Five Things You Don't Know About Me

My friend Rosemary Stevens has tagged me (in this game of blog tag) to tell you five things you don't know about me. After careful consideration I have come up with the following:

1-I Used To Be a Rock n Roll Groupie. Sort of.

Yes, it's true, I have spent my fair share of time partying with major rock stars. I categorize myself as a half-groupie since I never slept with anyone (which I half-heartedly regret. At the time I thought I was filled with integrity, now I realize I could have had an amazing "I slept with Axl Rose" story.) At 18 I worked in a bunch of rock bars in NYC, including the infamous Scrap Bar, the stomping ground for the major rock bands of the day, giving me All Access to some of the heavy hitters of the rock and metal bonanza of the early 90s. I have played pool with Metallica, eaten breakfast with Alice In Chains, jumped in a hot tub at a Guns n Roses party, done shots with Chris Robinson and Joey Ramone, slow danced with the crazy guitarist from Faith No More, sat on Lemmy's lap in a crowded car driving down the LES, was in a Monster Magnet video, rode in Siouxsie's limo, and have had more backstage passes and been to more backstage parties then I can count. If you are curious you can ask me more about these escapades in person. My life was once exciting. (sigh)

2-I Don't Know How to Ride a Bike or Drive a Car.

One of the consequences of an Urban NYC Upbringing. My parents never bought me a bike and there is no driver's ed in schools here. (My parents only owned a car up until I was about 12.) And to follow your inevitable next question, yes, I do know how to swim. (Weirdly, the NYC public education system placed a particular emphasis on water skills when I was growing up.) Thus far I have only driven one time in a parking lot in Queens.

3-I was a Dancer.

I danced from the age of six or seven and performed regularly as a kid. I took class six days a week. I quit at age thirteen, just in time for my metabolism to change so I could blossom into my awkward chubby adolescence.

4-English is my third language.

I was born in London and moved to Dusseldorf, Germany at the age of 1. My parents, who are American, were curious to know whether my first words would be English or German since I was regularly exposed to both. (Question answered when I touched the stove and yelled "hice" -- "hot" in German. A common first word for stupid children everywhere.) We regularly went to France on vacation and I started speaking French as well. I didn't start speaking English until we moved to NYC when I was five years old. I then promptly forgot all of my previously spoken languages.

5-I once lived with a nudist.

At 18 I lived for a brief period in San Francisco and ended up living on Haight Street with a closeted goth dude whose name esapes me, and a 40 year old nudist speed freak named Randall. I would come home to find him naked on his hands and knees in the bathroom scrubbing the floor with a toothbrush. (The plus side to speed is that your house stays VERY clean). Randall also had a penchant for inviting the homeless street kids from Haight Street into our apartment and going downstairs to borrow cups of sugar from the neighbors. While high. And naked. We got evicted-- I kept the letter from our landlord describing why we were getting evicted for years. The list of complaints against us (meaning Randall) was nothing short of hilarious.

I have decided to tag Tony Carnevale and Jackie Clarke as well as my west coast counterparts:

Eric Appel, Julie Brister, Sean Conroy, and Chad Carter.