Tagged!

Posted on November 30, 2007 with 4 Comments

Apologies to all for the extended absence from blogging. I will explain at the bottom of this post. I’ve been tagged by Linda of Silly Little Mischief for the 7 Random Things meme, and it occurred to me that a meme might be a good way to get back in the swing of things for blogging. So without further ado:

1. In grade school, I was best friends with a girl named Ashley. Her birthday was January 22nd (I still remember that to this day!) and mine is February 4th. We once discovered that we were supposed to have each other’s birthdays! When our mothers were pregnant, I was due on Jan 22nd and Ashley was due on Feb 4th. Weird eh?

2. I hate turtlenecks with inexplicable passion.

3. I will only chew the Extra brand of gum.

4. I am freaking awesome at conducting mystery customer calls to obtain information. I have to do it for work in an industry that does not like to share info, so we have to pretend to be customers.

5. I actually enjoy commuting to and from work in rush hour traffic, most of the time. I like blasting my music and singing along. It gives me a chance to get revved up in the morning or unwind after a stressful day. It’s a good buffer between work and home.

6. My dog will only drink water from the bathtub, not from her water bowl. When she’s thirsty, she sits in the bathroom next to the tub and whines until someone runs water for her and puts her in the tub to drink.

7. I used to be a competitive gymnast as a kid until I broke my arm on the bars at age 11. After that I refused to get back on the bars, so I couldn’t compete, and I took up coaching gymnastics instead.

So that’s my 7 random things! I’m not tagging anyone because I think half the Internet has done it already. Heck, I might have even done this meme before!

As for my extended absence, I’ve been going through a very rough patch recently and felt the need to take a break from a number of things – not just blogging. In the last few weeks, I’ve learned that my great uncle died, my uncle has been diagnosed with bone cancer and has been given less than two years to live, and my grandmother is going downhill rapidly.

And in addition to all these things, my sister is going through a personal dilemma that I’m trying to help her with, I’m dealing with a very unhappy and unstable work situation, and have been sick with strep throat two weeks ago and a cold right now. All of this put together has resulted in me spiralling into a significant bout of depression. I have not been diagnosed by a doctor because my work benefits don’t cover much in the way of psychology, but we have plenty of first-hand experience with very severe clinical depression in my family and I recognise the symptoms beyond just feeling sad. I’m about 95% certain I’m suffering from mild clinical depression.

That has been my life in a nutshell lately and has resulted in my taking several days off work, blogging, exercise, and wedding planning. However, I am definitely feeling much brighter and happier at the moment. I don’t think I’m cured, but things are going better, and I am back! Sorry for the absence but I hope you understand.