It's TMI TUESDAY!!!! Yay!

The past couple of weeks have gotten away from me and TMI Tuesday usually hits me around Thursday. I wanted to get a jump start this week so I set a calendar reminder and this one seems right up my alley. I could be all serious with this one, but I'm sure there's Humor in there somewhere! :)

1. By what nickname(s) were you known as a child?
I think I went by more nicknames in my life than my actual name! It really depends on who you're talking to.
- Sandy (my older sister) had a name that came from a stuffed Cat in the Hat toy that I always had with me to the hospital (I essentially grew up in a croupe tent) It's a 35+ year old habit she can't seem to break but even as an adult she'll sometimes slip and call me "Kitten"

- In high school I had a myriad of nicknames, Igor, Lurch, Monroe and a few other negative nicknames by small penised football jocks (thank you very much George X... yes, not that we were looking, but we saw you in the shower. I hope Mrs. X can get what she needs from little George... and I mean LITTLE)

- At my first 2 year college my future roommate saw me on Halloween, dressed in my high school band uniform. He drunkenly asked me what high school it was to which I responded "Seneca" He said "Seneca.... that's in.... Seneca" And from that moment on I was known to everyone as Seneca.

- At Clemson I was on my first away band trip and all the new people were supposed to stand up, give their major, hometown and their nickname. (this was back when the drinking age was still 18 for beer so the bus was... well, you get the picture) When I said I didn't have nickname James Grubb, druink in the back of the bus says, "He's a big F*%ker, let's call him Chewie!" and again, the name stuck. To this day there are people I've known for 20 years and they, when pressed would not know my real name.

2. Do you have a favorite poem and, if so, what is it? Recite it (or a snippet) here, please.
I've never been such a fan of poetry that it's commited to memory, but the first poem I remember having an impact on me was Samuel Walter Foss's "House by the Side of the Road". It was my grandfather's favorite poem and the last verse, which SO epitomized my grandfather, was read at his funeral.

Let me live in my house by the side of the road,
Where the race of men go by-
They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong,
Wise, foolish - so am I.
Then why should I sit in the scorner's seat,
Or hurl the cynic's ban?
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

One poem that I CAN recite from memory is due to my 11th grade English Teacher Mrs. Land who insisted we be able to recite it from memory. It was Robert Frosts "Mending Wall" which starts out
SOMETHING there is that doesn't love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
blah blah blah.
Like the verses to The Brady Bunch it is forever tattooed on my brain. Thanks Mrs. Land, that's a bit of memory space I've lost to your poem that I can't use for something important like... damn, what was that I thought was important to remember??

3. What is your greatest regret in life, something that you failed to do that you wish you did?
Bought stock in Yahoo when it first came out! Damn! (Like I'd have known what the hell it was) I remember the first time I heard my brother tell me about Yahoo and thinking "How stupid a name can you get? Why not call it Dumbass?"
I would guess though that my biggest regret is that I limited myself for a long time. If I could have lived as the real me that I've become all my life who knows where I could be now. But I don't regret, I just learn and move on.

4. You are tired and hungry, but it's too late to cook. If any snack food were available to you, what would you choose and why?
This sounds like an improbable situation like "If you were on a desert island...." Sadly I can answer this from last night.

Cereal!

I'm a cereal whore and after living at college became quite good at being a cereal mixologist. Lots of flavors can be mixed well together and my latest fave is Cap'n Crunch Peanut Butter and Cocoa Krispies. mmmmmmm BOY! :)

5. What is the oldest item of clothing (not jewelry!) that you wear regularly and what do you love about it?
Easy... Pick any one of my Clemson T-Shirts or Eddie Bauer sweatshirts. They're all at least 10 years old and feel more comfortable than my own skin. In some cases you can see my own skin through the tshirts, but they're still the most comfortable thing I own and until they fall off my body, I'll keep wearing them.