Minneapolis Meme!

Yes folks, I'm still in Minneapolis. And now that my conference is over, I can finally BREATHE! On Tuesday, I took 17 pages of notes; I've yet to type them and make sense of my chicken scratches. But I'm still alive. I'm staying with my sister in her hotel room at the moment and seeing as her WiFi is free, I'm finally catching up with everyone out there in blogland.

And in all that catching up, I see that Shlomit at You're Still Young!! has tagged me. Tagged!? Me?! Heck, I didn't even see it coming. I didn't even get a second to duck! Sheesh.

Anyway, according to the rules of the (stealth) tagging, I am to share eight true things about myself and then turn it over to you. If you want to know more about the info herein, post a comment and just ask. Okay you ready? Here we go...

1. Okay, I confess. My writing doesn't look like chicken scratches. I'm actually very proud of my handwriting and I love the feel of a pen in my hand. I've been stopped by strangers who comment on my handwriting. When I lived in Europe, I adored going to the papeteries (shops that sell notepads, paper, pens, etc.). I'm the sort of person who would gleefully spend $4500 on a Mont Blanc fountain pen if I were flush with money. Of course, if I were that flush with money, I'd run straight to IVF/ICSI wouldn't I?

2. I thrive on stress. Something about pressure and stress of deadlines, responsibilities and the need to fulfill committments or live up to expectations drives me like nothing else. I love to make other people happy and do the best job I can doing everything I do. In keeping with that, I just accepted a temporary assignment as the Acting Manager of my section. Long story. I'll fill you in later. *chews nails* Did I do the right thing??

3. When asked in interviews, "What is your greatest strength?" and "What is your greatest weakness?" my response is the same: I am a perfectionist. Being a perfectionist is a bit of h*ll though; some part of me can never relax and just say that everything is done.

4. I wish I had another degree. I have two, a B.A. in French with an English minor, and a B.A. Honours in Translation. However, I desperately wanted to attend a university over in Europe (apparently the only one in the world) that offers a degree in Translation with a Terminology specialization in one of the three fields of Science, Medecine or Technology. I love all three fields and it would be hard to make a decision. Oh well. I'll never have to. I'll never get it I'm sure, but I can dream.

5. Hi, my name is Gil and I am a gamer. *Chorus* "Hi Gil." In 2001, my hubby introduced me to online gaming. I started playing EverQuest and I migrated to Everquest II in November 2004 when it launched. I love playing in the virtual world and I have met people and made friends all over the world because of my gaming link. I have played the same character now for 6, going on 7 years, and that builds a reputation on the server (a roleplaying server, Antonia Bayle) and in the game. I'm an officer in my guild (Raven Guard) and I hope I do a good job of promoting roleplaying, public relations, organizing events and providing information to people. Back to the perfectionist thing... no point in doing anything half-a$$ed right? By the way, I also keep a roleplaying journal for my character online. I update that about once or twice a week for my friends' reading pleasure.

6. I hate being so far from my family. I wish I could do what I do now, but do it at home nearer to everyone that I love. I would move in a heartbeat if I could find good work. I hate that I can't even take my mom out for lunch now and then. And God, I miss the ocean.

7. My family likes to tell me that I can succeed at anything. H*ll, even my RE said that to me once; that he knows that I can do anything I put my mind to and that failure is not an option. Except for two things... I have never been able to do the one thing that I would love to do. Lose weight. Not successfully. And now, I can add IF to that. That beats on my psyche. It's very difficult to accept and deal with, as so many of us know.

8. I wear a few pieces of jewellry that are very important to me. My engagement ring and wedding ring of course. Then I have a ring with a large emerald (my birthstone) surrounded by little diamonds on my right hand. That was a gift from my parents on my 22nd birthday; on that same day, back in 1992, I graduated with my first degree. My gold hoop earrings were a gift from my paternal grandmother. My diamond earrings (two holes in each ear) were a Christmas gift from my husband. And around my neck, a long gold box-chain (from my mom). On that chain, I used to wear a pendant that belonged to my maternal grandmother. When she passed away in 1988, each of the women in the family got a piece of her jewellry. That was mine and until earlier this year, I wouldn't ever be parted with it. Though for fear of losing it, I just recently received a new pendant from my husband and I tucked my grandmother's pendant away for safekeeping.

There you have it. My meme for today. Now, over to you. If you have questions, post them in the comments and I'll do my best to answer you.

AND I'm to tag five others. So, over to the following people:

Pam @ Baby Wanted: Apply Within
Marie @ Can PCOS and CBAVD make 3?
Eric @ Life as a Dad to Donor Insemination (DI) Kids
Vee @ The Sweet Life
Samantha @ Jason and Samantha's Journey to Parenthood


For those of you looking for an update on the IF front, I've NEVER had to pee this much in my life! This is nuts. Either I have a UTI or this month worked. Lord, I hope it's the latter. Love to you all in blogland!