Champion at Versatility

As I mentioned in a previous post, Abigail over at Oh My Words was kind enough to award me with the Versatile Blogger Award.  It made me immensely happy.  This award is proof of one thing:  I have readers (or at least, reader.)!  And not just the accidental google-search visitor, either.  This is someone who has read at least a few of my articles, and decided I’m a worthwhile read!

Much as I like the idea of writing down some random nonsense and releasing it into the deep dark woods of the interwebs, I love the comments people leave, and the interactions therein so much more.  I find it amazing to see that someone from Texas or California or Halifax is reading my posts, and likes them enough to leave me a quick note about it, agreeing, or disagreeing, or pointing out an aspect of something that had me upset that I hadn’t considered. 

So, back to the bloggy awesomeness of the Versatile Blogger Award, here are the requirements for accepting this award:

1. Post linking back to the person that gave you the award.
2. Share 7 random things about yourself.
3. Award 15 recently discovered blogs.
4. Drop them a note and tell them about it.

Number one… Check!

Seven Random Things:

I can unicycle… badly.  I was inspired at age 10 while visiting the Bike Show in Toronto, and my dad made a deal with me that I would have to raise half the money, and he’d raise the other half, and we’d get a unicycle.  I’m not particularly graceful, there is a great deal of arm-waving, and I’m not so great at turning.  However, I do pick it up a few times a year, and I do manage to get a bit of distance, though not enough to get anywhere in particular.  To the guy I saw unicycling home with a case of beer and a grocery bag, I salute you!

I despise… despise! … pickytarianism.  Don’t call yourself a vegetarian to avoid eating the meats you just don’t like the taste of, call it what it is!  Because people who eat chicken are not vegetarians… especially not people who only eat meat in general sometimes (aka, when the way it was cooked is a way that they like to eat it, or when they’re drunk)… be honest, and just say, “I don’t like that”.  Also, do not refer to the things you don’t like (whether you’re vege- or picky-tarian) in a derogatory manner –  just because it’s not what you like, doesn’t mean you have to insult it to avoid having to eat it. 

I spent two summers working in provincial parks.  I did trail grooming, dug toilet pits, picked up trash, and achieved the best fitness of my life while ultimately being paid to camp.  I could solo a canoe down a 5 km section of trail with hardly any effort, but with a whopping amount of pride in accomplishment.  My only complaint was that the staff-house was overrun with mice… cheeky buggers were so cocky, they’d run down the side of a room full of people as soon as dusk had settled.  The acquired life-skill of not shrieking at mice served me well at a hostel in Europe, when one ran out from under my bag in a 15 person room late at night.  Instead of waking everyone up with a girly shriek of terror and rage, I entertained those who were still awake by going from cross-legged on the floor to doing a leaping dance of don’t-touch-the-floor-or-the-mice-might-touch-you with a wide-eyed, wide-mouthed rictus of fear on my face at hyper-speed. 

When I get frustrated or upset about people I’m forced to interact with, I dream of being a successful independent recluse, in detail.  I know roughly where my amazing off-the-grid house would go, and I can picture the glorious vegetable garden, fruit trees, pantry full of home-canned and home-dehydrated goods, and rabbit hutch full of rabbits.  All this will allow me to hardly ever be required to go to grocery stores, or encounter people in general.  I have visions of a house full of doodle-type dogs all trained to a sled in the winter.  I’d go into more detail, but I guarantee, it just gets weirder. 

I love being barefoot.  My childhood summers were nearly entirely bare-footed, only putting on shoes when absolutely necessary.  I just love the feeling of grass and dirt, and really feeling what I’m walking across, rather than getting the diluted sense of ground surface through shoes.  That is a big part of why I got my Vibram Five Finger shoes – I no longer have the super-tough soles of my childhood, but I can now walk my dog nearly-barefoot.  If they come out with a highly insulated winter type calf-height version of these, I will be hard-put to resist the urge to spend my money on it.  I recommend trying these on if you ever find yourself with the opportunity.  It is a cool feeling.

I am very bendy.  One of my favourite reading poses is in a wing-back chair, head against one wing, one (or both) legs propped up on the other wing.  I enjoy doing yoga, though it is harder to do at home with the dog around, because he enjoys cleaning my ears with his tongue.  And his tongue is very bendy as well!

I’m very self-conscious about my blogginess, and my writing in general.  The only person I know personally who has read this blog, or any of my creative writing, is Doodle.  If anyone in my group of friends knows about it, I would be surprised (and suspicious of Doodle), and feel very awkward writing as openly.  Who knows?  Maybe I’ll get up the courage to post a bit of my fictional writing on here, to get some opinions on it.  At the moment, however, even revealing that I attempt writing fiction makes me feel awkward and uncomfortable.  However, that clearly doesn’t prevent me from writing epically lengthy posts – hopefully the hikers who joined at the beginning have managed to get this far through the wandering trail of my thought process!

Now, for the 15 recently discovered blogs.  Well… not all are really recent, but I discovered them at some point in the past few months at any rate, and enjoy reading what they have to say.  I tried to not give the award to people I remember having recieved it already, but if they have already, sorry!  I wasn’t quite gung-ho enough about that part of the plan to actually go through each blog and check this.  In no particular order, I count the following bloggers as highly Versatile! 

1. 2 Brown Dawgs Blog

2. Rescued Insanity

3. The mompocalypse

4. My Pajama Days

5. youdidwhatwithyourweiner

6. The Good Greatsby

7. accidentalstepmom

8. jodistone

9. Oldspouse

10. Time to train your dog

11. Four ‘N’ Twenty Blackbirds

12. Pithypants

13. Gourm(EH)?

14. Live at E’s

15. The Life and Times of Nathan Badley

I raided the award pic off pweetytales.blogspot.com, because it is so pretty and orange!

I will be dropping these bloggers a note over the next few days, and you should take some time and go check them out!