My five

As others who have participated in this noted, it's hard coming up with things people don't know about me. Old friends and Dav know pretty much everything...but for the amusement to others, here are my 5 things that you probably don't know about me. They are all pretty embarrassing.

I worked for a night club in Tokyo one summer during college. I was placed in the V.I.P. section, meaning I served the yakuza gang who allowed the club to exist. I had to wear a red beret with a tight top and baggy plaid pants. Not sure what they were going for but it wasn't too revealing at least. I was told to be careful not to serve in a way that would require anyone with cut off fingers to be troubled. Never saw any hands without fingers (see the wikipedia yakuza link). Best night was when I was tipped about $200 (tipping isn't normal in Japan). The club flopped by the time I left to get back to college. I remember that Grace Jones was a guest performer one night.

When I was living in San Diego, I woke up one night smelling what I thought was a very strong chemical. Fearing something was leaking or that whatever it was in the air was bad for everyone's health, I called the non-emergency line. I made it clear that there was no emergency...just that someone should check out the smell. It was midnight, and I imagined a car with some technician would show up. Instead, 2 fire engines with their lights full on (thankfully not the sirens) pulled up in front of my house. The leader came up to me, asked to check out our house, walked around like a minute, then came back and said, "ma'am, it's a skunk." I was too embarrassed to even get the newspaper the next morning.

My dear friend Amy - whom I met in nursery school!! - came to visit me in Japan when I was in junior high. We decided to climb Mt. Fuji together. All went well for the ascent. We saw a gorgeous sunrise. We ate PBJ sandwiches at the top. When descending however, we somehow came down the wrong side of the mountain. This was my fault as Amy was following my lead. We didn't notice that NO ONE else was walking down with us until it was too late. Thing is, on the right side of the mountain was the bus we were supposed to take down from the half-way point to the train station. Instead, we had to walk ALL the way down to a tiny bus stop and waited hours for the bus. I cried when I finally got home and saw my mom. Most people know I'm horrible with directions. Only a few know I'm this bad.

When I was small, I had tantrums apparently. I blissfully don't remember this, but my brother wrote on certain board games, "Do Not Let Mie Play" as I had a history of throwing the game pieces out the window if I lost. Hey, I was competing with someone 4 years older than me ; ) I'm sure he has more to say about my tantrums.

Even Dav may not know this one...but if windows in my house are shut, I like to ensure they are locked, or shut snugly if they are lame windows that don't lock well. Especially when it's cold or stormy outside. I think it's less a security thing (although I'm sure there's an element of that) than a coziness and/or properly closed thing. When it's a sunny day, I love opening the windows to air out the room. But when it's time to close windows, I like it done well. And I'll even double check at different times to appease my desire for all to be snug. [I think that's my weirdest habit by far]

On to: MJ, Tracey, Helen, Katia, and Ezra.