This week’s Tuesday Topic is a FREE topic. Feel free to post any running related blog post. Remember to link up with Kim and Zenaida! Visit at least two of the other linked posts – the more the merrier! Remember to come back for later linkers!
Thanks to everyone that linked up with us two weeks ago. It was interesting and fun to read everyone’s 5 words they picked to describe themselves. It was also interesting to read that quite a few said they were introverted. Today I will be sharing more and writing about a few things you may not know about me.
I’ve never been hospitalized
I’ve been to the ER when I broke a glass with my arm and had to get stitches. I spent a few nights with my mother in her room when she was hospitalized after her stroke. Nope, nothing for me.
I was engaged
We had our hall, church, and date picked out. Things fell through. I remember the day I was supposed to get married, it RAINED! Do I see myself getting married in the future? Definitely not. Nothing wrong with it. I am just used to it being me, myself, and I (with my cats too) and I am perfectly fine with it. However, I do wonder what my life would be like if I had gotten married.
I eat A LOT when I get stressed out
Food relaxes me. Sometimes I like to get a Big Mac with fries and a Coke with no ice from McDonald’s. Who doesn’t like fries from McDonald’s?
There are 7 in my family and I am the 2nd youngest
There are 3 girls, one boy, and then 3 more girls. All of us are about 2 years apart. That is how I can remember the ages. The oldest is 10 years older than me. Rumor is that I was named after my grandmother (my dad’s mom) because I was supposed to be the last one.
I cannot stand the taste or smell of whiskey
Just thinking and writing about it makes me queasy. Let’s go back to 1993. I was in college for summer school. I was at a party and we were playing “Quarters”. You know where I am getting at, right? Yep. I had too many shots that night.
I was born in Mexico but emigrated to the US when I was 5
I still remember that day. My mom and my siblings arrived on July 4, 1978. We were supposed to arrive the day before but we missed our flight. Well, that is the story my siblings tell me. I have some vague memory of being in the airport and being outside. I also remember being in a car and seeing the Sears Tower and the lake. Now that I am older I know that was the Kennedy Expressway (I-90). I have some memories of living in Mexico, but sometimes I do wonder if they’re real.
I wore braces and glasses in high school
High school is already awkward. I got braces at the end of my freshman year and wore them till the beginning of my senior year. The glasses I got at the beginning of my senior year too. I was already a quiet and shy girl so it didn’t really bother me. As a matter of fact, I had a great time in high school! I was not a social butterfly but I still had many great friends.
I have 3 tattoos
I have a panther, a butterfly, and a sun. I would like to get another one but am not sure. The last one (the sun) is on my ankle and that was painful.
I wasn’t always a teacher
After college I worked at The Lodge for 3 months. It was a company owned by McDonalds’s. Then I worked several years and different positions at the American Bar Association. It was there that I received an email to attend an orientation for people wanting to make a career change. I went because another friend of mine was going too. I remember someone there telling us not to go into teaching just for the money. A few months later I had an interview. Then did a few years of graduate school. As much as it is tough to be a teacher, I do not regret it one bit. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made!
My dad passed away when I was 18 years old
It was at the end of my freshman year of college. I was never close to him. He was a quiet man and we rarely talked. I remember before leaving for college, he asked me a question. I don’t recall what it was but I responded with “yes”. He then told me to take care of myself.
So many things I didn’t know about you, Zenaida!
The one that surprised me most is that you were once engaged. Whatever the reason was, I am sure you made the right decision. Being married is no guarantee for a happy life.
A number of my best friends are single (both male and female). They embrace their freedom, live highly interesting lives and are the happiest people on the planet. I actually prefer their company to married couples.
Thank you! I know there is no guarantee in marriage. But a little part of me is just curious. 🙂
Thanks for sharing. Glad to get to know you more.
I have many single friends and they are very happy and active.
Teaching was my most rewarding job. But the hardest.
Teaching is very rewarding! Never in my life did I think I would be a teacher. In college it never crossed my mind. Never say never, right?
I am so glad to get to know you a little bit better, Zenaida. I think we all should do posts like this one! Maybe on a future Tuesday! 😉
I think the best teachers are ones who have had “real life” experiences. If you have spent your whole life in academia, you sometimes lose touch with reality. Your other jobs probably made you a better teacher.
I loved reading your story about coming to the US. Thanks for sharing!
Yes, definitely write a post like this. I got the idea from another blog and it took me a while to write it. Since I went through a different route in my teaching career, I didn’t have to do student teaching. I do wonder if that would have at least prepared me for my first year. I had NO idea what I was doing but definitely have learned so much throughout the years.
So fascinating, Zenaida! Thank you for sharing that. I don’t think I knew any of that except that you weren’t always a teacher. BTW, it POURED on my wedding day. Here we are, working on 36 years.
I only had one grandfather that was born in the US — and he was born on the 4th of July. I always thought that was so special!
My father was a difficult man. He was anything but quiet — quite the opposite, always giving speeches — in family, in volunteer jobs. He was very extroverted. He was also narcissistic and very impatient. I have no doubt that he loved me though, family was extremely important to him. I’m sorry you lost yours so young, and glad that your mother is still alive.
I didn’t have much of a relationship with my father. It’s been so long and I don’t remember him that much and sometimes I feel guilty about it. My oldest siblings remember him more.
It’s funny, I was talking with my husband the other day. One of my uncles died when I was 14 — on my birthday! I remember, him, of course, but I have much stronger memories of my other uncle (his brother), who died when I was 16.
Anyway, I don’t think you should feel guilty about it. Of course your older siblings remember him better! I had no idea you had that many siblings, btw.
Wow! Thanking you for sharing this – I loved the “words blog” you did to describe yourself and this is the perfect follow up to that. Sorry to hear you lost your dad so young and that you were not very close to him. Also, sorry to hear things didn’t work out with the engagement.
I had braces and glasses too in High School, wasn’t popular but had a solid group of friends who are still friends to this day. Many you’ve seen on my blog as we somehow took up running together, LOL. I also tend to eat when I’m stressed out (and when I’m enjoying myself!). I’ve been hospitalised – once for 7 weeks when I had typhoid fever, another time I had surgery and then of course when I had my two babies.
Glad you liked my post! I wasn’t sure how it would go. Even though I have a blog there are many things I haven’t shared. Of course there are many other things and maybe in the future I will write another one. 🙂
Wow, I learned so much about you through this post! I didn’t know that you have tattoos. I only have one, but always love hearing from people about the backstory on their tattoos.
It’s definitely easy to always wonder “what if” when it comes to love and relationships. It sounds like the universe stepped in during your engagement. Sometimes I wish I didn’t get married since there were some red flags during the engagement. I should gave listened to my gut!
You need to write a post like this now. I didn’t know you had a tattoo. Life is full of “what ifs”. Sometimes I do stop and wonder but then also stop and realize that things happen for a reason.
Always fun to learn more about the bloggers behind the blogs. I don’t think I knew any of those things about you! Thanks for sharing
Thanks for reading! 🙂
I have the same reaction to Margaritas. And I was way beyond college so I have to excuse. Needless to say, after a 2-day hangover when we were at the beach for a weekend, I haven’t touched a Margarita in over 20 years.
The tequila!!