25 Things About Me

This has been going around Facebook - a challenge to list 25 facts about yourself. Here's mine: 1. I am a descendant of William Bradford, (Mayflower and Governor of Plymouth Colony). 2. I am also a descendant of samurai from both sides of my maternal grandparents’ lineage. 3. I have never been able to settle on a favorite color but answer sage green when my kids insist I declare one. I like color combinations and patterns much better than a singular color. 4. I jumped off of an amusement park ride that was going up a side of a mountain, (an old ski lift that eventually went higher than the trees with no straps to hold you in), when I was ten and ran back to the start, dodging in and out of the empty chairs that were still moving. The ride attendant started yelling, my parents stood there in shock while my brother and his friend laughed in amazement. They treated me with a bit more respect after that (especially since they were too scared to go on the ride in the first place!) I in turn yelled at the ride attendant for letting me get on the ride since I could have easily fallen off as it went up or back down the mountain. After holding on in terror as it started to climb higher and higher, I decided to jump to save myself – it was a long fall to the ground but I was okay. 5. I’ve spoken in front of a crowd of over 500 hundred people. 6. My siblings and I are all right-handed but married left handers. 7. I grew up in a bilingual home and thought everyone could flip back and forth from English to Japanese. 8. I can vividly remember several dreams I had when I was three years old. As a child I had a sense that they were important to my life, telling me of some things to come and assuring me of God’s hand on my life. 9. I have a severe dislike of holes, especially clusters of holes and am working to desensitize myself. 10. Growing up in Japan, I never knew anyone outside of my siblings that looked like me. The closest was a picture I saw of an Indian woman in a sari, and that began my fascination with clothing from other cultures. I didn’t have one strong cultural identity, since I grew up with a blend of two that created its own unique culture. 11. I can read fast and can knock out most books in a few uninterrupted hours. 12. I’ve appeared in a movie, music video, commercial, morning talk show, stage play, and musical, but I’ve long had a severe distaste for acting and that world. It’s been redeemed through my husband, a former actor with an undergrad in theater, who is the best Director I’ve ever known and an amazing Cinematographer to boot. 13. I am extremely competitive and hate to lose…but I’ve mellowed out some as I’ve matured. 14. But I am not mellow towards cheaters. I really, really, really hate cheating and don’t hold back when it comes to dealing with them. Especially in games. 15. I’m getting ready for the 18th move in my life, including both international and local moves. 16. A woman I admire greatly who has had a lasting impact on my life is the late Benazir Bhutto. 17. My mother was a professional dancer in Japan, who started studying at age three. She also taught dance in the States and used to put on shows in order to raise money for charity. I never understood why she bought me a piano when I turned three and forced me to endure lessons for a decade, when I was an active child who would have probably done better in dance myself. 18. Two weeks after my first child was born, I shaved my head bald because I got head lice at the pediatrician’s office – I had really long hair and couldn’t use the medicine because I was nursing. For months, our baby had more hair than both her parents. 19. Before we moved to the States, I used to practice "being American," insisting we eat burgers, fries, and pizza because that’s what Americans ate. Once we arrived in the States, I asked my relatives to take me to a Five and Dime store, not realizing that they didn’t exist anymore. When they figured out what I wanted, they took me to a Mall kiosk instead. The books I had read about America were a little outdated, apparently. 20. Another sign that I wasn’t acclimated to American culture was that I didn’t know any slang – we weren’t allowed to speak anything but proper English growing up in Japan, so I didn’t know what my classmates meant when they asked who I was "going with" (going where???) or what they meant by "go take a hike" (what???). 21. My first crush on a celebrity was a sumo wrestler named Chiyonofuji. Before you laugh, read this article (www.claireworks.net/sumo/facetoface1.html) or Google him. He is one of the greatest sumo wrestlers ever, very handsome and with a muscular body. I still think he’s attractive! 22. I really miss living in Virginia Beach; it’s the place I’ve lived the longest and have the most friends. I love the ocean and always want to live close to one. 23. My favorite vacation so far was going on an Alaskan cruise with Sean and the kids. It was awesome going whale watching, and even being pulled up on stage to be a part of the magic show. Too bad I knew how they did all the tricks! 24. My second favorite vacation was going to Maine with Sean and the kids for two weeks last summer. 25. I want to take photographs that are meaningful and will help change people’s lives for the better.