Wednesday 24 October 2007

Tagged!!

Anne at Another Shopgirl tagged us! Read on if you'd like to know 8 random facts about us.

The Rules: once tagged, you must link to the person who tagged you. Then post the rules before your list, and list 8 random things about yourself. At the end of the post, you must tag and link to 8 other people, visit their sites, and leave a comment letting them know they’ve been tagged.

8 Random Things:

1. Julie: I am completely useless at shoe shopping. I hate doing it and I have no idea what I like or what looks good. I always need someone to come and help me. Then I hold up a shoe and ask them, "Do I like this?". It is the only time in my life I need to be told what to think. If I go by myself, I always regret the shoe purchase.

1. Jen: I've had mostly male friends for the majority of my life. I don't know why, I guess I feel I just get along better with the boys. It's only in the last few years I've started to have close female friends.

2. Julie:I am surprisingly handy. I install light fixtures, put down flooring, love painting, own my own power tools. And I adore assembling Ikea furniture. I wish all furniture needed to be assembled at home.

2. Jen: I'm crazy good at calming people down. I can rationalize things out and talk people out of the crazy tree when they are acting nutty and ready to do something rash. Julie can back me up on this. I should be a negotiator.

3. Julie:I lived in Istanbul, Turkey, for 2 years (2002-2004). Living in a foreign country changes you in ways that only someone who has done it can ever truly understand. I knitted so many socks while I lived there, that I hardly ever knit socks now- I'm all socked out. But here's a very old in progress shot of the last pair I ever made:3. Jen: When I was a kid I used to travel everywhere with my parents, who loved going anywhere warm. You name the island below the equator, I've probably been to it. But as an adult, I hardly every travel any more. But that's getting fixed soon- next month, I'm going to Tobago!

4. Julie: I don't have any single girl friends, everyone is happily coupled up. I, on the other hand, do not have the luxury of a warm body next to me every night, or even on the couch. I have to keep reminding myself not to settle for Larry* (see footnote).

4. Jen: I'm an Asain wannabe. I look waspy and blonde, but really, on the inside, I have shiny black hair and almond shaped eyes. Every boyfriend I have ever had has been asian, and I speak some Mandarin. Mostly so I can talk with my boyfriend's parents.

5. Julie:When I was a kid and adults would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always told them a psychologist for the criminally insane. I never really wanted this, but I got a big kick out of their reaction.

5. Jen: When I was a kid, I wanted to be an opera singer. Anyone who has ever heard me sing knows that was never going to happen. Ever.

6. Julie:I write a weekly column for the Saturday edition of my hometown newspaper, The Sudbury Star. Somehow, I get to ramble on (and on!) about my life, and people read it. I'm as shocked as you are!

6. Jen: I've been addicted to snowboarding for about 7 years. I may not be the best, but I can shred hard and keep the boys on their toes.I'm really looking forward to this year- it's my first year back since my knee injury. I've got my season pass and I'm all set!!!

7. Julie: I make an amazing pie crust pastry from scratch, and everyone asks what my recipe is... it's the one on the back of the Tenderflake box. Seriously. Best pie crust of your life.
7. Jen: Years ago, I made a pork roast for my then-boyfriend's family. I bought one of those pre-seasoned, already completely done (all you have to do is heat it up) and I passed it off as my own that I made from scratch. His family was so impressed, they wanted the recipe. So I panicked, and just made it up. When they tried to make it, of course it didn't turn out the way the store bought one did. I had to fess up.

8. Julie:I'm working on a novel, and am about 75% finished the first draft. It's got no working title at the moment, but there is some knitting in it! One of the characters (not the protagonist, but a major character) dreams of being a knitwear designer.... the character is based on Jen, although I don't actually know if she really would like to be a knitwear designer. I know she would like to have her own yarn shop, though.

8. Jen: When I was really into graffiti art in my younger days, I used the tagname of 'Satincare'. I chose it because back then I thought that nothing was sexier than smooth, shaved legs! Obviously, I watched too many commercials on TV.

As for tagging... how about Glenna, Jessica, Erin, Marce, lekkercraft, Kelly, and Phoe. I know that's only 7, but...tag- You're it!!!

*Footnote: Larry is a family joke. My aunt worked with a teacher who wanted to settle down, and was dating this guy named Larry. Larry was a part time Elvis impersonator. He was cheap (and constantly broke), unrealiable, and just plain retarded when it came to relationships. He would cancel their plans to go out with his friends, he would let her pay for dinner all the time, and only came around if he couldn't find anything better to do, and didn't make an effort to do things that he knew made her happy. Everyone else in his life was a higher priority than her. This girl still thought that he would grow up and become someone worth dating. One night he was supposed to pick her up from work, and she was relying on him since it was late and there was no other way for her to get home. He called from a bar, told her he had met some friends instead, and couldn't come and get her. She broke up with him. Met someone way better shortly after that. She is now happy with the much better new guy. Larry is still an Elvis impersonator and a loser.

Thus, my family's catch phrase: "Don't settle for Larry!" Because apparently, there are far too many Larrys in the world. And Elvis impersonators.

8 comments:

Glenna C said...

I am supremely jealous that you are working on a novel. That is one of my secret dreams in life!

BrownBerry said...

What a Saturday morning treat!! You 2 are a collective gem I tell ya! Great lists...now to get working on mine.

Joan said...

Satincare=amazingness. Love the list guys!

shopgirl said...

Jen I love the roast story! I laughed out loud at that one. And Julie, I'll help you pick shoes out anytime! Thanks for playing along with me:)

Anonymous said...

Jen - next time, just say the recipe is a family secret. :)

Julie - I am envious of your job. And knee deep in my life's work at the moment. I know a lot of writers which is so cool.

Adriana said...

I just wandered over here after one of you left a comment on my blog (team blogs are great but it makes it harder to tell people apart). Imagine my surprise to read that Julie writes for the Sudbury Star! I'm from Sudbury! I moved to London Ontario 7 years ago to go to school. This is serious weird but in a good way :)

Deniz Bevan said...

Hi Julie! Just found your blog through a friend who stumbled across it while looking for patterns. Um, we don't know each other, do we? Cos I lived in Istanbul at the same time as you! Were you teaching English there?

Deniz Bevan said...

Thanks for the pattern Julie!
DH and I are Canadian, but my background is Turkish; though I'd never lived there before. Eventually, though, we decided that adult/career/future wise it might be better if we moved back to Canada. We haven't given up on the idea of maybe going to Istanbul again, though!