNever traveled east of Denver?! That can only mean one thing. Road Trip! I think Ryan should start planning it right now. You can visit The Black Hills, The Twin Cities, Franklin in Chicago, skirt around under the Great Lakes, hit Niagara Falls, see covered bridges in Vermont, drive up Mt. Washington, come see us in Maine, head down to Boston and walk the Freedom Trail, hit NYC to see the Empire State Building and take the Staten Island ferry, drop down to DC and throw eggs at W, go spend some time on the Outer Banks, drop down into Florida to go to Disney World, head up to St. Louis to see the arch, drive down through the panhandle region, go visit Santa Fe, maybe see the Navajo reservation and all their fine jewelry and weaving and pottery, and then make your way back up to home. There, Ryan's job is already half done.
Posted by: Mel on June 22, 2007 12:51 PMI second Mel's suggestion. Y'all can sit on my deck in Wisconsin and look at the lake and drink beer (or margaritas or whatever you prefer) with me. We can even knit.
Posted by: kmkat on June 22, 2007 01:49 PM{jaw drop}
{reclamp}
This numbers anthropomorphacizationing (that's the correct word, TMK, methinks) that y'all've copped to...you're deep in Oliver Sacks territory, for real. To me, numbers are a vast and hostile army, poised to attack at the least provocation (unless, of course, they're the numbers in my wallet or bank account, in which case the reverse -- hasty retreat at the least provocation -- seems to be the rule).
I can see Seattle is going to be quite the surreal adventure.
Posted by: Cuzzin Tom on June 22, 2007 04:43 PMWhich reminds me, Cuzz, TMK and I are busy the day you're arriving so a couple of the numbers, maybe seven and eight, if they can just stop their bickering, or five, if he can take time away from his high-flying, executive lifestyle, will come to the airport to pick you up.
;-)
Posted by: Ryan on June 22, 2007 04:54 PMTMK, where do you stand on Europe? Does it exist? Also, where does Mongolia lie in your personal geography?
Posted by: Wren on June 22, 2007 05:16 PMWell, Wren, Mongolia totally exists because it's to the west of me. And, if you fly over the arctic circle, isn't Europe north from here? Besides, you guys have sent something like 27,000 items to Mongolia in the last 3 years, so it has to exist. (I didn't say I was going to make any sense. My surrealistic view of geography seems to only apply to the East coast.)
CT, I'm with you...numbers are numbers. Numbers with dollar signs are just better numbers. ;-)
Posted by: The Mysterious K on June 22, 2007 05:27 PMWell, then, technically, Montréal is to the west of you, too. So you can come visit, right?
Posted by: Lee Ann on June 22, 2007 05:36 PMTMK: i read books the same way. i was late to class in high school frequently because of this, lol.
however, vactions are good for you. at least they say so.
Posted by: minnie on June 22, 2007 11:07 PMNope- wasn't me at Madrona- there are a surprising # of knitting KTs out there. Freaky really! And I did love TMK's stuff about her Dad. Made me cry- my 6yo was diagnosed type one in December. ANYHOW. Cannot wait to meet you both and Cuzzin SpawnFrog Hog Dog Plaid Waffle Dog.
We just moved back here from VA and I can say that it does exist- at least it did when we left March 29. Since then? Your guess is as good as mine. Is the light really on in the fridge when the door is closed?
Posted by: KT on June 24, 2007 08:49 PMTMK,
I can personally attest to the existence of several well-known East Coast landmarks. I saw the Lincoln Memorial at dawn with my dad when I was five, I kvetched the whole way down the stairs inside the Statue of Liberty (and cracked everone up with, "This makes my legs feel like an old man!"), and I love the Chrysler building so much that it's mine - I leave the details of maintenance and leasing to whatever holding company currently does the honors, but It's Mine.
Truly, they're there. But don't take my word for it - see them for yourself. (Ryan: if this encourages TMK to see the East Coast, you're most welcome.)
TMK, you can't know you are interesting because everything about you is old news to you. In this case you have to take other people's word for it; you are! In my estimation anyone who is interested in the world around them (self-centeredness is the most boring thing in the world), continues to learn new things or reads is usually entertaining. You've got all three.
I share the trait of a movie going on in my head while reading. My siblings used to joke the house could be on fire and I would continue reading. Silly people, of course I would run out to save the book! When my children were small I actually went more than a few years without reading any novels because I was afraid I wouldn't be aware of them getting into mischief.
Ryan, please, please post a photo of that sweater in progress no matter how weird it looks!