I saw this meme over at LA�s place, and, since I have nothing better to do or talk about, I�m giving it a whirl.

An Autobiography in Meme Form

Part 1: The Birth of You

Were you a planned baby? No. In fact, my conception resulted in my parents having to get married. (This was in the fifties.)

Were you the first? Yes. There were five more after me.

Were your parents married when you were born? Yes. (See above)

What is your birthdate? August 27, 1954

Part 2: The Family

How would you describe your family? Out of six children and both of my parents, I�m the only registered Democrat. �Nuff said.

Are your parents married? No, they are divorced, and neither of them remarried.

Siblings or an only child? I have two sisters and three brothers, two of whom are identical twins

What are your siblings names? Michele, Patricia, Francis, Michael and Mark.

Which parent do you get along with best? My grandmother. She has always been like a mother to me.

What do you fight about? We don�t fight much any more because I keep my distance as much as possible.

Do you have step parents? No.

Part 3: The Friends

Do you have more than one best friend? No.

What do you like to do when you are together? Vent and laugh.

Do you share the same interests? Some yes, some no.

Which friend can you tell anything to? The invisible one.

Part 4: Your Personality

How high/low is your self esteem? My self-esteem likes to do the limbo and see how low it can go.

Do you get depressed about things easily? Well, yeah, if those things are depressing.

Are you an extrovert or an introvert? I can be both.

Are you happy? I�ve had a headache for FORTY-TWO DAYS. Do you think I�m happy?

Do you live life to the fullest? Chronic pain makes that kind of difficult.

Part 5: Appearance

Are you comfortable with the way you look? I�m lucky in that I don�t look my age (at least that�s what people are always telling me), but the unremitting pain is starting to make me FEEL old, and that will most likely affect my appearance. I could also stand to lose a few pounds�

Would you change anything about your appearance if you could? Besides losing a few pounds, I�d love to do something about the drooping eyelids.

Do you have any piercings besides your ears? No.

Describe your hair? I�d rather not. I�m hating my frizz-prone hair these days, and prefer to not think about it at the moment. My head hurts enough at it is.

What make-up do you wear? Tinted moisturizer, blush, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, lipstick.

Part 6: The Past

Were you a strange child? No, I don�t think so. A strange adult, maybe, but not a strange child.

What did you use to love that you no longer do? Roller skate and hopscotch.

Do you have the same friends? No, I�m not in touch with any of my childhood friends, beyond exchanging greeting cards on birthdays and Christmas, or the random running into.

Was there anything in your past that was traumatizing? Yep. As with my hair, I prefer to not elaborate.

Part 7: The Future

What is your dream? To be pain free, financially secure, and to see my daughters happy and fulfilled.

Are you scared of growing old? You know, I don�t dwell on it much, but now that I think about it, yeah, I guess I am.

Do you want to get married? I AM married. For the second time.

Part 8: The Outdoors

Do you prefer indoors or outdoors? For the most part, I prefer to be indoors, but I do love to be outside in certain kinds of weather or in certain places.

What is your favorite season It�s a tie between autumn and winter.

Favorite weather? Crisp and chilly. Blizzards are cool, too.

Do you like walking in the rain? Not really.

Part 9: Food

Are you a vegetarian? I am carnivore, hear me roar.

What is your favorite food? I don�t have a single favorite food, but lobster, my mother�s lasagna and my father�s pizza are up there at the top of the list.

What food makes you want to gag? Sushi. I like California rolls, but have had too many unpleasant experiences with raw tuna, and just can�t bear the thought of sushi any more.

What is your favorite restaurant? I like Caterina de' Medici and the American Bounty Room at the Culinary Institute of America, although I haven�t been to either in many years.

Part 10: Relationships and Love

Are you single or taken? Taken.

If taken, who is the lucky guy/girl? My husband, Daniel.

Do you think love is the best feeling in the world? I live with constant pain. Sometimes it is damn near unbearable. This pain affects every aspect of my life in a negative way. Therefore I would have to say that being pain free has to be the best feeling in the world.

Do you believe in love at first sight? No, I can�t say that I do. I mean, what�s there to love if you don�t know a person? The way they look? That�s not love.

Part 11: Experiences

What was one of your greatest experiences? Aside from the obvious giving birth to my daughters, I�d have to say that one of the best experiences of my life was sitting in the 14th row at Madison Square Garden for the Paul McCartney concert on October 1, 2005. The Beatles had a tremendous impact on my formative years. Their music was (and still is) incredibly important to me. So, to be that close to a Beatle was an amazing experience.

Have you ever done drugs? Still do, if you count anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxers and painkillers.

Have you ever thought you were going to die? We�re ALL going to die.
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The Cans

Can you blow a bubble? Yes
Can you dance? Yes, but it�s been a while.
Can you do a cart wheel? No, and that used to really bother me.
Can you touch your tongue to your nose? No!
Can you touch your toes? Yes.
Can you whistle? Sort of.
Can you wiggle your ears? Nope.

The Dids

Did you ever get into a fight in school? Only verbal.
Did you ever eat a pie? An entire pie? Not an entire pie, no.
Did you ever run away from home? Yes, for about five minutes when I was little.
Did you ever want to be a doctor? PLAY doctor, yes. BE a doctor, no.
Did you ever want to be a fire fighter? Nah.
Did you have a party for your last birthday? I haven�t had a birthday party since I turned 30.

The Dos
Do you know how to drive? I guess I know HOW, but I don�t have a driver�s license.
Do you like Roller coasters? NO!
Do you own a bike? No. I got rid of it a few years ago.
Do you think you could handle the stuff they eat on those reality TV shows? God, no.
Do you tie your shoes every day? No, I hardly ever wear shoes that require lacing.

The Does

Does hair loss run in your family at all? Yes. My father is pretty bald, and my mother started to experience significant hair loss in her forties. So far, I haven�t shown any signs of following suit, and I hope it stays that way! I might hate my hair right now, but at least I still have plenty of it!

Does your car get good gas mileage? We have a compact car, so yes, it does get good gas mileage.

Does your family have family picnics? Not any more, but we used to.

The Has

Has anyone ever given you flowers? Yes.

The Haves

Have you even been on a plane? Not as often as I�d like, but yes, I have been on a plane a few times, and even a seaplane once in the Bahamas, and a helicopter in Hawaii.

Have you ever been asked out? Well, yeah. Geez.

Have you ever asked someone out? No.

Have you ever been to the Ocean? Many times. The seashore is my favorite place on earth.

Have you ever gone fishing? Yes.

Have you ever painted your nails? Yes. What a question.

The Hows

How many different places have you lived? I�ve never moved out of the city I was born in, but I have lived in a lot of different places within this city. I have moved a total of fourteen times.

How tall are you? 5' 4"

Last

Last song you listened to? The Dr. Dre remix of Miss You by The Rolling Stones.

QUICK NOW!

Quick how much money do you have on you right now? Approximately $30 in bills plus some change.

The Whats

What did you wear to bed last night? Pajama bottoms and a t-shirt.

What do you fear? Bad karma and pain that doesn�t go away.

What Radio Station do you listen to? I don�t listen to the radio much. I listen to CDs.

What was the last book you read? A Thread of Grace, by Mary Doria Russell.

What was the last restaurant you ate at? We picked up gyros at the Greek festival yesterday, but the last time I ate in a restaurant it was the Double O Grill.

What was the last thing you bought? 50% off picture frames at A.C. Moore.

What was the last thing you had to drink? Black coffee, no sugar.

The Whos

What friend have you known the longest? I�ve known Jane since 2nd grade, but she�s one of the friends I only keep in touch with through greeting cards.

Who was that last person you IMed? My daughter, Rebecca, but she was in college at the time. She is now home for the summer, so I�m not using an Instant Messaging program at present.

Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? The Ex.

Happy Father�s Day to all the Dads!

Song of the Day: I Am I Said by Neil Diamond