Meanwhile, here's a meme
16 Random Facts About Moi Meme ...
1. I can't stand to sleep without some white noise -- usually a fan.
2. Because of frostbite when I was a kid, I can't expose my fingers, toes, cheeks, or ears to the cold. They start hurting well above freezing temperatures, and if I'm cold for too long they become unuseable.
3. I have a brother, three half-sisters, two step-sisters, and two step-brothers. Or at least I did until later in life, when further divorces and remarriages made things even more complicated.
4. After moving out on my own I moved 7 times in 7 years, but have now stayed in the same place for 20 years.
5. I wrote my first fanfic at age 8, dictating a Mary Sue goes to Oz (as in Wizard, not Australia!) story while my mom typed it.
6. I've always hated how I look, and still have trouble believing people who compliment my appearance.
7. When I was 25 I discovered my eyesight wasn't good enough to be hired by the Fort Wayne Fire Department; I broke down and sobbed.
8. I have a thing for redheads ... but I've never had any trouble getting past it to avoid abrasive personalities.
9. The last time I got drunk was at my 21st birthday party ... somewhere around town there's a tape of me being entertained by a belly dancer, and dancing in a conga line.
10. People who don't use their turn signal send me into a rage.
11. I don't care much for swimming, but I love being on a boat, large or small.
12. My girlfriend is less than half my age. It's the American middle-aged man Dream. :-)
13. By coincidence, the meeting at which I became a volunteer firefighter was on my 18th birthday -- the earliest I could possibly join.
14. I've got a thing for the number 14. I was born on the 14th, married on the 14th, joined the fire department on the 14th, my fire number is 14, and I sneak the number 14 somewhere into all my novel manuscripts. I even made sure my first posted fanfic had 14 chapters.
15. My first crush was on a fictional character: Dorothy Gale, from the Oz novels.
16. I've worked in fire trucks, ambulances, police cars, 911 centers, and as a security job (not to mention a video store, which could get *really* frightening) -- but the scariest job I ever had was Parent.