7 Things You Didn't Know About Me

Haven’t blogged in ages as just had no idea what to write about, or at least felt I had nothing noteworthy to say. That hasn’t changed, however this morning I was ‘tagged’ by my Twitter friend @YummyMummyNo1 on her blog (http://yummymummyno1.wordpress.com/) . She in turn had herself been tagged to write about ‘7 things you didn’t know about me’. I’m not familiar with all this tagging business but I’ll give it a go, and you if think it’s crap I can say ‘but I had to write it, I’d been tagged!’. So here goes – these are 7 things which came to mind – the PG version anyway, rather than the over-18’s version......

1. I have a phobia of bones sticking out! You know when people are too thin and their collar bones, and goodness knows what others, protrude? When I see that, especially in the flesh, I suddenly become very aware of the feeling of my own bones, imagining that they are going to pierce through my neck or elsewhere at any minute. Totally irrational because I am a healthy weight and there no bones protruding (only a post-pregnancy tummy!). When I visited my uncle in hospital the other day who is severely underweight (at 6 and a half stone, he is 2 stones lighter than me), not only did I think his collar bone was going to take my eye out any second, but also his cheekbones, and I found myself constantly pulling my coat tightly shut around my neck. Goodness knows what he must have thought.

2. Believe it or not, I used to work, as in, in paid employment! Yes, astounding as it is, I didn’t always spend my days doing housework, looking after kids, interacting on social networks etc. From 1993 to 2006 I worked in various roles, in a secretarial / admin capacity. The areas I worked in were corporate banking, engineering, marketing, architectural, and patenting. In the marketing job I was actually offered the chance to ditch the secretarial stuff and go full-time into the marketing side of things. I declined because I didn’t feel I had the personality to do the schmoozing with clients which went along with it. There was one client who was a dirty old man and would constantly ‘feel up’ my colleagues. No way would I have been able to be all nicey-nicey to him if he’d done that to me, and besides, I was a lot more introverted in those days. But I often wonder how much better off I’d be financially, and how much more I’d have been respected in the world of work, if I’d taken up the offer. Can’t believe I turned such a good opportunity down, but I do believe there is a reason for everything. I know that I should have pushed myself and aimed higher in general but I used to try to keep stress to minimum (though it didn’t always work!) in work, since it was usually so high from a personal point of view. I am grateful to all my employers though for treating me so well for the most part, giving me pay-rises when I’d only been in the company less than a year, believing in me, and trusting me with more responsibility once they’d seen what I could do. The only thing I miss about working is the money, obviously, and that it wasn’t 24/7, unlike motherhood.

3. I have no brothers or sisters. ‘An only child is a lonely child’? Probably, but one doesn’t realise it when it’s all one is used to. What I never had, I’ll never miss. I remember Annie Lennox, when interviewed once, saying that being an only child gives one a distorted view of the world. I know what she means, though I would prefer to use the word ‘unique’. Thankfully I wasn’t spoiled, so I know how to share and I don’t think the world centres round me. It has left me needing, or maybe ‘wanting’ is the more suitable word, more personal space than perhaps those with siblings might though. I love company, but not all the time, and I shy away from large gatherings, unless I’m completely comfortable with those present. After a while with any type of company (adult I mean; it’s a given my kids are with me most of the time but that’s different), I think ‘okay, I’m tired talking now, enough, go away!’. Funnily enough though I was anxious that my son wasn’t an only child as I think females cope better with it, and so we had Ciara, and it was one of the best decisions of our lives.

4. I once sang in a gospel band/choir, and was even given my own microphone and made to stand at the front with 3 others! The gospel band we had at the church I used to go to was fabulous (well, until the American band director left) – it was a full-blown rock ‘n’ roll type band and we used to learn contemporary Christian songs to sign at church services. The female lead singer in the group was so good (such a powerful voice) she honestly could have easily passed an X-Factor audition and gone far, but she chose not to, whereas I just did the harmonies with my little mousey voice. If I ever was deluded enough to have any showbiz ambitions, it would be to be a backing singer, but only if I could be tucked away at the back where no-one could see me. I love music, and working out harmonies. However I’m just not good enough, and that’s not false modesty, just honesty. Once I went to a performing arts school for singing lessons, just for the hell of it, as a pastime, and when I heard a tape of myself singing I thought ‘who is that cat being strangled? Oh it’s me – best not waste any more money!’. Apart from the fact that my teacher clearly never bothered listening to the tapes (with original artists) he’d asked me to compile of songs I wanted to ‘master’. So that didn’t last long! Now I just leave the singing to those who actually can, and enjoy their work.

5. It was at the grand old age of 34 that I passed my driving test, at the second attempt. Before I got married and moved 40 miles away from my hometown, there was never really a need for me to drive, and so I didn’t. Having kids, though, changed all that, and I had no choice if I wanted any kind of independence, especially travelling to see my friends and family from my hometown.

6. The celebrities I have met are as follows (listed in descending order of niceness): Bobby Ball, Tommy Cannon (the nicest guys in the business), Gilbert O’Sullivan, Ricky Tomlinson, Noddy Holder, Cliff Richard, Cilla Black and William Roche. They were all nice when I met them, particularly Bobby, who goes out of his way to make people feel at ease in his presence. One expects the customary handshake when one meets a celeb, but with Bobby I was surprised with a big bear hug (we’d had contact beforehand so he knew who I was, lol).

7. This will probably be the most unbelievable – I used to hate the idea of social networking sites! Couldn’t understand why people would invade their own privacy posting pictures on sites like Facebook and Bebo; thought it was only for ‘young people’. I’ve no idea what initially made me join Facebook, but I did, followed by Twitter. Twitter is now my favourite place online to interact. My online life has evolved, and I’m ‘meeting’ new people online all the time. I have had the pleasure of meeting some of my friends I originally met online, and am pleased to say they are just as nice in the flesh as ‘on the screen’.

So that’s it!

I am now supposed to tag 7 people to write a similar post, but not sure who has already been tagged for this, and who hasn't, so I've tagged 3 and will put out an invite on Twitter for another 4 people who may want to post on this subject. If the 3 people tagged don't want to do it or haven't time, don't worry, but I know if you do it, you'll make a fab job of it :) x

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