Five Things About Me

This is my first time participating in Talkin' About Thursdays. Today's topic is "Five Things About Yourself." Let me see if I can come up with five that I haven't mentioned before in other questionnaires. Five Things About Me: 1. I am half-Japanese and grew up speaking both Japanese and English. In fact, I thought everyone spoke those two languages (since it was my family norm). When my American grandmother visited us when I was about seven, I kept switching from one language to another and couldn't understand why she wasn't responding to me. She thought it was hilarious that I kept doing that, really believing that she spoke Japanese! 2. Growing up in Japan, I used to practice being American by insisting we eat "American" foods like pizza and hamburgers. I even had a Valley Girl dictionary and practiced with my friends in order to fit in once we moved to the States! (It was the early 80's.) This did not work at all, since I was totally unfamiliar with common slang phrases and took them literally. 3. I've loved reading since I was a child; my favorites include biographies and mysteries. I recently finished a fascinating book about the Secret Service and am currently reading Gayle Haggard's autobiography. My husband is amazed at the questions I can answer on Jeopardy sometimes...it all comes from reading! 4. I really dislike my middle name and would like to remove it legally. I regret not doing it when I got married. My first name was carefully chosen by my mother and has a special meaning (Beautiful Century - the name of this blog!) My middle name, ugh! It doesn't match my first name AT ALL (it really sounds ridiculous), has no sentimental link, and I have NO IDEA why my dad added it And NO, I won't ever tell because I don't want to hurt the feelings of anyone who may have that name. 5. My favorite forms of exercise are swimming and dancing. Though I have little endurance with running, in the pool I can swim many, many laps without tiring. I was once challenged to a race across a pool by an adult soccer player in Ethiopia (showing off for his teammates) and beat him twice! My husband is a fantastic dancer, and I hardly give him time to rest on the rare occasion we go out dancing. I try to squeeze in as much dancing as possible since it only happens a few times a year these days. Well, now you know some things about me. Tell me about you!