Eight Random Things About Me...

I got tagged by Mamaflo so here goes:

1.) My spoken English is WAY different than my written English! When speaking, I use a lot of figurative language, street slang and way too many cuss words! I am working on changing that as I have an extensive vocabulary and should be able to come up with more appropriate words besides cuss words to describe something. My friends who know me in real life were surprised that "I sound so well educated" when I write. For me, writing is a totally different type of communication. I communicate in a much more informal manner when "kicking it with the homies!" I only use business English in my personal life in business or when making a formal presentation.

2.) I have a super weird bond with the east coast, particularly New York City. I wanted to go to New York ever since I was a little kid. The first time I went there, it was like I was home from the minute I got off the plane. It was almost like I had lived there in another life. I could navigate through the city like I had been there before and never really felt life a tourist! For about five years, I got to travel to New York City frequently. I used to work with a friend of mine who was an exotic dancer. She passed away a few years ago and I am still not over it. She used to make sure all of her tour dates to New York were when I could go. I have some of the best memories of my life going on the road with her. It was an adventure to say the least! One year I got to go to New York for every season...winter, spring, summer and fall! I am definitely an "East Coaster" at heart and most people do not think I grew up in Los Angeles.

3.) I have been clean and sober off of drugs and alcohol since 1987. My life almost took a totally different direction to say the least! Just because I got clean and sober does not mean I became a saint. I still behaved and thought like a street punk with a bad attitude for many years and had some hard lessons to learn about life even after I gave up drugs and alcohol. Every now and again, I slip into that street punk with a bad attitude persona.

4.) I am a firm believer in Karma and following your hunches. I have seen miracles happen in my own life and other people's lives by trying to do the right thing. I have also been really blessed by learning to follow my hunches. It sounds crazy but I have been really blessed with almost a sixth sense. A quick example was when a friend that I was supposed to go to an AA meeting with called me and told me to meet her and another friend and go flying in a private plane. I got the worst feeling on the way to the airport and circled it twice and then left to go to the AA meeting I was originally supposed to go to. When I got home, there was major news coverage of a plane crash into the Malibu ocean. I knew almost instantly that it was THE plane my friend was in and it was! Fortunately she survived but had major medical problems because she broke her back and suffered from extensive hypothermia. The other person that we knew did not survive that crash.

5.) I love teaching but do not see myself doing it forever. I think I will be doing something dealing with education but its all really fuzzy. I do know that what I do in the future will help change people's lives on a bigger scale but I am still not really sure what the ultimate goal is yet. I am sure that I will know when its the right time.

6.) I have attention deficit disorder! I have had it since I was a little kid but I used to have the hyperactive component with it so what a joy I was to raise as a child! Even as an adult when too much is going on at one time, it is really hard for me to focus!

7.) I HATE to clean! I am really intelligent about a lot of things but organizing things and cleaning them makes me TOTALLY overwhelmed! Once it is done, I am really good at keeping it up unless my life is totally busy! I color code EVERYTHING that is important so I can remember where things are. I think the organizational issues are from the ADD and I really have had to really work at developing compensitory skills so I could figure out where the hell thing are when I put something down and am not focusing on it.

8.) I only got a college education because I was really blessed with a variety of people in my life who pushed me in that direction; even when I screwed up! I am pretty bright but I was far from a model student. I was kicked out of four middle schools and graduated a year late from a continuation high school after being expelled from the traditional high school I was at. I ditched school at least three times a week, went to school high every day and was missing huge gaps in my education. I don't know how many brain cells died bufrom all of the drinking and drugging but I do know that I had to work WAY harder than most people to get through the same classes! I think it was because I got to take easy classes like consumer math instead of college required math. Hell, I didn't even know the X was not used for multiplication until I got to the college remediation courses that I needed to take because my math skills were about on a fifth grade level! I still don't think numbers and letters should be mixed in a math problem!

9.) In fact, I still am not a big math fan unless it has to do with money! For a mathematical idiot, I am really good at understanding finance and business.

Peace,
Diva