Trials,Tribulations, Travels, Tastings...and Occassional Transcendence

Trials,Tribulations, Travels, Tastings...and Occassional Transcendence
Sock on the Great Wall

Friday, December 28, 2007

Five Things

Alright, I'll play. I've been tagged into disclosing 5 unknown things about myself. I suppose I have to tag 5 people but I don't know if I know that many people who would respond on this blogger thing...so perhaps I will use some of my non-blogging peoples. So if you're reading this (and I know you are) you better respond :) Stickboy, J.B., Jeffy, B-Horn, Jennie.

1. I am hypoglycemic. If my blood sugar drops so do I. It can get ugly - most of you who know me know I need to constantly have some sort of caloric intake at all times especially when I work out. Only the select few have seen my at my worst - it's not pretty.

2. I am addicted to exercise. I need the endorphin rush. It can come in the form of a run, bike, hike, swim, kayak, ski, play w/ doggies, climb - whatever. I need it! If I don't get out and do it on a regular basis I slip into a catatonic mental state which is almost as unattractive as hypoglycemic shock. This is the reason for me not having knee surgery yet. The thought of not being able to get my endorphin rush on a regular basis scares the crap out of me.

3. I danced ballet for 10 years. That's right the Ice Princess was a ballerina - if any of you ever make fun of me for it I will kick your posterior! If it weren't for that I would be the biggest klutz in the world. It was fun and it gave me what little flexibility, grace and balance I have to this day.

4. I really enjoy being alone. As social as I am and as much as I love my friends/fam/people around me - I equally love my solitude. My favourite times are hikes deep in the woods with Sergei (the only "person" I love to have around me even when I want to be alone).

5. I have an irrational fear of rats. Yes rats....just typing it in gives me the creeps. I once locked myself in my work truck and wouldn't make a delivery because a rat was outside of my truck. I even called my dispatchers - who got a great laugh out of it. I freaked out to the point where I thought the rat would try and open the door to the truck then subsequently try to climb in through the vents when it discovered the doors were locked. Yes, it's that bad.

So there it is in writing - I suppose I feel cleansed by putting it out there. Do with it what you will, but remember...don't make fun of the Ice Princess Ballerina!!!

7 comments:

flahute said...

Solitude is my favorite ski area ... even on a Saturday, you rarely have to wait more than a chair to catch a lift, and even then you're often the only one in the chair.

flahute said...

Solitude

Solitude looms high,
      alone in the canyons, silence—
   take time to listen.

Leaves rustle,
      trees whispering in the wind,
   dew drips down.

Full moon rises
   in the night sky, moonlight
      obscured by clouds.

Darkness descends,
      firelight dwindles, reduced to coals
   that crackle no more.

Eyes closed, ears open,
   experience the nothing,
      savor the all.

Drifting off to sleep.


Copyright © 2007, Steven L. Sheffield

Anonymous said...

Your "rat fear" had me laughing....Do mice bother you? I had a friend who went kayaking after a long winter. He was in the kayak, had the sprayskirt on and felt "things" crawling around on his legs and feet. He popped the skirt to discover mice crawling all over him -it appears momma and baby mice built a home in the foam support. He did a wet exit and the mice went swimming :(

5 unknown things about myself?
1. I'm not a big fan of chocolate. Everyone raves about the stuff...they can have mine! (we get candy with a paycheck here at work...seriously! I'm always giving mine away). Now if its caramel...BACKOFF! ...but we never get caramel :(

2. I have an internally battle between missing the mountains and missing the water. Rochester is nice because water is right there...minutes away. Denver is nice because the mnts are right there. The mnts seem much more "usable" year round...so I do better out here. But I really miss seakayaking on a large body of water and canoeing. I rationalize this loss of water by telling myself I’m going to retire and live summers on a sailboat in the pacific northwest. I think sailing to Alaska and back would be a grand adventure. Did I mention I can barely sail? Anyone want to come along?

3. I don't like games. You heard me...no games. Just about anything from baseball to monopoly, to card games. Occasionally playing a game (of whatever) is fun, but for the most part they seem pointless and contrived. I prefer things like climbing, biking, hiking, kayaking, skiing etc. Even sport climbing and resort skiing seems contrived to me. I do it really only for "training for the real thing". Oh its fun...but I'd much rather spend the day skinning up 3000 ft for few minutes of downhill bliss than spend the day at a resort. Maybe I'm just a masochist.

4. I'm dressed kinda funny? maybe that’s because I'm colorblind....or an engineerd

5. In contrast to your #4, I'm not a group person. I'd rather spend time with a small gathering of friends (often more than 3 is too many!). As I get older, I'm finding spending time in larger groups can be just as fun, and a great place to meet other people of similar interests. So now I try to make a point to get out more.

6. I beat a kid up while I was wearing a Cub Scout uniform…oh, you said ‘5 things’…then never mind.

Julie said...

No worries Ari, I used to take dance and gymnastics when I was younger too. I took gymnastics until I ran full speed into the pummle horse (without jumping over it) and knocked the wind out of myself. My mom decided that gymnastics was just too dangerous for her delicate rose. The running into the horse was the straw that broke the camels back but there were many incidents of me falling off the balance beam, falling from the rings, dropping off the uneven bars. I can only imagine what a disaster I would be without those lessons. Really, I can hardly make it through the day without tripping up stairs, walking into walls or just falling down. Hey, I guess that is my number one.

2.) I would do anything for a cookie. I dont really like cake, its really just a vector for frosting. Pies are good, but only in small quantities. Good chocolate is great, but my true love is cookies. All that climb with me should know this. After a long day climbing there is nothing better than a cold beer and a cookie (not at the same time though).

3.) I dont really get along with my immediate family which is hard to explain to people who get along with theirs. It is what it is and it probably wont change anytime soon. But I am good with that. It has taken me a long time to come to grips with that, but again, it is what it is and that is ok. Which is probably why I cherish my friends more so than most because sometimes(most times) my friends are nicer, more accepting, and loving than my family.

4.) I have had every part of my body x-rayed at least once (see confession 1). But I have never broken a bone (knock on wood). Each x ray has a cool story behind it. Example, how many people have had both their shins x-rayed? Thank you lacrosse.

5.)There is so much to choose from as my final 5th confession. Not sure currently. I will try again later.

flahute said...

Mine: http://www.flahute.com/id·i·o·syn·cra·sies

Anonymous said...

The rat story is funny!! For some odd weird reason my cousin and I are terrified of mice. Especially loose ones around the house. Mice clean for 4 years once the major remodeling things were done.

Hey at least your not like my friend who is afraid of bug... especially spiders. He has his wife kill them for him. The last one they got he was so paranoid to what kind it was he spent 2 hours on the internet researching spiders.

B-Horn said...

Nice blog, Sockster... Ok, Im game-

5. When I was a kid I really thought I had superhero cognitive powers (I grew out of it when I was 30).

4. Good lookin' ankles are my weakness.

3. I want to "semi-retire" ASAP and live in Kittery, ME and Bend OR, or some variation of... kind of and East Coast - West thang...

2. I like to carve turns regardless of the mode of transportation (bike, moto, ski's, shovel, donkey etc)

1. I was, get this, recruited by UCONN to play football (no not foosball) all 5'8" 140lbs of me. They must have been desperate, blind or both!