Sunday, October 26, 2008

10 Honest Things About Me

Whew! It's been a really busy weekend - now I finally have the time to get some posts up and sincerely thank Jane at http://workthatwardrobe.blogspot.com/ and Lady Di at http://africanainatlanta.blogspot.com/ for tagging me for the Honest Blogger thingy.

Without further ado, here's 10 things about me that you probably don't know.

10. I have a degree in Linguistics, which is the study of language and how it works. I am absolutely in love with words, how they work, their history and even how they sound. I'm fascinated by how interconnected so many cultures are through a common thread of language, and I'm always listening and looking for new ways that language is being used.

9. I am a published poet (i.e. not self-published), in a real book, that was sold in Chapters bookstores across Canada. This was one of the life goals I set for myself and have completed.

8. I am terribly clumsy. I am always walking into walls and doors, tripping and falling (I do a mean face-plant), and whacking my head on things. My friends call this "pulling a Sheila".

7. I posed for nude photos about 6 years ago. They are very tasteful and artistic: a "bodyscape" of light and shadow, and were done by a professional studio. One of my photos in in their gallery on their webside - I'm proud of that. I have both of my photos framed and up in my home - everyone from the plumber to my mom has admired them. I was terrified to do them, but it helped me so much with my body image at the time.

6. I read voraciously, pretty much anything I can get my hands on, but mostly graphic novels and fiction (lit, sf, horror). My favourite authors are Dan Simmons, Robert A. Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, Stephen King, Lawrence Block and Chuck Palahniuk. I also am not afraid to admit I read trashy magazines in the checkout line!

5. I hate cooking. Loathe it. I tend to eat things in a whole state (cottage cheese out of the container, steamed veggies, plain fruit), but grudgingly cook spaghetti, stir-fry, lasagna, soup, and simple things like steak and burgers. My wonderful husband is my sous-chef and chops all the veggies for me.

4. I'm a night owl. I'm so glassy-eyed in the mornings that my coworkers know to avoid me until at least 10 am. My ideal hours would be 2 am bedtime and 10 am wake-up time. Whenever I'm off for a substantial amount of time, I always revert to this.

3. I did a marathon 3 days before I turned 40. I race-walked/powerwalked it in 5:52. It was a life goal - my dad was a marathoner, who died at age 55. It was also a tribute to him and I cried when I crossed the finish line, and my mom was there to put my medal around my neck.

2. I was extremely shy growing up, until I was about 16, when I figured out that I could change how people see me by changing how I presented myself. Thus was born my love of fashion. It has given me the self-confidence to change myself from the outside and learn to love who I am on the inside.

1. Two years ago, I looked like this:
I weighed nearly 200 pounds and was heading down the road to Heart Attack City. Two years ago, I joined Weight Watchers to work towards my goal of doing the marathon. My plan was just to get fit, but it changed my life. I now eat better and exercise and in general, I look after myself - I've changed my lifestyle. I lost 60 pounds and have now maintained my weight for almost 18 months. I went from a size 16-18 to a size 4.

Every day is hard.

I keep that picture above on my fridge to remind me where I've been.

I never want to go back.

13 comments:

  1. 1. Kudos to you for taking a standing and changing for the betterment of your health. I can only imagine the amount of determination and self-control that it takes to do so.
    2. That's too cool that you took TASTEFUL nude photos. That's something i want to do too(one soon..maybe w/in the next 3 years, and then another while i'm pregnant...)
    3. I'm constantly walking into things too, but it increases when i get mad...lol

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  2. Just wanted to say "Hi" and that I really enjoyed this post. You sound like a cool dude. I've been reading for a couple of months now and I thought I would delurk.

    Wow, it's amazing that you're a published poet. What an accomplishment. And that you ran a marathon, another amazing accomplishent. I'm a bit of a runner (10K!), maybe one day a marathon is in my future. Who knows.

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  3. Thanks, lady d! I am so much happier now about my body and especially my health.

    Doing nudes was one of the best things I'd ever do - but make sure you use a very reputable studio!

    Ha! Contrary to what people might think, my clumsiness does not increase when I'm drunk, lol.

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  4. Hi, Meri, and welcome! :) I'm glad you decided to "unlurk".

    I'm a bit of bulldog when I decide to do something. I just figure out the best way to get what I want and I go after it.

    10Ks are awesome! I racewalked the local 10K and won a medal last spring (I came in 3rd in Competetive Walk in my age category). I passed a lot of runners!

    If a marathon is something you decide to so, take a marathon clinic from your local running store. It will give you a better idea of what to expect.

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  5. You're awesome, Sheila. You really are.

    -Relish.

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  6. Congratulations on your weight loss and all your other accomplishments...every post reveals what an amazing lady you are! You seem to excel at everything you do, and that's very inspiring.

    Sounds like a lot of us are clumsy...maybe there's some sort of weird link between that and a love of fashion?

    And I'm a Stephen King junkie...I frequently argue with my snobby fellow lit majors about his merits.

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  7. Thanks so much, Erica.

    Maybe it's the weird balance you require in order to wear heels? Ha!

    A measure of how "good" any artist is is how successful he or she is - not in a monetary way, but in evoking emotions from those who participate in the art, whether that is a movie, a book or a piece of music. If Stephen King makes you feel something - fear, sadness, or even disdain - then he's done his job, and done it well. People who are snobs about art don't really get it.

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  8. I kind of love Dan Simmons! Did you read "The Terror?" I thought it would be truly awful but I found myself sucked in. Pretty awesome!

    xx

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  9. Julia, I loved "The Terror" - I can't wait to read his new one, "Drood."

    "Song of Kali" freaked me out, and of course, the "Hyperion" novels are classic sf.

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  10. Hey, I just found those old posts and what a better way to get to know you! I knew it from the begining that you're a special lady. I'm so glad I was right!

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  11. Hey, that's why I leave the links up there, Dimi - I like to read this old stuff too. Aw, thank you, that's really sweet of you. :)

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  12. all I can say is WOW.

    glad that I found you through the neutrals challenge

    have you read any William Gibson? He's one of my faves.

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Cheers,
Sheila