Five Things Meme

So recently a friend of mine did a post entitled "5 Things."

As I started reading, I realized that I wasn't entirely sure what the post was going to be about. Sure there were references to those pesky chain-letter like rituals we all get roped into, but I still wasn't sure what to make of it. There were no questions to be answered, nor a completely obvious theme. For a few moments, I acutally felt a bit out of the loop...

I suppose I could have deleted an email from my mom or one of my many high school friends asking me to tell them useless facts about myself. Bacon or croutons? What does that really tell a person about me? Absolutely nothing. Or was this something that I had no immediate knowledge of because I am not a regular blogger? Maybe. So I decided to go find out.

Off I went to trusty Google to try to figure out just what "5 things" was all about. And of course, the first result I came across, satisfied my curiosity...Simply put, the items in the post should be 5 things that not many people know about you. And like any other getting to know you chain letter, you have to pass it along to keep it alive.

It was interesting because I actually felt no direct pressure to post any sort of response. And given my general distaste for these types of things, and the fact that I have had blogs die quicker than most Hollywood marriages, I am somewhat surprised that I actually want to. However, for some reason, I actually feel that this might be a valuable introspection exercise and perhaps I along with others may learn something interesting about what makes Aimee, well Aimee.

1. Between the ages of five and eleven, I attended at least five different elementary schools. Its pretty sad, because I can't even name all of them, and I actually think that I might be leaving one out...
   
   Most would assume that I had a parent in the military, and that we were forced to move around a lot. And yes, my dad was in the Air Force, but he and my mom had divorced when I was extremely young. In fact, I actually don't have any memory of them ever being together. The very first person I can remember being in my mom's life was my then step-father Reid, and he worked either as a bartender/maitre d' in fine dining restaurants or in the mortgage business. So honestly, I have no clue what triggered the constant need to relocate, because it surely wasn't my parents' jobs. Regardless the reason, I really think that having to frequently make new friends helped shape the gregarious person that I am today.
   
2. I might get the lame card for this one, but given my recent history with reading and magazines, most wouldn't believe that I used to be an extremely avid reader.
   
   Its funny because I have always been compelled to buy books...As a child I eagerly awaited the newest book order sheets, and I'm guessing that on average bought 3 or more items each time. For whatever reason, I spent a fair amount of time in my room in my early years. I had pretty much everything I needed; toys, music, TV, video games and of course my expansive collection of books. At dinner time, my mom would have to call to me multiple times because I would be so engrossed in the book of the moment that I didn't want to put it down. I can remember many times reading a single book in just two or three days. I kept up this kind of pace, devouring books, for probably 5 or so years.
   
   I can only speculate what may have contributed to the decrease in time I devote to reading...I know for a fact that I was extremely put off in high school when I was forced to read fiction books just because someone else told me I had to. Yes, I'm sure there was some value to doing so, but I just couldn't do it. Sad as it may be, I don't think I actually ever read any assigned book cover to cover. I somehow found ways to get around it. But it seems to me that I probably stopped reading books on a regular basis earlier than that. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that I got a computer in 6th grade, and a Nintendo to boot. However, I don't really think that I spent that much time consumed by either. Maybe there is a slight correlation with the fact that my family settled down in one location and I finally had an opportunity to develop strong relationships with my friends. Or could it be that I was very involved with sports and after school activities, which left little time for things other than homework in the evenings? Unfortunately, I'll never know.
   One thing that I do know is that I really do want to get back into reading books. Given that I'm one of those people who have the need to be constantly learning, doing so would really fuel that desire. I'll be the first to admit that I watch WAY too much TV, and it would be really easy to take an hour out of my viewing schedule and devote that to books. In recent months I've tried a bit harder than usual. I completed Marley and Me in no time flat, and recently picked up where I left off in The Man Who Ate Everything. Perhaps I'll be able to finally watch the DaVinci Code in the near future (I'm one of those who has to read the book before watching the movie)!
   
3. I was a part of the University of Washington women's crew team...Twice.
   
   Though I had no experience rowing a shell, when I received a notice about the opportunity to walk on to the novice team, I jumped at the chance. The workouts were the most grueling form of exercise I have ever experienced, but it was definitely worth it from both a physical and mental perspective. I loved being so close to the water, the sound/rhythm of the oars breaking the surface, and the pattern of ripples created by the boats skimming across the lake... It was extremely peaceful.
   
   During the first quarter of school, practices were held in the afternoon, but as fall turned to winter, the team's schedule shifted to the time of day most associate with rowing -- 6am. Sadly, since I lived at home in Bothell, and commuted via the bus, I wasn't able to get onto campus until after the boats were put in the water, and that was the end of my first year on the team.
   
   The experience was so great the first time around, that I decided to give it another try the following year. This time it wasn't the morning practices that ultimately killed my career, but the fact that Saturday morning practices were added to the program. Saturdays were the day that I made the most money at work, and I had no way to switch hours with anyone. The coach had recommended that I quit my job, but that wasn't exactly an option, and at that point, I decided to call it quits for good.
   
   Morning person I'm not, but I think that becoming involved with a rowing team might be one of the things that could get me out of bed before the sun rises...
   
4. This inflexible, 5'10" body lettered in gymnastics my junior year of high school. One of my closest friends expressed interest in joining the team, but for some reason, she was afraid to do so on her own. She really had the potential to be great at it, so being the good friend that I was, I decided to give it a whirl. At my height, bars were out of the picture. The beam pretty much scared the crap out of me. I didn't have the technique to perform a floor routine. But hey, I could straddle a vault with the best of 'em! To give you an idea of the difficulty of this skill, the maximum score I could receive was 6.0 out of 10.0 even if I performed the vault perfectly and stuck the landing. At first the coach wasn't going to letter everyone, but at the end of the season he surprised us all, and presented each of us with a certificate!!!
   
5. Blonde as I may be now, I wasn't born that way. For the first 6 months of my life, I was a red head! That must be where some of my fire comes from ;)
   
   And yes, I will post a picture as soon as I get one from my mom!!!