Don't Mess With Taxes

I've been tagged by The World of Wealth to share seven random things about me, myself and I that y'all might not know.

The process is officially a meme. However, being old school (that's a freebie about me; let's say it's random thing 7.5), I see it as sort of a blogging chain letter. But rather than making false promises of riches or threats of disaster if you don't participate, the idea is to get to know the tagged blogger a little better.

Despite my best efforts, my life seems to get more random by the moment, so I had to work to keep it at seven. But here goes.

1. I was hugged by Bill Clinton. Hold it right there! It was all on the up-and-up. When we lived in the suburban D.C. area, my employer sponsored a Children's Defense Fund event and Bill and Hill were there. So I took advantage of getting to meet the President and First Lady. And, true to his touchy-feely persona, he hugged me! But the hubby -- and Hillary -- were right there, so, as I said, rein in your imaginations.

2. I had dinner with Al and Tipper Gore. Well, me and several hundred other folks, including the hubby. Again, it was part of a company-sponsored event, this time benefiting the Komen Race for the Cure.

In D.C., the Veep and Mrs. Veep, regardless of who's in the White House, are the honorary chairs of the annual race, and part of the festivities includes (or used to include) a casual dinner on the vice presidential residence's grounds. It was a great experience, even though most of the guys in attendance, the hubby excluded, were ogling Karenna Gore instead of paying attention to the future 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winner.

OK, enough name dropping.

3. As you know from my blog intro, I'm a Texan. But to elaborate, I'm a fourth-generation Texan. A couple of my aunts traced our family connections to the American Revolution and subsequently joined the DAR, but, true to my Lone Star State birth, I am prouder of my Texas roots.

4. I was valedictorian of my high school class. I admit, however, that I didn't take a lot of math and science en route to the honor. And that didn't sit too well with the salutatorian, who finished just a few decimal points behind me in the rankings.

The reason he was upset? He dove right into physics and Algebra III, while my senior year included "library," which essentially was a free period to read and rack up an automatic "A."

In my defense, while I didn't know exactly what I was going to do when I grew up, I did know it wouldn't involve advanced math and science. So I earned my top-of-the-class title by using my noggin to avoid classes I knew I wouldn't use later in life!

5. One of my fiscal guilty pleasures is handbags. I own more than I need, and most are reasonably priced purses. But I do have two very expensive -- but quite lovely -- Coach bags. This one is a gift from the hubby.

6. I love movie soundtracks. Not musicals necessarily, although I do have CDs of "Chicago" and "A Chorus Line" (although in the latter's case, it's the Broadway version), but the music that runs behind the scenes in your basic dramas and comedies. Even a bad movie can be worth sitting through if the score is good.

The newest CD in my movie music collection is "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada." And the soundtrack I listened to most recently was "The Man Who Cried."

7. I'm a big sci-fi fan. Maybe it was because as a kid I wanted to be an astronaut. But when I realized that the math/science stuff I avoided in high school was a prerequisite, I took the fictional route.

Anyway, I do remember becoming a full-fledged addict when, also in high school, I read "A Canticle for Leibowitz." And my all-time favorite course at Texas Tech was an exploration of science fiction. It was taught by five professors, each a fan of the genre personally and who brought their particular expertise (classic literature, history, anthropology, archeology and chemistry) to the classroom. It was in that class that I wrote my first short story.

Well, that took me longer than I thought it would. But I actually enjoyed this bit of bloggy navel gazing and hope you do, too.

Thanks to The World of Wealth for the tag. You'll definitely want to read her seven things (click here), especially if you're a game show fan.

And now, per the rules of seven random things, I tag the following fellow bloggers to tell us all a bit about themselves.

Dimes   
Mapgirl
Lubna
Nina
Taxgirl
Joe 
Mike   

If any of y'all have already been tagged and told, I apologize for missing it. Maybe you can leave a comment on this post and direct us to your previous personal revelations.

If not, we all look forward to learning a few tidbits about you!