PR and marketing recruiter and social media goddess, Lindsay Olson, tagged me to be the next in line for this blog meme that says I need to outline seven random and weird things about myself for you to read.
So, here it goes.
7 Random and Weird Things About Me
- I had two imaginary friends as a child. Their names were Amy and Jacken. I don’t know where I heard the name Jacken before, that’s just what I came up with when I was somewhere between age two and three. They stopped hanging out with me sometime around kindergarten. Go figure.
- I have a fantastic memory for odd things. I can recite the quadratic formula on command and I remember events that happened before my second birthday, but I can never remember where I put my keys.
- I drink my coffee black.
- When I was 20 years old, I sold everything I owned (including my Star Wars toys) and moved to Denver for almost two years. I am closer to the friends I met there than I am with anyone I grew up with here (in Detroit).
- My father died when I was 15. I never liked him much when he was alive but I miss him now.
- Both sides of my family are from Whitfield County Georgia. This means I grew up visiting every summer so I can fake a decent southern accent and I’m comforted by smells and sounds I associate with the South and with my granny: bacon grease, magnolias, honeysuckles and old southern gospel music played on crackly sounding AM radio stations.
- All through my childhood and adolescence I played piano and electronic keyboards competitively. At one time I could play Aram Khachaturian’s Tocatta and Chopin’s Polonaise in A major Opus 40 No. 2. I also programmed my keyboard so I could play Queen’s entire Bohemian Rhapsody: an elaborate production that required several tempo changes and foot pedals programmed with cymbal crashes and other percussive sounds.
P.S. Aram Khachaturian’s Tocatta, is also a treat to watch — when I see this now, I can’t believe my fingers used to be able to do this:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfo4-CnJZQQ]
Now, in accordance with the 7-Random-and-Weird-Things-About-Me meme, I must tag 7 more people to participate in the next round.
I’m tagging:
Ken Burbary
Kellye Crane
Mike Davis
Dave Mullen
Amber Naslund
Jon Burg
Maggie McDonald
Here are the rules I followed as established by Lindsay:
Here are the rules for my fellow bloggers:
- Link your original tagger(s), and list these rules on your blog.
- Share seven facts about yourself in the post – some random, some weird.
- Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
- Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs and/or Twitter.
I know this is a bit of a departure from my usual subject matter and I generally loathe writing about myself, but this has actually been fun. I hope it’s been enjoyable for others who read this, too.
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Loved reading this, Miss Paul. Random Shannon is the best Shannon.
I´m glad you aren´t cursing me for tagging you my fellow Michigander (Kalamazoo here)! Very interesing getting to know more about you.
I love this idea. Cool to know these wacky things about you. The entire Bohemian Rhapsody? That’s nuts!
What made you stop playing the piano/keyboard after having achieved so high level of skill?
@isfan
Love your random things. Wow, piano, that’s cool.
Shannon…. I love your post and your random things. My father died when I was 16 so I know how hard that can be!
My Mom made me play the piano. I was terrible.
@Emily – It always makes me smile when you make an appearance in my corner of the interwebs. :-)
@Lindsay – I would never curse you. K-zoo rocks! In fact I think it was Jeremy Pepper who once told me you were a fellow Michigander. I’m so glad you tagged him, too.
@nastyhockey – It’s difficult to say. I got very rusty during my (almost) 2-year stint in Denver because I didn’t have a piano at home. There was also a situation with a “borrowed” keyboard (I should tell you that I’m also a little too trusting sometimes). I also realized at some point that very serious study of music theory and composition made me hate music. I just wanted to rock out. Usually I don’t really miss it, but I do miss being able to tune the other stuff-of-life out by just focusing on playing a tricky phrase over and over again until I got it right.
@Rosy – Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
@magsmac – Wow, I never would have known that we have that in common. It was such a hard thing to go through at that time. I really believe that it changed who I was, or at least who I thought I was. In my estimation, it’s a strange and powerful influence our parents have on our sense of identity. Sorry about the piano – lots of people were made to play. I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with it, too, but there was a time when I couldn’t imagine myself NOT being a musician.
Coincidence: my mom grew up outside of Rome, Georgia — not far at all from your folks’ roots.
Shannon, those were some very interesting things you wrote about. What part of Detroit, or the Detroit area, did you grow up in?
was fun to read random stuff about you..looking forward to the next post ;)
I’m sorry to hear of your dad’s death, Shannon. And magsmac.
My dad died, suddenly, 13 years ago. So, I, too, can relate…
You rock, Shannon :-) Amazingly charming personality – and a musical genius, too! But why did you stop playing? According to Malcolm Gladwell (and many other folks), “genius” is more a matter of “deliberate practice” than anything else!
Thanks a lot to Amber Naslund: I found you through her blog post and I’m your #1 fan now :-)
I LOVE your seven things! Especially since I drink my coffee black and have an affinity for all things Star Wars (which has carried over to my son in spades). It’s also cool that you spent a summer in Russia (per your comment on my “7 things” post).
Rock on!
Aaron | @astrout
i don’t believe “i drink my coffee black” should be considered a weird thing. What’s interesting is how Malcom Gladwell (http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/malcolm_gladwell_on_spaghetti_sauce.html) talks about everyone wants dark coffee, at least that’s what they say. Though in reality people like sugared down coffee.
I guess it’s a gray area.
I would never consider myself a “coffee drinker”. But when someone makes a pot of coffee and offers me some I never opt to put sugar or cream in. That takes too much effort. It’s the same with a hamburger, usually I skip the ketchup because it’s one more step between deliciousness and my mouth.
But the tide always turns when I’m at… say a Biggby’s (www.biggby.com) [even though there isn't one with in several dozen miles of Marquette].
When at such a fine commercialized establishment I always opt for the sweetest, creamiest drink available with chocolate, caramel, vanilla, hazelnut, or all of them together.
I guess in this era where a large percentage of people drink coffee on a daily basis, it’s a matter of preference.
I think what would make it weird is drinking coffee considering different demographics. Surely older generations (who didn’t have SBUX) probably drink more black coffee.
Hmmmm, I think I’ll head to Babycakes and get myself a choco-chip muffin and some coffee.
I feel the same about my father. I don’t like him very much at all (and don’t speak to him, either), but I worry that I’ll miss him when he dies.
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