I'm IT - 6 WEIRD things about me

Great. I've been tagged by Bob and asked to list 6 WEIRD things about myself.

Well, sure, I'll play, but I want first to ask, why 6? Why not 10? Ten is a nice round number and I certainly think that coming up with 10 WEIRD things is easier than 6. Why? Because there are so many friggin' WEIRD things about me and if your list is longer, like 10 items long, they tend to lose their umph, if you know what I mean. On the other hand, if you had to list, say, just your top 3, well then those 3 things would really stand out and be noticed. And do you really want the WEIRD things about you to be noticed? Maybe that's how originators of the meme chose the number 6. It's about half way between 3 and 10. Well, if you're good at math, you know it's not exactly half way, but it's close enough. In any case, 10 would be easier for sure. But the meme calls for 6 so I will try to keep this to just 6 WEIRD things about me. Great. Here we go.

But WAIT...Sorry. Before I start...I must ask another question. What exactly do you mean by WEIRD? Do you mean that I need to list things that are DIFFERENT about me? Does different equal WEIRD? Or maybe listing 6 UNUSUAL things about me is closer to WEIRD than DIFFERENT. Should I list UNEXPECTED things, or do you want SECRETIVE things? The more I think about it, the less I know what you mean by WEIRD!

Is it WEIRD that I just now looked up WEIRD in the dictionary? Or is that just over-analytical? Let's see what the unabridged dictionary.com has to say about what exactly I've been asked to described about myself:

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
WEIRD /wɪərd/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[weerd] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation adjective, -er, -est, noun
–adjective
1. involving or suggesting the supernatural; unearthly or uncanny: a weird sound; weird lights.
2. fantastic; bizarre: a weird getup.
3. Archaic. concerned with or controlling fate or destiny.
–noun Chiefly Scot.
4. fate; destiny.
5. fate (def. 6).

Oh great. Now I'm more confused! There is nothing supernatural or unearthly about me. I don't pretend to speak in tongues or talk to the devil's angels. I can't levitate or breathe under water. I don't really make WEIRD sounds, except perhaps when I try to sing....but isn't that just lack of talent as opposed to actual WEIRDNESS? There are no WEIRD lights eminating from my body, at least probably not since I am no longer doing fluoroscopic-guided epidural injections at work.

Perhaps I can come up with something fantastic or bizarre, though I don't really have any WEIRD getups as the definition suggests, unless you think sleeping with socks is a WEIRD getup. Some people I know would think so, but other would not....so, is sleeping with socks then WEIRD....or not? Maybe sleeping with socks just means my feet are cold or that my husband can sleep better without the intermittent feeling of icicles under the covers.

I'm also not concerned with controlling fate...though I must admit that I do believe we are masters of our own destiny. Somehow, though, that doesn't strike me as WEIRD. Rather, it's more a philosophy or belief, and everybody has his or her own beliefs. Does that make me WEIRD that I too have one?



So, WEIRD must relate to definition #2a: FANTASTIC.

So, to be complete, here's the definition of THAT:

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
FANTASTIC /fænˈtæstɪk/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[fan-tas-tik
–adjective
1. conceived or appearing as if conceived by an unrestrained imagination; odd and remarkable; bizarre; grotesque: fantastic rock formations; fantastic designs.
2. fanciful or capricious, as persons or their ideas or actions: We never know what that fantastic creature will say next.
3. imaginary or groundless in not being based on reality; foolish or irrational: fantastic fears.
4. extravagantly fanciful; marvelous.
5. incredibly great or extreme; exorbitant: to spend fantastic sums of money.
6. highly unrealistic or impractical; outlandish: a fantastic scheme to make a million dollars betting on horse races.
7. Informal. extraordinarily good: a fantastic musical.

Ahh, NOW I think we're onto something! Look at that!: Grotesque, foolish, irrational, not based on reality. Marvelous, extreme, impractical....

Now, THAT'S something I can relate to, a concept in which I can frame my answer.

....Wait, what was the question?

Oh yes, the question - rather, the directive - was to list 6 WEIRD things about myself. For the sake of clarity here, I will list 6 FANTASTICALLY WEIRD things about myself.

OK, #6: I am foolish. I think that wars should be resolved with diplomacy and not firearms. I think firearms are - in the grand reason of things - silly. I think that "who wins is the side that kills the most number of people on the other side" is a childish way of solving problems. I am foolish in my thought and therefore I am WEIRD.

#5: I am extreme. I suppose ultrarunning would be a good example of this. If I can run a marathon, I want to run a 50k. If I can do that, I want to run 50 miles. When 50 miles becomes "easy," I run 100 miles. And after running 100 miles over and over again, I run 135 miles through the desert in 130 degree temperature...and then I climb to the summit of Mt. Whitney when I'm done. And if I can do that, then I will run 135 miles and go for the women's fastest Badwater to Whitney summit time. And there's always the double and there's always the RAM and there's always MORE, MORE, MORE. Yes, extreme. BUT, is it WEIRD to be so extreme? Well, that depends on who your friends are, right!? If I hang with the right people, well then, I'm not WEIRD at all. Instead, I'm called ambitious or they say I'm looking for challenge or that I like to "test my limits." It IS, however, extremely WEIRD in other circles, like for example, in the circle of those that watch TV on average 2-1/2 hours a day. Or maybe THEY'RE the ones who are EXTREME and WEIRD? Hmm.

#4: I am irrational. But I am only irrational in the sense that I tend to think utterly RATIONALLY. I like LOGIC, REASON, so much so that I may reason that my action is reasonable simply because it lacks reason. So, is that irrational or rational? Are my moments of spontaneity - e.g. deciding to road trip 8 hours south with a friend to a race, filling the car with clouds of cigar smoke, arriving just an hour before the early morning start, and running the race and road tripping back home that afternoon - irrational? Some would certainly say so. But it's not as if I am neglecting responsibility or something. And isn't it responsible and rational to leave one's responsble and rational life behind for a short period of time? I guess it's WEIRD that I think it's a rational acceptable decision to be at times irrational.

#3: I am capricious. I guess the same rationale applies here as it does in #4. (This is my cop-out # because I'm feeling fanciful.)

#2: I am highly unrealistic. I set out to achieve things I know I may fail to achieve. After leaving high school and not graduating in a typical fashion, I was unrealistic in my goal to return to school. I impractically took out loan after loan and paid my way through school part-time while working odd jobs. My poor grades prohibited me from getting into college so I had to prove my capability in community college. It was a highly unrealistic goal to shoot for the stars while knowing that I was pretty much pegged to fail. When, after years and years and years, I finally bulls-eyed that star, I set out looking for other unrealisms I could attempt to defy. And I did that again and again. But does being unrealistic make me WEIRD? Or does being unrealistic just make me foolish (#6)...which I guess would make me WEIRD. What if unrealism eventually turns to realism? In that case, does one LOSE the WEIRDNESS that she once had? Can WEIRDNESS really morph like that? Or is it, once WEIRD always WEIRD? Perhaps I'm just NAIVE and don't like boxes or borders. And if that's WEIRD, then there are LOTS of WEIRDOS out there. And if there are lots of WEIRDOS out there, then are not we - the WEIRDOS - then less WEIRD?

#1: I can't think simply. Yes, I know that's not in the definition of WEIRD or FANTASTIC. But THIS, I think, is one of the WEIRDEST things about me. I can't think in one plane; I can't NOT think in multiple dimensions. I can't ask a simple question and I can't accept a simple answer. I am strangely unsatisfied with simple thinking. I just can't help it. It is WEIRD. It's not foolish or irrational; it's just plain WEIRD. Sometimes I wish I weren't this way. Sometimes I think people think I'm WEIRD. At times, I know that people just simply get IRRITATED. Sometimes even I get irritated. But is irritating necessarily WEIRD? ...But I'm getting a little off track of the directive at hand here....sorry.


So, there. There you have it...at least 6 obvious and 10 additional WEIRD things about me. If you follow me at all, then I'm sorry to say, you too are WEIRD. And if we are both WEIRD then we should stick together because, only in numbers will the WEIRD become less WEIRD....and that would make us NORMAL and all those who do not follow WEIRD.

[You asked!!]

I do not blog much and it seems that all my friendly bloggers have already been TAGGED so I cannot name 6 more at this time.