10 square

My 100th post! Assuming I did the math right (posts minus drafts that will never see publish). So here are 100 things about me, divided into 10 categories:*

I. 10 adjectives I'd use to describe myself (in alphabetical order):

1. contemplative
2. creative
3. intelligent
4. female
5. introverted
6. kind
7. lesbian
8. maternal
9. shy
10. tall

II. 10 ways in which I do not match the lesbian stereotype

1. I wear skirts and dresses (and can pull it off; I have lesbian friends and acquaintances who occasionally wear them, but it just doesn't work)
2. I took ballet lessons and seriously considered pursuing a performance career through high school.
3. I frequently let my hair grow long.
4. I am very curvy, not at all androgynous.
5. I own two purses (but see #3 below).
6. I am a dog person.
7. Most of my friends are not lesbians.
8. I sew, by hand and with a machine.
9. I wear girly underwear
10. I now drive a family car.
    

III. 10 ways in which I do match the lesbian stereotype

1. I almost always wear comfortable shoes, including wool socks with Birkenstocks or Crocs.
2. My wallet is brown leather and comes from the men's side.
3. I almost always carry my wallet and keys in my pockets (except when wearing a dress without pockets), rather than carrying a purse.
4. After letting my hair grow out for a while, I often cut it very short.
5. My favorite cold day outfit: T-shirt covered by flannel shirt, jeans, wool socks, hiking boots.
6. My first vehicle was a pick-up truck.
7. I'm pretty good at fixing things (though I'm allowed no major power tools--beyond the drill, sander, and small saw I already have--due to noise, mess, and the possibility of cutting off a finger).
8. I don't wear makeup.
9. I keep my fingernails fairly short.
10. I've had a cat most of my life.
    

IV. 10 jobs I think (or know) I would enjoy

1. Writer
2. Professor
3. Subject teacher (i.e., teaching my area of specialty in 7th-12th grade)
   
4. 4th-6th grade teacher
5. Artist-mosaics
6. Artist-bookmaker
7. General craftsperson
   
8. Mathematician
9. Research scientist
10. Xerox repairperson
    

V. 10 teachers (anonymized, of course) who have influenced my own teaching, working backwards

1. My Master's thesis adviser. Not so much for the thesis work (though that was enjoyable), but because he made it OK for me to leave my previous PhD program, not because I couldn't hack it academically, but because I didn't want to be there.
   
2. The professor who, with a well-timed compliment, gave me a boost of confidence and made me realize just how much I had improved in my subject area after having hit a plateau for some time.
   
3. My undergraduate mentor. She had high standards for coursework, but was one of the most sympathetic and caring people I met at university.
   
4. The teacher I had in high school for my primary field. She was all business in the classroom, but remained interested and involved in my studies long after I left. I have even emailed her on occasion when seeking teaching advice.
   
5. One of my high school social science teachers. I was never better informed about world events and geography than when I was in her class.
   
6. A high school English teacher who I had not wanted to take. He was a coach and popular among the weaker students. But my schedule wouldn't work any other way, and it was a course required of everyone in my grade, with no available honors versions. Once I got over my initial unhappiness about being in the class and accepted that it would not be as rigorous as I wanted, I began to use classtime to really observe what was going on. And I quickly came to appreciate what an amazing job he did of drawing out students who considered themselves dumb, helping them to find levels of literature they never had before.
   
7. A junior high teacher who was funny and quirky and so very smart. She got my attention and held it from the beginning. I still write to her too.
   
8. A junior high math teacher who used humor to help put me at ease. I was advanced in math from an early age, so I was taking a class two years ahead of most of my peers. When I started junior high in the same class as people in their last year at the school, I was a bit overwhelmed. He did a good job of balancing drawing me out and not making me feel too vulnerable.
   
9. The sixth grade science teacher who was just awful (I learned from negative examples too). Students quickly learned that if they didn't do their assignment, she'd devote all of our classtime to finishing it. I and another student were the sort never to put off homework, even if it was likely we'd have classtime to finish it--I always thought, "What if this is the one time she holds the line about handing it in at the beginning?" She also tended to reward the worst behaved students (pizza in return for serving their detention).
10. The teacher of gifted education who couldn't handle me. I had a whole slew of decidedly unintelligent 'gifted' teachers. This one made the mistake of starting a unit by saying it was on everyone's individual educational plan. It was not on mine and not a unit I cared to do, so I boycotted her lesson. She fought back, but I won the argument and was allowed to do an independent unit. The lesson I learned from this: don't try to pull one over on students, especially gifted students, but it's not fair to any of them.
    

VI. 10 authors who have influenced me (in writing, thinking, wishing I could run away to their worlds--and yes, many are sci-fi)

1. Robin McKinley
2. Kurt Vonnegut
   
3. Douglas Adams
   
4. Ursula LeGuin
5. Sheri S. Tepper
6. J.K. Rowling
7. Alison Bechdel
   
8. Maurice Sendak
9. Dr. Seuss
10. Shel Silverstein
    

VII. 10 movies I own on DVD so that I can watch them when I just want a good laugh

1. A Fish Called Wanda
2. Fierce Creatures (done by the same basic cast as #1 and generally under-rated)
3. When Harry Met Sally
4. French Kiss
5. Cold Comfort Farm
6. Princess Bride
7. Dogma
8. Office Space
9. The Full Monty
10. My Best Friend's Wedding
    

VIII. 10 TV series I own all or part of on DVD

1. Battlestar Galactica (all that's out there so far, including the miniseries)
   
2. Firefly (the few episodes there are)
   
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (all but the 7th season, can't tell you why we still don't have that)
4. Wonderfalls (another show that was gone too fast)
5. Monty Python's Flying Circus (about half of the series)
6. The L-Word (first season only, don't particularly want the second or third)
7. SportsNight (fastest half hour I've ever watched)
8. Coupling (first season, others are on our wishlist)
9. Powerpuff Girls (a few episodes)
10. Black Adder (the "Complete Collector's Set)
    

IX. 10 things I miss from the US

1. Target
2. Morningstar Farms vegetarian food
3. Sci-Fi channel
   
4. Lane Bryant bras
5. The Lebanese place within walking distance of our old house
6. Our favorite coffee shop--they roasted their own coffee on site
   
7. Whold Foods' organic macaroni and cheese
8. Earth's Best organic cereal bars
9. Being able to easily figure out how many miles per gallon my car is getting (our odometer is in miles, so I can't easily switch to kilometers per liter)
10. Spelling words with an -er instead of an -re.
    

X. 10 types of animals I have had as pets

1. dogs
2. cats
3. guinea pigs
4. hamsters
5. rats
6. tropical fish
7. saltwater fish
8. newts
9. tarantulas
10. snakes
    

*This is not exactly a novel idea. Thanks to Bub and Pie for her 100th post and its inspiration.