Some really weird things about me – most people do 10, but my list gives you 50% more.

1. I don’t like gadgets. Cameras, cell phones, cutesy kitchen appliances – they all wear out their welcome within minutes of appearing in my presence.

2. Ditto for most crafts and hobbies. If you handed me a scrapbooking kit, I wouldn’t know whether to set it on fire or eat it.

3. I was the only grandchild on my father’s side of the family, even though Dad had four siblings. On Mom’s side, I had 18 first cousins, and only one is younger than me.

4. I’ve always disliked Oreo cookies, walnuts, and Tootsie rolls, but even as a small child I loved seafood, spinach, broccoli, and garlic.

5. I have an occasional problem with laryngospasm, and it’s usually triggered by a droplet of water or an air bubble. (But, hey, if you attended a NAQT members’ meeting with me a few years back, you knew this already).

6. I became an atheist when I was around 12 or 13, as a direct result of reading stories from Greek and Roman mythology for the first time.

7. I have difficulty understanding pictures unless they’re accompanied by lots of words.

8. From age 18 through age 30, I didn’t own a TV. For the next four or five years, the only one I owned was a little black-and-white portable that was probably turned on less than 10 times.

9, I married the first man I ever dated who was older (7 weeks!) than me.

10. I try to avoid eating appetizers in restaurants, because even small doses of appetizers usually completely ruin my appetite.

11. My mother claims I was reading before my third birthday. I can’t tell you whether that’s true, but I do know that I don’t remember ever not knowing how to read.

12. Although I’ve never given up meat, I’m much, much better at cooking vegetarian meals.

13. When I get bored, I start anagramming street signs, product labels, or anything else in print that happens to be lying around.

14. I can tolerate ant and wasp stings with no worse reaction than mild profanity, but I’m severely allergic to Drosophila cultures.

15. Since I didn’t figure out what I wanted to do until I was past 35, I don’t ever want to retire.