Sunday Stealing

(Link in meme-roll)
Who Are you? Part 2: Growing Up

15. How would you describe your childhood in general?

I'd say it was relatively awesome. I mean, bad stuff happened, but my parents loved me and I knew it at the most basic level (although I frequently questioned it when they didn't do what I wanted). We had enough money to live comfortably, I had nothing to be afraid of (once my sister's health stabilized when I was 5 or 6), and aside from occasional spankings with a hairbrush, there was no abuse. There are a lot of people in the world who can't say some or all of that.

16. What is your earliest memory?

Sitting on the couch writing in my mom's address book. That's my traditional answer to this question, but I do have some fragments, mental snapshots, that I can't really place in time.

17. How much schooling have you had?

I have a Master's degree. Dear God, I've had that for 25 years!! Is it time for me to go back to school?? Yeesh, truly, I'm old.

18. Did you enjoy school?

I adored school. I didn't like the other kids most of the time, but I loved learning and studying for grades and (most importantly) getting good grades. Giant geek.

19. Stop and count, Since you were born until today; how many homes have you lived in?

Does a college dorm count? If so, then 8 including my summer campus job house and the dorm I lived in all four years of undergrad.

20. While growing up, did you have any role models?

Nope, I was raised by wolves. We all have role models. Mine were parents, friends of parents, siblings, people at church, neighbors and teachers.

21. While growing up, how did you get along with the other members of your family?

My brother picked on me ALL THE TIME when he was still living at home. Nevertheless, I defended him blindly to the rest of the family...until 1997 when I finally had had enough bullshit from him. We still get along ok, but he can be a real dick. I got along fine with my sisters; they were out of the house living their lives well before I turned 10 though.

22. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A grocery store checker, back when cash registers had mechanical keys. So awesome! Another option was a writer. My sisters were teachers, so I'm sure that turned up regularly too, though I don't remember it. I wasn't interested at all in following in the footsteps of my parents' job choices, however; Mom, especially brought home endless Stupid Public stories...and yet here I am dealing with a lot of the same kind of people.

23. What were your favorite activities 3 years ago?

Work, then meming, reading, puzzles. Not a lot of things change in my life. ;-)

24. As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display?

I was terminally shy, VERY prone to bursting into tears, and perennially fearful of any change in routine or the people around me.

25. As a child, were you popular?

Do bears sing opera in the woods? FUUUUUUUUUUCK no.

26. When and with whom was your first kiss?

Ron Martinez (later changed his last name) at the 7th grade Christmas dance. He was wearing mistletoe, so he was kissing EVERYone. Still...he was so cute. He is, in fact, still damn nice-looking 35 years later!

27. Describe any influences in your past that led you to do the things you do today.

My next-oldest sister and brother worked as shelvers at our public library, and I did that job when I was old enough. That sister eventually became an academic librarian, so I followed her down that road (NOT to academia, though--NEVER!). During my freshman year of college, I took a New Testament class from Dr. Cope that blew my mind and started the process of making me a better, more thoughtful Christian. Dr. Samore, who taught my cataloging classes in grad school, sparked a love for Dewey that hasn't yet waned. My parents, and Beast's parents, and my sisters taught me by example how to not completely fuck up as a parent. My husband, son, and many friends have taught me to be more forgiving of myself and others.

28. What's next?

Depending on the context here, my answer is either "#29, of course" or "Who knows!!?"