I am 38 years old now. It's older than I've ever been.
I want to list 38 things about me. I really don't expect anyone to read all of them, cause 38's a lot. I'm listing them for purely selfish reasons. :)
1. I was born in Idaho Falls, ID. The hospital I was born in was across the river from the LDS temple and has since been demolished. My parents brought me home on the day after Christmas (my sister's birthday) wearing a red santa suit. I weighed 5 pounds and was almost a month early.
2. I was named Amy Maida Young. My father descended from Lorenzo Dow Young, Brigham's brother. Maida was my father's mother's name. She was a red-headed, feisty woman, and I've always thought of her as my guardian angel. I think there is great power in carrying on someone's name. That's why I named my daughter Maida. Notice that my initials spelled my name till I got married and messed that up. :)
3. We moved to Mapleton, UT when I was three and I've lived in Utah ever since. I grew up in a house on Maple Mountain and I have great memories of that house. (4-10)
4. Squirrels lived in our walls.
5. Bats lived in an abandoned mine near our house. My mom killed one with a shovel.
6. I picked cherries right off the tree every summer. I often ate them till I was sick.
7. We irrigated our lawn with water from the creek that ran behind our house. I loved irrigation day.
8. We got snowed in frequently. We would put salt blocks out under our pine trees and the deer would come to our yard and peek into the windows of our home. One year, we had at least a dozen deer in our yard.
9. Our house was heated with coal. The coal truck would come up to our house and unload the dark, dusty stuff into our basement through the coal shute. The dust got in our water heater and washer and made our clothes dingy but I still thought it was cool.
10. Our landlord helped me drive his tractor when I was eight.
11. I spent many hours reading as a child. I learned to read before kindergarten. When my kindergarten teacher needed to run errands for the class, she would leave me in charge and give me a book to read to the class.
12. Not only did I read stories, I also made them up. For show and tell one day, I told the class that my house had burned down and my incredible father had re-built it in one day. I couldn't figure out why my teacher gave a big lecture on telling lies after I was done.
13. When I was in 2nd grade, one of our assistant teachers had cerebral palsy. She had a hard time walking and speaking, but she did well enough that she was able to teach us. One day I got to school and saw a few kids making fun of her. I remember yelling at them so loud that one of the other teachers came into the classroom and pulled me out into the hall to reprimand me. When I told her what had happened, she gave me a hug and went back in the classroom and gave those kids what for. They never made fun of our assistant teacher again.
14. We moved to Springville when I was 9. I had a hard time adjusting to my new school. I remember the girls in my ward were particularly difficult to be around. They teased me mercilessly. At that age, I learned to go to church for personal reasons, not social ones.
15. I was on a short-flag drill team when I was 13. We did a routine to Prince's "When Doves Cry." I still remember some of the moves and when I hear that song I want to twirl a flag.
16. I had my first boyfriend when I was in 6th grade. I held his hand. He wanted to kiss me and I refused because I felt I was too young to be doing that kind of stuff. He broke up with me and started going out with a girl who had a loose reputation.
17. We moved to Salt Lake when I was 15. My grandmother had Alzheimers and she needed someone to take care of her. The move was difficult. She made it very clear that she didn't want us there. She wrung her hands and cried as we moved our things in.
18. I rebelled quite a bit at that point, especially against my grandmother. I did things just to bother her. I was terrible. She said mean things to my mother and I didn't like that, so my way of retaliation was to do things that drove her crazy.
19. I became particularly fond of thunderstorms while living with my grandmother, who was terrified of lightning and thunder. She was so afraid that she would shut herself in the hallway and shut all the doors so she couldn't see any windows. She sat in the hall with lit candles around her and put her fingers in her ears and rocked back and forth. I look back at it now and it makes me sad, but when I was a punk teenager I just thought she was crazy. I would purposefully go out in the rain and come in the house dripping wet. She told me once that I wasn't afraid of anything. She was wrong, but I still love thunderstorms.
20. I am, however, terrified of really strong wind. I often dream of tornadoes.
21. I got mono when I was in high school and missed six weeks of school. I was still sick when I took my driving test and I failed. It put a block in my mind and I felt like I just couldn't drive. I failed the next driving test as well when I drove off the road. The third time was the charm and I actually passed. I was 17. I haven't been in an accident or received a ticket.
22. I hung out with a big group of really smart kids when I was in high school. We called ourselves the Brute Squad (after The Princess Bride.) Three of my friends ended up at MIT. One of them was Valedictorian for our graduation. I graduated with a 3.85 and got a 32 on my ACT. I went to the University of Utah on a full-tuition academic scholarship.
23. I was the editor of our school's literary art magazine, Runes.
24. I was in Madrigals and A'cappella. My life was writing and music. Things haven't changed much.
25. I've always been fascinated with the human body. I took as many biology and anatomy classes as I could in high school. I've discected a frog, a cow's eye, a sheep's heart, a worm, and a cat. I'm still fascinated with the human body. I got a 5 on my AP biology exam (that's an A, basically) and my first major in college was biology.
26. My second major in college was English with an emphasis on Shakespearean studies. However, I still haven't acted in a Shakespearean play. (That's one of my before I die goals.)
27. I've published 3 novels. The first was in 2003, then 2004, then 2005. I've completed one novel since then, but my publisher wanted extensive revisions. They wanted me to make the sequel less reliant on the first novel in the series, and in my mind, the three books were part of one continuous storyline. I refused to revise and they refused to publish.
28. I am currently working on a novel about being single and LDS. (even though I've been married for 18 years.) I also have storylines bumping around in my brain for two other novels.
29. I've only had one full time job, and it lasted for one summer. I've always made money by working part-time jobs and writing, editing, sewing, or baking on the side.
30. I know how to hand quilt and I'm actually pretty good at it.
31. I have many basic skills that modern women find less valuable than they used to be. I know how to make bread, pasta, and tortillas from scratch. I can get 2-3 meals out of a whole chicken. I can make patterns from existing clothes, alter clothes to fit, and create new clothes from old ones, from sheets, or whatever. I don't promise perfection, but I can get the job done.
32. I don't know how to knit.
33. I have a ton of careers I'd like to try. I'd like to try running a bakery, or a wedding planner. I'd like to try being an EMT or working in the medical field. I'd like to try microbiology or genetic research.
34. Here are some jobs I have had: fast food, plater at a printing press, teller, bookseller (DK books--kind of like Pampered Chef, only with books), Avon, Deseret Book clerk, seamstress, wedding cake decorator, floral arranger, day care (from my home and at the rec center), fiction teacher, writing coach, substitute teacher, computer lab assistant.
35. I hardly ever travel, though I would love to. Some places I've been are: Disneyland, Phoenix, Idaho Falls, Seattle, Tri-cities Washington, Modesto, San Diego, Nashville, Nauvoo, Chicago, Des Moines, Las Vegas. Places I would like to go: Boston, New York, Maine, Vermont, DC, Hawaii, Alaska, England, Italy, New Zealand.
36. I would like to write a science fiction novel.
37. I love to dance.
38. This may be the only time I do this cause I totally can't think of anything else. :)
That was very fun. :^)
ReplyDeleteThat was such fun getting to know you better! I hope that your Birthday was wonderfully fun!
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