Wednesday, January 28

Tagged: 16 Things.

I was tagged by both say hi to eunice and john curley on flickr to participate in the '16 Things About You' challenge. It was rough deciding which intimacies to divulge, but here you are...

1. I come from circus blood. My great grandparents owned the Downie Bros. Circus, and had my British ancestors not gambled and lost it in ruin and shame, I might be being blown out of canon or walking in a tutu on high wire somewhere right now.

2. As a young girl, I used to attend Art Linkletter's School of Tap & Dance. In a group performance of the traditional Hawaiian hula dance, my parents photographed me for future humiliation dancing with my arms swaying gracefully to the left, as everyone else's swayed much more gracefully to the right.

3. For 15 years, I worked in advertising as an art buyer and director of creative services, but I have recently given up the ever glamorous ad land for the blogging world. I am a design blogger. Silly word, but that is now my profession of choice. I sometimes work in my pajamas or from bed, and it is quite pleasant.

4. I dislike parades, clowns and musicals, not necessarily in that order.

5. I am a "valley girl". Like, for sure. I hail from the San Fernando Valley, in Los Angeles, but have lived in San Francisco for fourteen lovely years. I do not intend to go back.

6. I once did a Cold Power washing detergent TV commercial at the age of five. Ralph Nader ending up declaring Cold Power wasn't 'germ proof' as was stated in the commercial, and it was ripped from the airwaves, thereby diminishing any future residuals. It did, however, pay for my meager college education.

7. In the eighties, I used to sneak backstage at concerts, like Elvis Costello, Blondie and Joe Jackson, pretending to be a British journalist. Let me assure you, faking a British accent for several hours gets really old.

8. My favorite film of all time is Breakfast at Tiffany's. My favorite novel is Catcher in the Rye.

9. Once when my flight had been delayed, I made love with my then fiance, in the back seat of his vintage Porsche 911, underneath the protection of his car cover, in the Oakland Airport parking lot. We did not eventually marry.

10. I really don't have big feet, they just look that way in these shoes, which are a size 8-1/2, but I love them because they feel like slippers and wear them anyway. Speaking of feet, the right one has two pins in it from a break in 2005, when I fell off a curb in high heels. Another reason I love these shoes.

11. I have a star picked out that I am certain is my deceased, beloved dog Cooper. We have regular evening chats.

12. I live in San Francisco's legendary newspaper man Herb Caen's old apartment. Every time I take a bath in the big claw foot tub, I wonder if he ever wrote his column from there. Is that gross?

13. I think mayonnaise is the nectar of the gods.

14. I have mean crushes on Jon Stewart, Clive Owen, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Adrian Brody. Go figure.

15. I simply despise those damn stickers they put on fruits and vegetables. Upon entering my home they are discarded post haste. They are completely and totally aesthetically unappealing.

16. I haven't owned a television set for about two and half years now and I highly recommend it. However, that obsession has been replaced by traipsing around flickr most days and nights, so there you have it.

33 comments:

Cindy said...

i didn't realize 911s even had back seats ;). i don't care for those stickers much either, especially when they get stuck on the drain filter-thingy. your list is so interesting as is your life.

Toshimi said...

I did one of these "16 things" things when people tagged me on facebook. loved reading more about you.

Uncle Beefy said...

This was awesome, V.! :)

Looks like it might be good that the circus thing didn't pan out given your distaste for clowns. Funny...I think you're the ONLY person who doesn't like clowns. (CREEPY!)

Ralph Nader...what an idiot! But glad you got a little something out of it. If you ever find a video...you better share it!

Cooper... I bet those are some good chats.

Not gross about Herb writing columns in the tub. As long as you stop right there. ;)

Mayonnaise! I KNEW I liked you! Creamy white AWESOMENESS!

Those freakin' stickers! UGH! I here ya'!

sfgirlbybay said...

cindy - they have very *tiny* backseats. ;)

toshimi - thank you - i hope it's not too much!

UB - thanks for your always thoughtful commentary!

down with fruit stickers!!

Anonymous said...

I'm with ya on Jon Stewart...but you lost me with the rest. What a very, very interesting set of crushes! At least you're original.

I have more than one adult friend who hates clowns so you have good company on that one.

I despise mayo. Big time. Probably because when I was a kid, my mom made sandwiches with a pound of margarine and a pound of mayo. Although mayo is great for one thing: if you have water marks on furniture? Liberally rub in a thick layer mayo and leave on overnight. In the morning, the mayo will have disappeared into the wood, along with the stain! Then you rub the wood with a soft cloth, taking off any leftover mayo. I did it and couldn't believe how well it worked. The mayo smell was a bit much (my cat was wondering what was up with the smell) but that goes away.

sfgirlbybay said...

foo - i think it's a nerd factor of sorts. i should have put Ira Glass, too. :)

Great tip on the mayo - thanks!!

Micaela said...

I think I want your life :)
thanks for sharing these fun random facts about you.

lisa said...

love your 16 things! so unique and fun.

smallbatch pets said...

love your 16...

love your set of crushes, 3 of 4 are on my list:)

love your lucky star...

love 911 love making (not that i have)

love to love sfgirlbybay

steven mcvay said...

excellent list, excellent way to wait for a delayed plane and the only clown i really like is called ronald, and he has very tasty burgers..x

Jamie Welsh Watson said...

That is so rad that you live in Herb Caen's old apartment! It makes sense, what your job is! WOW. And I love that you pretended to be a British journalist at shows. You rock. So nice of you to share this with us!!

sfgirlbybay said...

thanks so much you guys...i hesitated about putting it all out there, but hey, that's me.

i'm glad i could entertain you in the airport, steven! stay away from ronald!! ;)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for making my day. I really enjoyed every last word! Have a wonderful evening over at flickr!

Anonymous said...

#7 is my favorite and Catcher in the Rye is my favorite book too.

Anonymous said...

Oh, clowns and parades! Icky and scary. Couldn't agree more1

Two Tall Girls said...

This was so much fun to read! I whole heartedly agree with you about those damn fruit stickers. I have to take each of them off before they can sit looking pretty on the counter top waiting to be eaten.

#41x14 said...

omg! i love adrian too!!! thanks for sharing that video. i hadn't seen it since i'm going on about 4 years with no tv. his speech made me like him even more!

xoxo,
craftYARD

Anonymous said...

oh sfgirlbybay, you wouldn't believe how often you make my day. now channeling my much loved sf through you in stockholm. i have also been barraged with this "tag" on fB, and now have inspiration from you on that too! I share your crushes and have to add Paul Rudd :) lots of xx.

Anonymous said...

Oh now I really know I like you ;) (though I already did of course...). Such fun little details... and the circus story is great!

The Clever Pup said...

The circus connection is very cool. But as you don't like parades or clowns maybe it's a good thing it's been erradicated.

Regarding your wicked crushes "one of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn't belong..."

Anyway, Clive's MY boyfriend

Vana said...

I really enjoyed reading this. The things you learn about people, right? You're too cute and funny my dear!

Anonymous said...

was there ever any doubt that mayonnaise was the nectar of the gods? i could eat it on practically any food product, except maybe ice cream. give me some french fries and a dozen flavored mayos and i'm a happy girl.

this was so fun to read- i had no idea about your circus ancestry ;)

grace

Anonymous said...

It was really neat reading about your life. You have such interesting experiences. I hope I can be half as interesting someday! (Kind of felt like a country bumpkin after reading this- but I did enjoy it! :)

Courtney said...

I was going to say that it was a good thing #1 didn't happen because of #4, but I see other people have! :)

This was such a great list- and so honest! Thanks for sharing with us. Oh, and those fruit stickers drive me nuts too!

Shona~ LALA dex press said...

I'm a former Valley Girl myself...so how do you get your Jon Stewart fix? I'm guessing on the web. I went an entire year without going to bed with Jon every Mon- Thrs. Something was definately missing in my life that year.

sfgirlbybay said...

thanks guys - your warm responses make me feel better about putting so much out there.

thanks grace!!

shona - i do occasionally watch things i download on iTunes...the daily show being one. :)

mrsgreen said...

Clive Owen = All man / complete masculinity / incredibly sexy

Antonella said...

my sweet doggie Grace died abruptly last sunday and I'm completely lost without her. looking at the linked photos of lovely coop I discovered they probably died of the same illness

i hope that in some months I'll be able to feel better.. but you're right they're always near us and chatting to us if we listen
Antonella

sfgirlbybay said...

Antonella - i am so, so sorry for your loss. it does get better, but at first the quiet is really difficult. try to keep busy, as hard as it...and then you'll find a way to communicate with grace. my heart is with you.

Anonymous said...

I'm with you on the no tv and no stickers on my produce thing!

ashley oostdyck said...

great list, very entertaining.
I'm totally with you on 13, 14, 15 and 16. thanks for sharing :)

(I can't believe I haven't read catcher in the rye yet, it's been on my list forever, and you've just inspired me to head to the library)

claudia said...

fantastic list...simply perfect :)

Jill said...

i agree about the fruit stickers...i peel them off immediately too.