Ten Things About Myself You May Not Know

I was tagged by Tiffany over at Come What May. If any of you have read my blog for more than a day, you may already know this stuff:

1. I went to clown school in the '80s. My "talent" was making balloon animals. I was the head of the clown ministry of my church, and I loved it. Unfortunately, my skin did not like the make-up, no matter which brand I tried. I was a painter clown named "Splash." I carried a paint can that had toys and trinkets in it to give away to people. My sidekick was Bubbles the clown. He was in a motorized wheelchair with a bubble machine attached to it. Since he was a quadreplegic, he followed me or I followed him and we did an act together.
2. I am afraid of needles. Deathly afraid. I have never given blood for this reason. I am actually more afraid of the tourniquet than the needles. Since having gestational diabetes testing and two epidurals against my will during two pregnancies, I have learned to relax a bit before having my blood taken. But it is still a major phobia for me.
3. I almost drowned when I was seven years old. It happened on the Bolivar peninsula near Galveston. I had a life review so I know it was serious, not just "I'm in over my head but can dog paddle to get back." I was only in waist-high water and got caught in an undertow. My mother saved me. I remember asking her if we were going to die. She said, "no," but years later told me that she thought we would not make it to shore.
4. I was almost forced into a car by a stranger about the same time in my life. It happened in front of the neighbors' house next door. I remember the guy telling me to come closer, that he could not hear what I was saying to him. I don't even remember the question he asked, directions or something. The closer I got to the car, the more anxious I felt. I jumped back as soon as he opened the car door. I remember running towards the house screaming. That's something my parents taught us to do, even back then.
5. I have OCD. This may not be a surprise to most of you. I think the first hint of it was around ten years of age. I wish they would have come up with the diagnosis back then. It really explains a whole lot about my life. I am so happy to see youngsters with OCD these days getting help so early.
6. I love thunderstorms, especially if I am home. I am afraid of close lightning. Thunderstorms and cuddling with J. Hmmm. What else is there to say?
7. I love national traumatic events. Okay, I know this is so weird. Please don't dislike me for that. Probably has something to do with my OCD. I think I like the constant focus on the news, a reason to constantly "check" updates on a story, something to mourn, a reason to be sad, the coming together of a community. Unlike most people, I don't mind that the media is saying the same things over and over again, speculating because they don't have the full story yet. That is what keeps me coming back to "check" the updates. And as most of us OCDers know, checking is life.
8. I have a mole on my left hand that makes my hand look like a parrot's head when I hold it a certain way. This has kept kids entertained for hours, not to mention satisfying their constant need to pull on the mole to see if it will come off. Ouch! It is also, I must confess, how I learned my right and left hands as a child.
9. I feel stupid most of the time. Yes, that is true. I have a hard time being around intellectual people because I feel I will not understand what they are discussing. I don't like numbers. I am a sore loser at games, not because I am upset that I lost, but because I feel stupid for losing. Hope that makes some sense. This made it very difficult to lose a game of dominoes to J the other night even though I won the first game. Some of the things people mention on FB make me feel left out, i.e. poets, politics, etc. I just ignore those posts.
10. I don't care for "desserts." I really don't. Strange, I know. I will eat chocolate cake like crazy, especially if it has been refrigerated and cheesecake is to die for, but I'm actually not into eating them after a meal. I would rather have them as a treat or as a meal in itself!