Laelaps is the blog of freelance science writer 
The infamous "random things" meme is again making the rounds and I've been doubly tagged, first by Greg Laden and then by Mike Haubrich, so just as I've done in the past (see here and here) I'll pull double duty an try to come up with some original answers. I'll continue Greg's line first since he was the first to tag me, so here's my ancestry through that line;
I don't think that I am up to the in-depth analysis Greg has given to his ancestry, so here I present for your perusal 7 "random" things about myself that you probably don't already know (if I told you things you already knew, what would be the point?). I put "random" in quotes as my thoughts are usually connected to each other in some way, however flimsy or fleeting, and so whatever I post first will likely influence what comes after. Likewise, most of what is going here is stemming from recent events in my life and so has a pattern even if you are not directly privy to it. Enough rambling and qualification, here are the 7;
1: After about a year of neglect I plugged in my amp and hooked up my Telecaster the other night. The first song I played was Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Tuesday's Gone."
2: Next semester I'm taking a course in Human Osteology. It's the only one (so far) that I'm in any way excited about.
3: My wintertime "outfit" is a bit unusual, and usually I'm told how much people like it or how it's bizarre and I should dress like a normal person. I'll let you be the judge;
4: I have a fear of falling and hate flying. I've tried to take some pills to put me out during the last time I was on a plane but they did the exact opposite and kept me awake.
5: Believe it or not, I barely read any books at all during high school, even the ones I was supposed to read for class. In hindsight I should have probably at least made an attempt to take in Hamlet and Crime and Punishment, but I aced the AP English tests so my bad behavior was reinforced.
6: Every now and then I give cooking an attempt and there is one dish I can do really well; lime chicken and shrimp. It's fairly easy and just barely can be called cooking (rather than food assembly), and if anyone would like my recipe for it I will be glad to post it.
7: I may be going to Africa for 6 weeks this summer. Whether I will or not is contingent on other factors and so I cannot say much about it at the moment, but I could very well be spending the first half of my summer in Kenya.
The rules I was bound by, passed down from generation to generation (although stemming further back in time to mysterious antiquity), are as follows;
1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and or weird things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
These tools will come in handy for the 7 people that I tag in turn (although they are not bound to honor the nomination);
Comments
I'll bite, if you provide the recipe. rb
Posted by: arby | December 10, 2007 1:10 PM
Hey that's a good picture of you with your grandfather! hee hee hee...
Posted by: Melanie | December 10, 2007 3:40 PM
I don't know how I missed Greg tagging you,too. Anyway thanks for your stunning insight into the "real" Brian Switek.
Truman Capote called....he wants his winter clothes back.
Posted by: Mike Haubrich, FCD | December 10, 2007 7:11 PM
I like the winter outfit...is there a cane to go with it? You should carry a cane and twirl it :) Bah! No normal-person dressing...that's boring.
Posted by: Amanda | December 11, 2007 8:52 AM
Gosh, *only* 7 weird things about me? :D
Posted by: bug_girl | December 11, 2007 5:04 PM