Sixteen Bits

Kristina, over at Autism Vox, once asked how are you and your autie alike. I had a bunch of things to say about that. But there is one way in which we are different.

MK is required to eat two or three mouthfuls of vegetables at each meal. On days other than the days on which carrots are served, these naturally fall into the category of foods that MK really hates. There used not to be any hope of getting him to eat from a plate that had been contaminated by non-approved foodstuff, but MK is growing up and will now try just about anything on request (he doesn't always succeed in swallowing, but he does try). MK always leaves these veggies until last. Not me. I leave the yummiest morsel to the end. I always want the meal to end on a high note. And I am no different when in comes to reading.

Every day, I read the blogs on Autism Hub and everyday I leave Whitterer on Autism to the end. I know I'll be left with the fine aftertaste of particularly good writing and a positive attitude. So, when Mcewen herself tagged me for the Eight Random Things meme this week, the last thing I wanted to do was to risk looking unappreciative by replying with the cold and boring truth that I did, in fact, already post one such octet back in July. Having reviewed the rules, I see there is nothing against repeat performances. Nonetheless, knowing that --lacking star power-- my own re-tagging of previously tagged people is unlikely to be met with much indulgence, I have decided to forgo that part of the meme. So, without further ado, here are eight more things:

1. I don't own a car. I usually rent one on the weekends, but during the week I am a cyclist.
2. I am a political junkie. For example, I had downloaded the Supreme Court Ruling on Bush v. Gore within ten minutes of it being published and sat in bed guzzling it down the way other people might read the last pages of a mystery novel.
3. I don't like team sports, either as a spectator or a participant. (Mostly because I am really bad at them.)
4. The country that I would most like to visit for a holiday is Cambodia.
5. I am exceptionally good at peeling potatoes. When I peel potatoes in public, people gather around to watch. I'm not kidding.
6. More than once, people have turned off sound systems when I have tried singing karaoke.
7. My father taught me how to plow with a horse, fell trees, take care of honey bees, build fires, navigate at sea with a sextant, make candles, catch fish with my hands and all sorts of other things that I never actually need to do -- but I feel confident of my chances of survival if modern civilization were to come to an abrupt end for some reason.
8. My desk is a terrible mess and I loose my reading glasses several times a day.