Meme

Beth tagged me for this here meme thingy.

Since I believe I am about as uninteresting as they come, I don’t normally do these. However, here we go.

“The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.”

Which is fine, except that several of the folks who I've tagged have their comments set so that I can't leave one. Oh well.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

The 90s weren’t a particularly good decade and I pretty much prefer to forget about them.

However, in ‘98 I came out as a gay man (I didn’t really “come out of the closet” as much as I was “ejected”); gave up on organized religion (why do I want to be associated with a spiritual path that considers me an abomination, tells me I’m a sinner and will burn in hell, and that the love I’d feel for a life partner is not real? It’s not terribly life-affirming, you know? And it's like belonging to a club that doesn't want you as a member anyway); lifted out of a suicidal depression (actually I was too depressed to be suicidal, as I think about it); and made plans to move out of a profession I should have left a few years earlier. I was also grappling with a chronic physical health issue that was making life particularly miserable at the time.

Oh, and I realized I’m not stupid, ‘though I still have many, many moments when I am convinced I must be.

My goodness: things are much better now. (Though I’m still not sure I’m not stupid. Self-esteem is a funny thing.)

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):

Wash the car
Do laundry
Grocery shopping
Pay bills, reconcile bank accounts and visa statement
Write a blog post, other than this one.

3. Snacks I enjoy:

Usually if I’m snacking it means I’m bored, depressed, or anxious. (I’m trying to snack healthy, though.)

Plain, unblanched almonds
Good Darjeeling tea
Good Assam tea
Raw carrots.
Miss Vickie’s “Lime and Black Pepper” potato chips
1 single scoop of Greg’s Roasted Marshmallow Ice Cream. I have it once a year. (Available at Gregs on the southwest corner of Spadina and Bloor in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.) This isn’t really a snack: if I go to Toronto I will plan to go to Greg’s.

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

Off the top of my head:
Knit
Spin
Go to Easton Mountain every year
Buy a nice condo and hire someone to decorate it
Have a cleaning service come in every 2 weeks
Hire a personal trainer for 3 sessions per week

5. Places I have lived:

Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada
Toronto, Ontario, Canada (twice)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Kingston, Ontario, Canada

6. Peeps I want to know more about:
Paul
Kenny
Chris
WonderMike
Patrick (who wrote a wonderful report on the knitting retreat at Easton Mountain)

Comments

[beth]

Oooh yeah, clee=aning service. I'll add that to my list.
I don't think you are boring at all. I think you are quite interesting and also fantastic...and a genius with the spinning and the knitting of lace:-)

[Van]

Your coming out experience sounds a little like mine in 1996. I was that depressed, too. I'm glad I chose life.

[QueerJoe]

If you ever need someone to remind you how smart and interesting you are, I will always be willing to oblige, and provide examples.

As for your billionaire question...could you actually purchase Easton Mountain?

[vtknitboy]

Wow. I'm honored to be mentioned on your blog! (You should see how I have you listed on my "blogs I read" list!)

So, just what would you like to know about me?

Your knitting skills and feedback have challenged me to push myself!
hugs, chris (vtknitboy.blogspot.com)

[emma]

You metioned "coming out" - my daughter wrote this short story (copy and paste)
http://www.fictionpress.com/s/2531817/1/Is_It_Enough_To_Breathe
She's definitely struggling with her identity. Hopefully she will not have too hard a time. Thanks for sharing.