I've been infected!

Eeek! I've officially been infected. Getting infected is apparently a relatively common thing here in Blogland. So here's how it works. You get "infected" with a handful of questions which you must answer. (I know it sounds like a rather rigid code, but the laws of Blogland are fierce. Don't ask questions. Just do as you're told, human). In turn, you infect other bloggers and they have to answer the same set of questions. So I guess it's like when you played "Kiss Tag" in the sixth grade, but without all of the kissing (and - thank goodness - without all of the subsequent fear of catching herpes simplex 1).

I was infected by another marathon running and blogging friend Susan. If you have minute, check her out.

So here are the rules. "Write 5 random facts about yourself, and then list the names of 5 people whom you in turn infect. Also, leave a post to these people letting them know they have been infected." Here are the people I choose: Anne, Dawn, Alicia, Jen, and Jon.

Now on with the challenge. You know how much I love my OCD lists, so I was all over this. Rather than list random facts (since my blogging is completely random already) I thought I might make this more of a confessional. I just can't decide how much to actually share on my blog. Oh well, here goes. Keep in mind that all of these things are HUGE secrets that I've kept. Also keep in mind that I was raised incredibly religiously and sheltered, so in the grand scheme of things, most people do worse things on a Friday night.

1. I still own the first (and only) thing I ever stole from a store. Of all completely lame things, it was a bottle of Nutrogena foot lotion. I was fourteen years old, and I didn't have particularly dry feet, but I stole it to see what it felt like to steal. All my friends had stolen things, and they made it sound so cool. I must admit, stealing foot lotion is pretty darn uneventful. I still have the bottle (and the corresponding guilt), nearly two decades later. My intention has always been to return it to the drugstore where I stole it... but much to my disappointment, Pardekooper's Drugstore has been transformed into a hip and happening coffee house. So now I don't know what to do with the stinking lotion. Karma tells me to go to the coffee shop and just leave it at the scene of the crime. Perhaps...

2. When I was 13, I once pretended I was sick when staying at a friend's house so that I wouldn't have to go to church and I could stay at their house and watch MTV while everyone was gone. We didn't really watch much TV growing up, and since we lived on a farm in the middle of nowhere, we CERTAINLY didn't have cable or MTV. I had heard all about MTV fromsome of my less religious friends, and I desperately wanted to experience it for myself. Well, in a nutshell, it was like this. The day I was introduced to MTV, there just happened to be a "Julie Brown Marathon" playing all day, which is complete crap. The only thing I can imagine which could possibly be more annoying is the MTV "Pauley Shore Marathon". Once again, my rebellion only brought disappointment.

3. When I was 12, my neighbor Connie was supposed to be watching me and... she snuck me into see "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom". Keep in mind, my religion was pretty much against all movies. Apparently, dark movie theaters lead to heavy petting. I don't know. Anyway, the only other movies I had seen up to this point in my life were "Bambi" and "Joni". In case you weren't one of the other 27 people who saw the movie "Joni", it's the story of a young girl who was paralyzed in a swimming accident. Her accident led to much spiritual struggle and questioning of her faith. Eventually, she and God eventually found middle ground when God told her to paint with her teeth, which made her famous. Well, as famous as a mouth-painting, wheelchair-bound girl can be. Anyway, keeping all of this in mind, imagine my complete HORROR in watching Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, when the high priest literally rips a man's beating heart out of his chest with his bare hands. Uhm... I don't think that's a Hallmark scene that Joni will be painting with her teeth anytime soon. Again, my lesson learned was that rebellion only leads to disappointment... and a queasy stomach.

4. I drank before I was 21. I was a freshman in college, and finally on my own. The only problem was since I didn't drink in high school like all of the cool kids, no one ever taught me how to drink or more specifically, how to pace myself drinking. Also, no one ever taught me that Lime Vodka is never - under any cirmcumstances - a good idea. Long story short (and mostly to protect any innocent people involved) I ended up literally crawling across campus on my hands and knees, luckily finding my friends in time for them to keep me under careful adult supervision as I passed out. Yup. Rebellion = disappointment + queasy stomach.

5. And my final confession is that I was supposed to have been making dinner while I've been blogging all night. Granted, for once my rebellion didn't really lead to disappointment, just hunger. Much hunger. On that note, I really have to go fix something for dinner before I gnaw off my own arms. Who knows? Perhaps I could become famous by typing with my teeth...