4000 Questions: Question #47: Can you describe your first punishment for doing something bad?

First off, I would like to confess I am innocent on all charges.

One of the first spankings that I remember getting came when I believe I was in kindergarten. I wanted Skittles for breakfast. Sounds reasonable, I know. I mean, how many times have I been told that the healthiest meals are those full of color? What has more color than the rainbow?

Anyway, mom said no. And, according to the plaintiff, aka mom, I proceeded to make some kind of "face" at her. And, as most of you know, when you make a "face" at your mother, all Hell breaks loose. It was on. The flyswatter magically appeared in her hand & my arm was in the grip of her other. Knowing this was not the most desirable position to be in I decided to high tail it out of there. Again, never a good idea. At this point, I imagine the scene to look something like all those old western movies where the cowhand it breaking a horse. In one hand, the cowboy is holding a rope attached to the horse's reins & a whip in the other hand. The horse runs in a circle as the cowboy cracks the whip behind the horse. I was that horse. I was running in a circle while mom spanked me with the flyswatter.

LOL Too bad we didn't have cameras back then. Of course, now days some liberal nutcase would probably scream child abuse & my loving parents would be thrown into prison for teaching me respect. We wonder now days why no one has respect for each other. Maybe because parents are too scared to discipline their children or have been brainwashed to think you can actually discuss with a child what they did wrong. Granted, you can do that with some children but it is a VERY small fraction of the population. Am I scared from that experience? Am I a worse person because my parents practice corporal punishment? Do I hate my parents now as an adult? No, no, & no. In fact, I believe I am a better person because of it & respect my parents for teaching me to respect authority.

Ok, enough of my stance on that. I know I had received punishment many times before that but that instance was the first I thought of & a quite humorous story in my opinion.

4000 Questions: Question #46: Can you describe your first day at school?

I could have sworn that I already covered this topic. I know I did, but I can't seem to find it now. Oh well.

So, no I really don't remember my first day at school. I do remember that I did not want to go to school. And, boy, it would be years & years & years before that ever changed.

I'm not going to expound on this right now because (1) I know I have written about this before, (2) I need to clean the house but will probably play Rock Band instead, (3) I'm feeling very lazy today & should probably do at least one kettlebell workout to wake myself up, & (4) I really need to go the the bathroom now.

Later.

4000 Questions: Question #45: Can you describe your first time left alone at home?

I really don't remember the first time I was left alone. When I was a kid & left for short amounts of time alone, I was usually scared. As I got older, I loved being home alone but my imagination would still run away with me at times. I would start hearing noises & just knew someone was in the house with me. I would usually run outside & sit. I really don't know why I would think I was safer outside but I guess I always thought I could run to a neighbors house if someone tried to "get" me.

The first time I remember being left alone over night by myself was when I was in college & still living with my parents. I had lived on my own in the dorm for about 2 years but being alone, out in the country where no one would hear you if you screamed was a bit different. I was fine all night until it was bed time. Then I locked my bedroom door & slept with our B.B. gun next to my bed. I think I also had a baseball bat too, but I know the gun was there. I really don't know how much damage a B.B. gun would inflict. Not much I'm guessing. And, I probably wouldn't be able to figure the stupid thing out in crisis anyway. I would probably turn it into some sort club. No, in reality, I would probably pass out in fear.

A while after that I spent another night or two by myself. Late that night I decided to watch Resident Evil. As far as scary/horror/monster/zombie movies go, I actually thought this one was quite decent. However, that night, all I could think about was zombies. I'm not one to freak out over movies but there have been some that caused me to loose a little sleep, not because they are super scary or anything but because my imagination dwells on them & then takes off like a speeding train. Really, I can only think of 4 that really caused me a few moments of uneasiness if not an entire night of panic. They are (in chronological order): Jurassic Park, Vampires (which has to be the dumbest & grossest vampire movie ever), Resident Evil, & The Exorcism of Emily Rose (which has to be one of the scariest, most disturbing movies ever...don't get me wrong, I thought it was very good but it is about something quite real versus monsters, which probably aren't that real). And, believe me, if you watch Emily Rose, you will wake up every night at 3 am for the next week. Trust me.

4000 Questions: Question #44: Can you describe your first memory?

I don't really know. I remember some things from my childhood that I'm not sure if they are truly my memories or just stories I have heard & imagined in my own mind. For example, I remember going hiking with my parents, Aunt Connee, & Uncle Randy when I was like one or two years old. Uncle Randy carried me around on his back in this harness thing. Now I've heard this story over & over again so I'm not really sure if I remember it or if hearing the story has just put the memory in my mind.

Another example would be when my mom was pregnant with my sister & a really bad storm blew through. We had to hide in the bathroom because we were afraid it was a tornado. Mom kept singing to me & Dad kept running in & out of the bathroom telling us how bad it was out there. I really don't know if I remember this or not. I have a little movie that plays in my mind about it but I'm not really sure if I truly remember it.

I guess one of the earliest memories that I can say I truly do remember is the night my sister was born. I remember I was staying at Papa & Grannies house (back when that had that 1960's rough to bare knees carpet). They had some friends over drinking coffee & talking. I don't really remember who they were but I knew that I knew them (probably from church). Then Dad called to tell me I had a baby sister & I remember running around the living room & dancing & singing, "I have a baby sister. I have a baby sister." All of that I actually do remember.

I also remember when we were going to bring her home from the hospital. They wheeled out an incubator with a baby doll in it for me. That was so cool. Later that doll got very sick & Dr. Kristy had to perform emergency surgery with a marker on the doll. I still have that doll. She now has matted hair & scars (aka marker) over her abdomen, but I will always have her. However, I think she is still at Mom & Dad's house right now. :)

4000 Questions: Question #43: What did you look forward to the most as a child?

Easy. The same thing I look forward to now.

Weekends, holidays, vacations.

I also looked forward to summer.

Why?

NO SCHOOL!!!

4000 Questions: Question #42: What significant historic events took place during your elementary school days?

I remember two big ones. The first occurred on January 28, 1986. I was in kindergarten. Most of the school (a very small school, approx 90 people) gathered in our large kindergarten room to watch the Space Shuttle Challenger take off. What a monumental occasion that was to be. You can imagine all did not go as planned.

The second event took place in 1989, I was 9 yrs old. Communism fell in Germany as the Berlin Wall came crashing down.

I have always had an emotional connection to these events. They both interested me a great deal when I was younger & even today whenever there is a TV special on one of these topics, I have to watch.

4000 Questions: Question #41: If you had siblings, did you get along with them?

I guess Kim & I got along pretty well. We played a lot together. We argued a lot but I don't think it was that bad.

I think we get along a lot better now. We still argue but we love each other to bits. We are great travel partners, adventurists, movie reviewers, game players, picture takers, & dreamers. We can be ourselves around each other. We drive each other crazy & let each other know it, but we still love each other.

4000 Questions: Question #40: Would you consider yourself well-behaved or badly behaved?

Just as a reminder (although I'm not much different, behaviorally, than I was then), this is still in the "Childhood" section of the book.

So, on to the question. I was a stellar child. You probably think that is a joke or bragging. It is neither, it is just the truth.

I had fantasies of rebelling but I was too afraid of disappointing my parents to do something too bad.

The worst things I can remember doing is hiding my vitamins from my mom (deceit) & not "giving it my all" in school (laziness). Kim made straight A's all through school but she worked hard for those A's. She would bring home hours of homework every night & study like crazy. I usually tried to finish my homework between classes or at lunch or during study hall, unless it was a bigger project like a research paper or some science project. I rarely studied for tests. In fact the only ones I ever actually remember studying for were chemistry tests & spelling tests.

When I was in kindergarten I never brought homework home. In 3rd grade, my teacher took me out into the hall to lecture me about not doing my homework. If I didn't get it done at night I had to stay in from recess & finish it, which was a great deal for me, I got to avoid the bullies that tortured me. Still I made pretty good grades. I usually had all A's & B's. There were a couple of times where I had C's & I only had one F ever. Something a little ironic though is my senior year in high school, I made all A's & it actually made me want to work harder. Go figure. Can you imagine what kind of grades I would have had if I had actually put a little hard work into it.

There were a couple of times when my mom or dad had to spank me but it usually had to do with talking back or not eating my veggies. Once, in high school, mom got really upset with Kim & me because it was a half day at school so we went & hung out at a friend's house. We thought she was in school that whole day so we didn't bother to call her & let her know where we were. Boy, did we get a tongue lashing for that. Whew.

Other than that & the basic childhood issues (not cleaning my room & arguing with Kim) we were pretty much perfect behaviourally.

We didn't go to parties (except my graduation party in which most people drank but I just stood around pretending I was much cooler than I really was), we didn't sneak out of the house, didn't drink, didn't do drugs, never tried to smoke, we didn't sleep around (we never even dated much), we always called (except that one time) if we were going to be out later than we expected, we were responsible with most things, etc...

What can I say? We were perfect, at least compared to most people I've known. I'm afraid if I ever have kids they will not be as good as me & I don't think I could deal with a rebellious child.

[Bottom Pic: Me, Kaylee (our cousin, another perfect child), & Kim]

4000 Questions: Question #39: Where did your family go on vacation?

Oh, goodness. This could fill a book. It would be easier for me to say where we didn't go. We didn't go overseas or into New England. Done. Ok, any other questions....ok, I'll expound.

We went to Disney World in FL a lot. We went to D.C. a couple of times. We've been up the west coast. We've been through the Southwest. We have been to many of the National Parks. We dove into Canada for a couple of hours once. We've been through the South. We've been through the southeast. We've driven through the Midwest, too. (Kim & I went to Mexico a couple of years ago but we were adults & it wasn't with mom & dad.)

More specific. Well, let me name the states. And if I miss a few, just let me know, Dad. Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico,North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas (obviously), Virginia, Washington, & Wyoming. (I have also been to Utah with my sister & I had a layover in Detroit, Michigan but those were not with the entire family so I guess they don't count.)

National Parks? Well, let's see. Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands (I think), Petrified Forest, Death Valley, Yosemite, Redwood, Mount Rainer, Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain, Great Sand Dunes, Hot Springs, Buffalo, Ozark, Colonial, & all over Washington, D.C. I'm sure I may have missed one or two. Kim & I went to Arches & Mesa Verde in 2007 but, again, that wasn't the whole family & we weren't kids anymore.



[Don't the people in that picture crack you up? Hehe I have never known such happy people when they were lost. Especially when asking for directions. Look at them. They couldn't be more happy to be lost. And, who's hair stays that perfect when driving around in a convertible? Check out the son. He doesn't really match the rest does he? Reddish-brown hair while his dad has black hair & his mom has blond. I wonder what the milk man looked like. Hehe. I'm being bad now. I'll go.]

4000 Questions: Question #38: What is something you often did on Sundays?

I didn't answer this question yesterday because I felt kind of yucky & I was really tired. I ended up going to bed at 9:30 am & sleeping until about 8:45 pm. Yeah, I was a little sleep deprived. So, I guess I'll have to answer 2 questions today.

Ok, so what did I do on Sundays as a kid? Well, first there was Sunday school, then there was "big" church.

Afterward, we usually went to Granny's for lunch. Every once in awhile we would have lunch at our house or go out to eat, but it was usually at Granny's. Then we would go home. Mom & Dad usually took a nap while Kim & I either played or watched TV. As we got into high school we started taking naps too.

Then, it was back to church for evening class & another helping of "big" church. Evening church was more relaxed. There were less people there & I didn't have to wear a dress (very exciting for me).

After church, we would usually head off to the Front Street Junction in DeKalb with a few other people in church or we would head home. If we headed home it was usually "fend for yourself for dinner" or make a sandwich or have left overs. I usually nuked me a plate of Bagel Bites & headed to my room to watch Sea Quest & Earth 2 while trying to finish my homework. Then, it was off to bed by 10 pm so we would be "bright eyed & bushy tailed" for school the next morning. (I don't think I've ever been "bright eyed & bushy tailed" for several hours after waking up. Kim was the morning person....so annoying.)

I never cared much for Sundays. It was always depressing knowing I had to go to school the next day. Not to mention having to get up before noon, put on a dress, & sit for an entire hour listening to some boring guy tell me stuff I already knew. "I mean, I was pretty much born in the church, how much closer to God do you want me to get? Funny how you view things differently as a child than you do as an adult. :)"

4000 Questions: Question #37: Did you try to grow up in a hurry?

I don't' know. This is kind of a hard question. I guess I kind of did. I mean, I wanted to hurry up & become an adult & get on with the adventure my life was going to be. I was going to be married by 23 & start haveing kids 2 yrs later. I wanted at least 3 but maybe 5. (Apparently, I was insane as a child...no offense to anyone who has that life but that is so not who I am or want to be, today.)

I was going to be a world renound marine biologist who spent most of her time scuba diving, peering at water in test tubes, studying squiggly things under microscopes, tagging & releasing marine life, & eventually discovering the cure to cancer. After getting my start on a research team with either Sea World or Disney, I would become, at a young age, the prized employee (& also a renagade, pain in their side) of Woods Hole Oceanagraphic Institute or NOAA, I wasn't too picky.

I'm not sure where the family was going to fit on a small research boat but that I'm sure would work itself out later on. I wasn't in the details, I was more of the final picture person.

That still sounds like a great life to me but maybe one that would more likely be written by me than actually lived.

4000 Questions: Question #36: Where did you grow up?

I grew up in the Milky Way Galaxy...

























...in the Solar System...





















...on Earth...
























...on the North American Continent...



























...in the United States of America...

















...in Texas...



















...in Bowie County...























...in Malta.





















I'm not getting any more specific than that.

4000 Questions: Question #35: At what age did you start school?

I'm not going to write much. I've procrastinated in doing this all day & now I should be in bed. So, I was 5 yrs old when I started kindergarten at Malta Elementary school. I did not want to go to school. I hated kindergarten. I wanted to stay at home with my mom & sister. I got in trouble for talking in "music" class. Please, my mom was a piano teacher, what I probably knew more about music than this lady. And what was with those fake drums, micro tambourines, annoying cymbals, & those weird clapper things? Once during nap time, a swarm of flying ants flew through the window & started stinging us. There is only one instance where you get to use your white crayon & that happens to be when you are studying the letter "I" & you have to draw an igloo. Ironically, that is also the only time you get to use your black construction paper. Apparently, when you study "I" it is during Alaska's "dark" months. Oh, yeah, kindergarten was great. Unfortunately, I would not come to appreciate school until the 2nd semester of my 2nd year in college.

4000 Questions: Question #34: What was the most fun subject in elementary school, & what was the subject you dreaded the most?

Well, I always loved science even though I don't remember studying it much in elementary school. In general, I hated school but some subjects I definitely hated less than others.

All I remember studying in kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th grade is mainly English/writing/reading/spelling. I hated studying for spelling tests. I hated writing (even though now, I absolutely love it). I enjoyed reading, though, as long as it was something I got to pick. I do remember learning multiplication tables in 3rd grade & absolutely hating that too. In 4th grade I remember a bit about art (which I loved) & map reading (which I also loved, & I think must have been a part of social studies).

In 5th grade, I remember actually secretly liking writing but science was still my favorite. In 6th grade, I mainly remember social studies/history. I don't know why but that is what subject I associate with 6th grade. I did a great science fair entry in 6th grade, I think it was on pollution. It was a science fair with elementary through high school. Each grade (I think or age range) had 1st, 2nd, & 3rd places then there was an over all "best of show." I didn't think it went well at all & wasn't expecting much. I remember I was cleaning out my desk when they came over the loud speaker to announce the results. The announced all the 1st, 2nd, & 3rd places, & when my name wasn't called, I just went back to cleaning out my desk. I wasn't really upset because I wasn't really expecting to win anything. Then they announced my name as the "best of show." I couldn't believe it. I didn't really know how to react. The trophy was huge. Since I wasn't a sports person, I have always been pretty proud of that trophy. However, I've always wondered in the back of my head if I didn't get the prize because of who my parents were/are. Granted, I would not have won it if it had not been for my dad. He always did most of the work for our science projects, so, again, I kind of feel like I cheated a bit, but parents are supposed to help, right?

I know kids today have a lot of computer classes. But back in my day, computers were still a new thing. When I started going to school at Simms in 5th grade they had a few computers but I don't remember the classes much. We really didn't get into computers until jr. high & even then we were using the old DOS programs. We also had the old laser discs to watch films about computers on. Most printers were Dot Matrix with the reams of connected paper with the little holed ribbons on the side you had to tear off (they were great for making banners on; my dad still has one that he says is great for doing his "lettering" on...he's a wood worker & likes using it for his "lettering" patterns). The Internet was basically unheard of & if it was used it, you had to put your phone receiver on this gadget. A basic desk top computer (33 MHz CPU, 8 MB of DRAM, a 210MB hard drive, a 15-inch monitor) back in 1992 was about $2200, so that should put into perspective about how new personal computers were. I loved those classes...but that was jr. high so I can't talk about that here.

Anyway, science was always my favorite subject, I hated spelling & math, writing was okay but way too time consuming, social studies/history was just boring. However, if you include PE as a subject then I would have to say that was my all time most hated subject of all, at least while I was at Malta...heck, you can throw recess in as least favorite too, if you are talking about my time at Malta, but you could read more about that here. :)

4000 Questions: Question #33: What scary creatures did you think were in your childhood bedroom?

Oooo, a good one.

I never really pictured monsters under my bed or in my closet but I did imagine "bad" people in my closet. I thought there might be some crazed serial killer in there.

I also use to be scared that someone would break into our house, & being in the bedroom closest to the door, I would be attacked first. I also assumed that my parents would never hear me since I was the furthest from them. I never could yell very loud even when I was scared so that even made me more frightened. I use to lay in bed gazing, wide-eyed into the darkness just past the glow of the hall night light, listening for every little sound that may be the intruder. I would lay there for what seemed like hours, petrified, until I could gather up enough courage/adrenaline to jump out of bed & run down the hall & into the safety of my (younger) sister's room. I don't know why I always felt safer in there. Perhaps, because it was just across the hallway from my parent's room or maybe because at least there was one other person in the room. The sad part of this is that this was pretty much a nightly occurrence even through jr. high. I may have even done it in high school some but I can't remember. I know it use to drive my sister crazy.

After watching Jurassic Park for the first time I got really freaked out. That night was, I believe, the most scared I had ever been & the whole time I kept thinking how ridiculous I was being. I was in jr. high & knew there was no thing as dinosaurs roaming the country side any more but still I could not control my imagination. The movie didn't even scare me that bad, but that night as I was laying in bed my over active imagination kicked in. I snuck down the hallway & climbed into bed with my sister. Now usually, this was enough to calm me down but this night it did nothing but make the matter worse. We lived just far enough from the highway that when ever an 18-wheeler would hit this one spot, it sounded like the "boom-boom" of the T-rex's foot steps that everyone remembers from the movie. Then, the imagery started flashing before my eyes. The roof caving in, rain pouring through, teeth just inches from our faces, & the warm breath of death enveloping us. I finally went & woke my mom up or either she noticed I was in bed with Kim. I couldn't tell her what was scaring me because, how immature was I being, really? Anyway, she laid down in my bed with me but still I could not sleep. I must have dozed off at some point but I remember that being one of the worst nights ever.

I also use to worry about coyotes jumping through my window like on those wolf movies. I use to worry about one of the trees falling on the house during storms (which one did during an ice storm several years later).

I use to have this really annoying ticking, old-fashioned, wind up, alarm clock (it had a really loud alarm that would give you a minor heart attack when it went off...it was great...I never over-slept with that thing as long as I had it wound & set properly). I must also, at this point, explain that chickens were no longer my friend...that is a blog entry for another day (but most of you know the issue I have with birds of all kinds, especially chickens). I should also point out that this was either my junior or senior year in high school & I was past the "having to sleep with my sister" phase. Anyway, one night I was in a half dream-half awake state & I thought that there was a chicken just above my head on my head board, just about to attack (in reality it was the ticking alarm clock). In the midst of waking up, I grabbed my pillow, flew from the bed, throwing the pillow at the "chicken," & flipping the light on all at the same time. Man, I wish there had been a camera filming all of this. Upon discovering what exactly had happened, I broke down laughing so hard it was difficult to go back to sleep.

Since being in college, I have had a reoccurring nightmare. It has happened in every place I have gone, college dorm room, my parent's house, here in my apartment. This is one of those dreams that you wonder, "Am I dreaming?" then, you think, "If I'm dreaming the I wouldn't ask, 'Am I dreaming?' so I must be awake." It is so real, that when you do wake from it you really wonder if it didn't really happen. I dream that I wake up & feel the presence of someone in the room or house. I convince myself that I am being silly & reach for the lamp & can't turn it on. "There must be something wrong with the lamp." I finally get to a light switch & flip it & nothing happens. "There must be something wrong with the switch?" I flip it on & off several times to no results. Panic is beginning to set in at this point. "There must be something wrong with the electricity reaching this room. I'll go into the hall." The hallway light will not work either. Finally, at the end of my rope of sanity. I rush out the door into the parking lot & into safety.

This dream really freaks me out. My heart is racing right now as I write this. It seems so simple but in the dream it is the most frightening thing to ever happen. I'm sure there is some psychological/dream analysis that could explain it to me. Maybe I should research it. But, I am kind of suspecting that this could be the work of demons trying to attack me. I don't know & I know that most of you reading this may think from that statement that I'm a little kooky but I do believe there are demons & that they influence us more than we know.

Man, I hope I don't have that dream tonight now that I've talked about it. On lighter note, that dream has taught me to always dress in a way that if I did run out the door (sleep walking or running) I wouldn't be too upset if neighbors saw me (aka, shirt & shorts/pants).

4000 Questions: Question #32: How did you get to school?

I walked to school 4 miles, uphill both ways, barefoot, in the snow. Hehe...yeah, snow, in Texas...that's what gave it away, right? hehe

When I first started to school, mom took me. Then she ended up teaching at New Boston & I was going to Malta. I think I rode the buss then, but I can't remember. Then mom started working at Malta, so she brought us to school. When I was in 5th grade we moved to Simms & mom still took us to school.

As I was entering high school, my parents decided to move us to New Boston (bigger school, more opportunities, supposedly). Mom is still ("is," as in, she is actually there right now, teaching 3rd/4th grade English & writing) at Simms, so we had to ride the bus. We were some of the farthest kids out so we were close to being the first kids on, in the morning & the last off in the afternoons. Both ways it was about 1 - 1.5 hr trip. :P Somewhere in here, I think mom would take us to school in the mornings on her way to school (it really wasn't on her way but I think Kim guilt tripped her into this by telling her the other kids on the bus cussed a lot).

Finally, at 16, I was allowed to drive us & the neighbor in the gray Astro van. Oh, yeah, I was cool. Just before starting my senior year, my parents got me a green Ford Taurus. It was the best car ever, in fact I just traded it in about 3 yrs ago for my silver Ford Escape. While I love my car, there are many things I love so much better on the Taurus...especially at the gas pump.

So, that is how I got to school. :)

4000 Questions: Question #31: What childhood address(es) & phone number(s) do you remember?

My parents still live in the same house that I grew up in. However, the county gave everyone a new address. Something about 911 or something. They didn't end up changing the address until the last year that I live there so I really remember the old address better. I know the phone number better than any other number I've ever attempted to know. I still remember my granny's phone number & her old address, but not her new one. I also remember the phone number of the house that my best friend grew up in & her mom & step dad still live at.

I don't remember the address of the dorm that I lived in while in college in Fayetteville. Every once in a while it will pop in my head though, so it is stuck somewhere in there. I was filling out an envelope a while back ago & ended up putting Fayetteville's zip code on it. I was like, "What number is that? Why is it so familiar to me?" Well, dummy, that was your zip code for 2 yrs. Hehe. Anyway, I guess that's it for now. :)

4000 Questions: Question #30: What were your hobbies?

Many of my hobbies today are the same hobbies I had "back in the day." Putting puzzles together, photography, playing board games, watching TV/Movies, reading, listening to music, singing, & some others. As a kid, I also really enjoyed finger painting (even though we rarely did it...I think I would secretly enjoy it still...go to love that gooey coolness squishing between your fingers), water coloring books, looking at maps, coloring books, & play dough (another, I'm sure I would still enjoy). I also loved swimming & biking. I haven't done either in a while. Not true lap swimming, that is.

I went swimming with Kim on Saturday & realized how out of shape swimming-wise I am (I'll talk more on that in my video this week...I'm too tired to take it now & the first take was terrible). I plan on getting a bike for myself for Christmas & start riding this winter. A guy at work wants me to start doing the weekend rides/races that are local here. They end in the fall, Oct or Nov, I think, but they start again in the spring, Mar or Apr, I think. That will give me a couple of months to get back in the habit & get my butt use to the seat once again. Well, I once again, ran off into tangent land but that is kind of the point of this. However, I have got to start doing this before I am completely exhausted & it is way past my bed time.

4000 Questions: Question #29: Did you enjoy physical education in school?

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!

Uh...no.

If you have known me for any length of time you know doing anything physical has been (until about 6 months ago) avoided at all costs. PE was not my friend. It was pretty much the worst part of the day for me, second only to recess due to being the butt of most jokes & every bully's dream come true.

While at Malta, kindergarten through 8th grade all had PE together. First we would do typical 1980's exercises. Jumping jacks, stretches, these weird things called "cotton pickers" I believe, & other stuff I can't really remember. Then we had to run a mile. I talked about this in a post just the other day. Our teacher would stand by the dirt road with her paddle & watch us. If she caught you walking you got a lick. If she didn't have her paddle, then you had to run another lap, which equaled another 1/4 mile. I really don't know if she ever really paddled anyone to my knowledge but she did have us all scared to death. I doubt she ever did because I sure as heck deserved them. I walked all the time & never got one & I can't believe that she did not know what I was doing. Man, I wish I had kept it up all these years. Oh well, live & learn.

When we moved to Simms, our PE class was much different. For starters, it was inside a really nice & carpeted gym/auditorium. We typically did stretches & small exercises like sit ups & jumping jacks to start off. Then we learned other things including, square dancing, jump ropes, gymnastics, this big ball thing, & other things I don't remember. It was much more fun.

In Jr. High, our PE instructor was one of the football coaches & figured his time would be better well spent in his office than teaching the athletic rejects anything useful. Our days usually consisted of exercising to a Richard Simmons video then cleaning the field house. My job was to vacuum. We spent the rest of the time playing cards. Every once in awhile he would have us go walk around the track a few times. Most of the time I walked with my friend Angelo (who later "came out of the closet" after high school...everyone always asked us if we were dating...maybe I turned him gay...*gasp*). The "less classy" kids, usually detoured behind the bleachers to smoke & who knows what else. (This school was labeled drug free but I know the majority of the class I was in had a drug problem before graduation HS...I had changed schools before my class went to the pits.)

My freshman year I moved to New Boston. I got out of having to have PE my first year due to being in band. Trust me, I would have rather had PE. The next year I quit band but got out of having to have PE because I assisted in teaching swimming lessons the next summer & got a life guarding assistant certification (whatever the heck that is). To tell you the truth, I'm not sure that was all legit/legal. But who cares? I graduated. Not to mention, I'm making up for it now.

I didn't take a lick of PE in college. I'm not sure how I got out of that. In x-ray school, I tried taking a karate class at the community college but quit after the first night. I don't respond well to people yelling at me. "Kick! Harder, harder!" I wanted to say, "I'll kick you, mister, just put the cushion down." Very classy, I know.

Anyway, no, I never liked PE....I cannot describe to you how much I hated it. Now that I am almost 30 (28 to be exact), I am gaining an appreciation for it though. I guess I'm just a slow learner about some things.

4000 Questions: Question #28: What tokens of your childhood do you wish you had saved?

I can't really think of anything. I've kept pretty much everything, hence the clutter & the fact that I still have a lot of crap at my parents house. Poor parents. I really need to buy a house. If you would like to contribute to the "Kristy Needs A House" fund, just leave me a comment & I'll get right back to you. I would gladly like to hear from any millionaires, princes, people needing to launder a bit of money, movie stars trying to up their karma, lottery winners...I'm not picky. :)

So, the only thing is maybe this bouncy horse I use to ride in our living room. I loved him. We gave it to a lady who didn't have a lot of money so he went to a good home, I'm sure. He would have been very bored the last 18+ years. At least he could run the plains, chase Indian horses, chase bandits, visit streams, & what ever other fancies the children could imagine.