10 Things You Didn't Know About Me

One of the disadvantages of writing online is that people reading my content don’t know who I am. I am more than I present on the internet, and who I am colors everything I write.

I’ve done a few “10 things you didn’t know” posts over the years, and with the discovery of my dyscalculia, I thought it would be good to update them.

I am a transplanted Yankee. I was born and raised on the Frozen Tundra, very close to Green Bay. I did my education in southern Wisconsin, but it’s still cold and snowy. I moved to southern Virginia after a particularly bad Wisconsin winter. My two criteria for where I would live? I had to have a fraternity chapter (see #6) and it had to be below the snow line. I had visited this area and found the climate and atmosphere wonderful – and more importantly, found a job that would cover my relocation expenses.
I detest vacuuming. I once told my husband I would rather give birth than vacuum. He thought I was kidding. I wasn’t (much). I have a Roomba that deals with the upstairs, and my husband handles all of the rest of the vacuuming.
I don’t “get” Andy Warhol. Or very much other art. I prefer photographs. Living with an art historian, I have developed an appreciation for paintings and other art over the years. I can tell you what I like and don’t like, but I have yet to grasp “artistic merit”. Even after years of being exposed to it, I simply don’t see the art in an overgrown soup can. My favorite piece of “real” art is Orestes Pursued by the Furies, which hangs in our local museum.
I love being near water, but not on or in it. I learned how to swim early, but never felt at home in the water. Couple this with being thrown out of every boat I have put foot into, I am just not a water sport person. Since I live near the ocean, this is quite ironic. I do try to spend time on the beach, though, particularly the residential end where the tourists and jellyfish aren’t an issue.
I am a brother in a fraternity. Even though I am female, I am a full member of an engineering fraternity. Not an associate, not a sister, and not a little sister. I am addressed as “Brother”. And if we really want to get confusing, my maid of honor at my wedding is also my brother. And female as well. 🙂
I am dyscalculic. In spite of having a degree in electrical engineering, a state teaching license in math and working in data engineering, I have fundamental differences with the way my brain processes spatial concepts. This has led to difficulties that I have to work around, sometimes daily. It also drives the way I approach things like time and planning.
I love raking leaves. I find something very soothing in the drawing of the rake, making piles, and scooping them up into the compost. I prefer to do this without music, as well, just listening to the sound of the wind and the birds.
I cannot garden. I tried for 20+ years to produce vegetables. I’ve tried using containers, raised beds and sticking things directly in the ground. I’ve tried soil remediation, watering schedules and asking for professional guidance. Every year I was met with disaster. I cannot even grow zucchini, which is arguably the easiest thing on the planet to grow. I finally gave up two years ago and buy my produce, and gratefully accept all the extra produce from my neighbors, all of whom are master gardeners.
I make my own strawberry jam. Being raised in northern Wisconsin by parents who grew up during WWII, I learned how to can food. I still make my own strawberry jam, using berries that we pick from the vast fields on the outskirts of the city I live in.
I started studying percussion during the pandemic. I spent years playing flute and singing. I always wanted to learn to drum. My daughter studied percussion at the Governor’s School for the Arts, and when I wanted to support her percussion teacher during the pandemic, she told me to take the lessons myself. Thankfully her teacher was willing to take on a woodwind player with a loose sense of rhythm. I have really been enjoying my work and find it meditative. It has also the added benefit of making my other music playing much more accurate.