The Softer Side of Pensiero

Here are the rules:
- Each player starts with eight random facts about themselves.
- Those who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight facts and post these rules.
- At the end of the post, choose some people to get tagged and list their names.


1. This morning I woke up with the song "O, Tannenbaum" in my head. And by that I mean I had the words to "O, Tannenbaum" to the tune of "Oh, Canada" in my head. There's just no explanation for that.

2. When I was in kindergarten I was given a solo to this song for our Christmas recital (which was held in our kindergarten classroom). It was a hefty solo - I sang each verse first, and the rest of the class echoed each verse after me. I was proud of what I had accomplished and took this role very seriously...which is why I had to give Carol, the girl next to me, a swift elbow nudge when she started butting in on my solo. You understand. The nerve of some people.

3. As a young girl I shared breakfast each day with my older brother, Austin. One day, while I wasn't looking, Austin decided to pour his apple juice into the remains of my cheerios and milk. (If you've ever poured apple juice into milk, you know just how objectionable an offense this is.) Being the younger-than-kindergarten lass that I was, I immediately cried and complained to our mother. Her solution - making him drink the poison elixir right in front of me - is one of my many terribly fond memories from childhood. Thanks, mom!

4. I once got lost on my way to Venice, Italy. In college I studied abroad in England (see this post for more on that topic), which afforded me the opportunity to travel around Europe for a few weeks with some friends. On our way to Venice we encountered heavily armed guards, drunken men, creepy followers and a hostel matron who wished us more harm than good. To name a FEW. Unfortunately, we never did make it to a single canal. But we did acquire a rollicking story which has served me well in many conversations.

5. I consider myself a phenomenal speller. Seriously. Call me vain, but I love this uncanny ability of mine. (p.s. - if you find any spelling errors in this post, please refrain from telling me, as it will break my fragile heart.)

6. I have hiked to the top of half-dome in Yosemite. I know that many, many other people could put this claim on their blog...but it was really hard...and I was REALLY fearful on the last 200 semi-vertical yards of the trek. So I'm proud of the accomplishment.

7. Sometimes I wish that little snippets of life would turn into musicals. You would be having a conversation, and suddenly you would break out into song. At the pre-appointed time, the people in the background would put down their pencils or books or lawn maintenance tools and join you, knowing all the words (and dance moves) by heart. And there would be a curtain call and everything.

8. I have a collection of the book The Little Prince, by Antoine de St. Exupery, in different languages. So far I've got English, French, Italian, Croatian and Hebrew.

If you're reading this and your name is PAM, consider yourself tagged!