Meme'd: 8 random facts

Mary of Animal Person tagged me with a meme (what that heck is a meme?). Although I am up to my eyeballs in stuff I need to do, I thought it would at least be a good way to update my blog, since I haven’t in eons.

There are rules to this meme and here they are:

1. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Here are 8 random facts about me:

1. I am a human barometer. I get nasty sinus headaches whenever it is going to precipitate. One of these days I want to keep a chart on severity of pain compared to inches of rain/snow to see if there is any correlation.

2. I have been making oatmeal-raisin scones every week for the past 20+ years. I put them in the freezer and take one out each morning for breakfast. The recipe came from a Quaker Oats recipe booklet. An early variation on that recipe was using applesauce for half the butter required in order to make them lower in fat. Now, I substitute vegan margarine for butter, egg replacer for the egg, and soy or rice milk for cow’s milk to make them vegan. Photo above shows “Sconehenge,” as created for breakfast on the winter (or was it summer?) solstice many years ago when I worked at the MFA, Boston. The figures are plastic cowboys wrapped in brown paper toweling; they were meant to portray druids.

3. I read the meme responses of Deb, who tagged Mary, who tagged me. As one of her facts she had that she has a slight degree of face blindness. I have been reading a lot about face blindness lately, it seems to be in the news. Funnily, at Harvard, I was a research subject, participating in the psych studies examining face blindness. But my fact is that I have the opposite of face blindness. I guess it would be a photographic memory for faces. I few years ago I recognized a guy on the street in Cambridge; he was my TA for German class at UMASS Amherst in 1980. I am surprised when people I’ve eaten a meal with don’t recognize me. I am always saying “hello” to people on the street who I’ve met, and I know they haven’t the foggiest idea who I am.

4. If there were such a thing as a “former life,” I would have been a Punjabi. Doing bhangra seems to be in my blood. See here and here.

5. I am a hoarder packrat.

6. I am more turned off by food textures than food tastes. I have a hard time with: carbonated drinks; peaches (I prefer fuzz-less nectarines); raw spinach and that metallic feeling your teeth get from it; custard-like (or “mucus-y,” as I call them) desserts; and meat (good thing I’m vegan).

7. I have a tattoo that reads “Ahimsa” in memory of my dog Rudy. Or would read if my skin hadn’t rejected the ink (it is the color of a henna tattoo). So it looks like a mess. Just today, a guy asked me if it was a burn. Ouch! Here is a photo of what it should look like.

8. It’s a rare day that I’m not wearing bangles.

I don’t know many other bloggers and the few whose blogs I do read have already been tagged. So, I am only tagging 5 others. They are Desi in Boston, Vegan Heart Doc, The Lifelong Activist, and to expand internationally, Straying Around and anakbrunei.

Christmas is for dogs

For the past 15 years, I've said that Christmas is just for dogs. This Christmas I got to watch Dexter, a friend's lab/shepherd mix, and Una, another friend's golden retriever, open and consume the presents I gave them (peanut butter treats).

In the past, Christmas was a very exciting day for my Rudy, who is no longer with us. The series of photos taken every Christmas were nearly identical: 1) Rudy riveted to the cluster of wrapped presents. 2) Upon receiving permission, Rudy picking out her present and ripping it one. 3) Repeat #2 several times. 4) Rudy zonked out on the couch after a full morning of excitement

Rudy knew what to expect on Christmas, just like she knew what to do several months later for the Easter Biscuit Hunt.

The love of my life, always

I wrote this 3 years ago, but am posting it today in memory of the love of my life, Rudy.

Rudy (January, 1991 - July 18, 2003)

Rude Dog (Rudy) came into our lives as a fluffy, 8-week-old puppy in early 1991. In spite of extreme cuteness, in her first year she was pretty much a "biting, eating, pooping machine." By the time she came out of adolescence, she had become a sweet and loving companion who grew sweeter and more loving each year of her life.

Rudy was full of energy, curiosity, and playfulness. She loved to go for rides in the truck; she accompanied her Daddy on many trips throughout the eastern United States and even went to Canada. When she got tired of taking in the sights, she fell asleep with her head on Daddy's lap. She also loved to play with her squeaky toys, running while one of us chased her and then turning around and chasing us, all while madly squeaking away.

Her results after taking a dog intelligence test: "This dog could be described as brilliant. A dog with this level of intelligence is quite rare, and fewer than 5 percent of the dogs in our standardization group reached this level." Sometimes she was too smart for her own good.

With her butterscotch-blond fur, long blonde eyelashes, lionlike mane and feathered tail, Rudy was beautiful. People stopped us in the street and told us what a pretty dog she was. She had very expressive eyes and we never failed to understand what she was telling us through them. Her nearly constant smile always made us smile.

Rudy loved everyone she met and everyone who met Rudy loved her. She drowned everyone with her kisses. To Mommy and Daddy, she even gave hugs (she pressed the top of her head into the front of our shoulder and placed the opposite paw on our arm). Rudy adored her Mommy, who gave into her every whim. But, she had a special bond with her Daddy, never wanting to leave his side.

Rudy was the love of each of our lives and we miss her more than can be put into words. We take solace in knowing that Rudy was a unique creature who contributed much joy and love to our lives and to the lives of others.