Daily Prompt: Far From Normal

Today’s Daily Prompt:  Many of us think of our lives as boringly normal, while others live the high life. Take a step back, and take a look at your life as an outsider might. Now, tell us at least six unique, exciting, or just plain odd things about yourself.

I often ask myself (especially as I get older) what “normal” is.  Is anyone normal?  Didn’t God make us all unique?  Every time I see someone who I’m tempted to think is a little on the weird side, I think of something an ex-boss said to me once– that everyone is weird in their own little way.  Very true.  With that being said, here’s my list. 

1. I’m left-handed and proud of it.  Or actually I’m ambidextrous.  I eat left-handed and write left-handed, but pretty much do everything else right-handed.  Maybe that’s from growing up in a right-handed world.  I remember in veterinary school, doing surgery right-handed just felt more natural.  I’m laughing while saying that as surgery has never felt “natural” to me.  But most surgical instruments are designed for right-handed people.  I had a surgery instructor who seemed to be hell-bent on trying to get me to do surgery left-handed (after he discovered I wrote left-handed).  He just thought that since I was left-handed that I should be doing surgery left-handed.  I thought my brain would explode!  Now I know how those poor kids must have felt back in the day when parents would force their left-handed child to write with their right hand!  I’ve never understood that.
2. I have a passion for bats (the flying mammal kind). I wrote a three-part series about bats on my blog (read them here) and very surprisingly part 2 is my most popular (or most often read blog) according to my stats.   Who would have guessed?!  I’ll confess I have a weird fantasy about spending time and hanging out with Merlin Tuttle, world-renowned bat expert, founder of Bat Conservation International, and popular bat photographer.  My dream is to one day hold one of the megabats, or flying fox bats (you know– the ones with six foot wingspan).  I think that would be one of the coolest things ever!
3. I’m obsessed with watching DVDs of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.  I absolutely adored that series and am still mad at CBS for taking it off the air.  I bought the entire series of six seasons and have watched them four times all the way through.  I don’t think I’ll ever tire of watching them.  It’s a good clean show and educational too.  I love the period drama and the historical significance of the show.  It was very well done.   I love Jane Seymour and thought she and Joe Lando had such a unique chemistry between them.  Oh, how I would love to meet them both.  I happen to think Jane Seymour is one of the most physically beautiful women on the planet. 
4. I don’t like it when people tell me I should go get a massage, or a manicure or pedicure.  I just don’t like the idea of some stranger running their hands over my body (the thought of that actually creeps me out).  I’ve only had one manicure in my life and couldn’t wait for it to be over.  During the whole manicure, I wanted to jump up and run out the door!  I’m not sure what my hangup is there– maybe it’s a violation of my personal space or maybe it’s a reflection of a poor body image and low self-esteem.  I haven’t quite figured this one out yet.   
5. I was a band nerd in high school and loved every minute of it.  In marching season, I was a majorette and in concert season, I played the trumpet and I loved doing both.  We were the Tennessee State Marching Band Champions all three years I was in the band and that was a real honor.  I’m not a sports fan by any means and I’ll confess to not understanding football, but I absolutely LOVE high school football games.  I think that’s because I like watching and listening to the marching bands.  It always brings back happy memories for me.  I wrote a blog about marching bands that you can read about here.
6. I hate to sew.  I was never so happy when in 9th grade they divided Home Ec up and you could either sign up for the sewing class OR the cooking class.  Sewing was no longer mandatory!!  Let me tell you, I signed up so fast for the cooking class, it would have made your head spin!  The odd thing about this, is that while I hate to sew cloth or material (even sewing buttons on is challenging for me and there’s nothing like sewing to put me in a foul mood), I love to suture animal skin.  While surgery definitely isn’t my forte (o.k.,  I’ll admit I DESPISE it), I still love to suture and find it quite relaxing).  In veterinary school, I can’t tell you how many hours I spent practicing my suture patterns on pig’s feet (there was a butcher at our local grocery store who kept me supplied in them) or foam rubber padding.  Professors complimented me more than once on my suturing skills and surgery was one of the few rotations in veterinary school that I received an A in.  Go figure. 
7. I collect pigs.  This hobby started in college and I’ve kept it up ever since.  Let’s just say that after 35 years of pig collecting, that I have a few!  I have a pig kitchen and while I think my husband thinks my little hobby has gotten completely out of hand, I still love my pigs!  I’ve also written a few blogs about my pig collecting hobby.  If you’re just dying to read them, just enter “pigs” in the search box on my blog and it will take you right to them.  🙂
8. I’m somewhat of a book hoarder.  I never read much in my high school or college years.  My mother was a very avid reader and I used to think that was a little boring.  I laugh at that now.  It was when I got older and had kids that I really started reading more and really enjoying it.  I like both fiction and non-fiction.  I sometimes think I have WAY too many books but my pediatrician (a very wise woman by the way) told me once that children can never have too many books.  I happen to believe the same is true for adults.  Parting with books is really hard for me as I’m always thinking I will at some point want to read the book again. 
9. I don’t like horses.  At all.  When I was in vet school, there was a blood donor horse named John, who belonged to the veterinary school.   John was assigned to me on the first day of my equine rotation where I was to be responsible for his care. That “care” involved walking John twice daily for exercise (which also involved entering his stall to get a halter and lead on him which was no easy task).  I am convinced John’s main goal in life was to kill me.  I was terrified of that horse and he knew it.  I was so terrified of him, that I clearly recall offering to pay the more horse-loving/horse knowledgable students to walk him (hangs head in shame).  One of the equine professors told me that John always knew when the start of a new equine rotation was and he always, ALWAYS tried to take advantage of the new student on that rotation to try to show that new student that HE was boss.  He told me that John just needed to be “put in his place.”  Unfortunately, this was only told to me after he tried to kill me a time or two.  This same professor gave me some very helpful tips in how to handle John, but still, I knew by the second day of my equine rotation, that I had absolutely NO desire to be an equine practitioner.  I hated that horse with a passion.   

That’s my list.  Call me boring, odd, weird, unique, normal, abnormal…. whatever.  I guess I’m all those things. 

Gail ♥