Not-So-Random Facts about Dilovely… as seen on Facebook (pretty much).
1. I was born feet-first, four weeks early, at McMaster Medical Centre in Hamilton, Ontario. (Thankfully, my baby didn’t follow my lead – though he brought his own kind of stubbornness!)
2. I am claustrophobic, refuse to watch scary movies, do not fear spiders or snakes, and love heights.
3. I am a Taurus, supposedly very materialistic and interested in money. (Well, I do like coin belts quite a lot.) Actually I prefer the Wikipedia version of my Taurus personality. ☺
4. I am terrible at mini-golf (or any golf) and usually bowling as well, but I still enjoy both for some reason.
5. I love different kinds of food (the vegetarian kinds) – especially Indian, Mexican, and Japanese.
6. I am known to play the flute, piccolo, alto sax, and piano… but these days I neglect them all. Actually, I can play piano by ear, which is how I cheated my way through three years of piano lessons without really learning to read music fluently.
7. I did ballet and figure skating lessons for about 12 years… and I’ve barely skated since! Does anyone want to go skating? I’m pretty rusty…
8. I took my first belly dance class on a whim – there was no room in the hip hop class – and never looked back. Finally, a dance form where it’s good to be long-waisted… and at least a little jiggly!
9. I am a Quaker, the third child of Vietnam draft-dodger parents, and believe in my own interpretation of God.
10. My favourite place ever in the world is Camp NeeKauNis.
11. I graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2000 with a BA in French and Spanish, and got my MA from U of T in French Lit. (I did the MA to prove to myself I could write a humongous paper in French – it was about feminine enuncation in francophone Africa – but I realized that academia is not for me.)
12. After my BA, I had the privilege of living for 7 months as an English teacher in Dunkerque, France, followed by 2 months of backpacking – I was lucky enough to visit England, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, and Greece… and would LOVE to go back and see more.
13. I also had the good fortune to spend 5 weeks living with a family in Costa Rica at the end of teachers college, to work on my Spanish – again, I’d LOVE to go back and see more!
14. Before I die, I’d really like to visit Hawaii, Peru, Egypt, and South Africa… among other places.
15. I adore my two cats, Nicodemus and Ramona. Actually I love basically all cats, even the mean ones, and have had close relationships with several pet rats in my time, and someday I’m sure I’ll have a dog.
16. I’m a grammar geek and I’m awesome at spelling and punctuation. If you ever need something editing, just ask me – I love editing. I told you I was a geek… it’s in my blood.
17. I find big dark eyebrows on men very attractive – think Colin Farrell. Incidentally, my husband Sean’s eyebrows are almost invisible, and I love him more than anything (and would never trade his eyebrows).
18. I have a gigantic crush on James McAvoy (Atonement, Becoming Jane, etc.), even though he doesn’t have impressive eyebrows either. Don’t worry, Sean knows all about it.
19. I am a public school teacher and I’m tired of being misrepresented by the media and judged as lazy/greedy by members of the public who a) don’t understand the issues and b) have never tried being teachers.
20. I believe the idea of “saving the planet” is a load of crap; the environmental movement should really be called “saving humankind’s ass”, so that people understand that caring about it should not be a choice.
21. I am most frustrated by people who blame their problems on others, and people who do not use empathy in their daily lives.
22. I don’t enjoy shoe-shopping, because I have weird-shaped feet and can’t find shoes that fit properly.
23. Someday, I would love to learn to make pottery, to grow vegetables, and to play the banjo.
24. I honestly often think to myself that I am one of the most fortunate people in the world.
25. I am a mother, and am blessed with the cutest, most awesome baby son on the planet.
