the truth the whole truth

I've been tagged by the sweet and wonderful Kyria (who also just happens to be my niece) to share 10 things about myself that my readers may not know. So, without further ado, let's get to it.

1. Growing up, I moved a lot. I went to 7 schools between kindergarten and 12th grade. I've lived in 18 different places, all -- with the exception of California -- on the east coast of the US. Moving so much gave me a better world-view, but has meant that I haven't kept any life-long friends or found out how things turned out for people I cared about.
   
2. As a child I had a very active fantasy life with many imaginary friends, even though I had a perfectly healthy number of real-life friends. Sometimes, I got the two worlds confused.
   
3. My sisters and I played with dolls well past the age when it was socially acceptable to do so. As we got older, we borrowed my brother's GI Joe and introduced him to Barbie. And then there was some serious doll-partying going on.
   
4. I am very well read, but am not well traveled. Outside of the places listed above, I've spent a night in St. Louis (long story) and traveled to Canada. And that's about it. I long for, yearn, for, lust for a year of traveling around the world.
   
5. I have several series of recurring dreams that I've had off and on for most of my life. One series I call the "going back" series -- back to college to finish a semester; back to New York to find my old friends; back to an old job. I also have a series of water dreams that are better than any movie I've ever seen.
6. I have a little bit of an addiction to certain reality TV shows. Anything to do with fashion (Project Runway, America's Next Top Model), cooking (Top Chef), or addiction (Intervention, Celebrity Rehab) is right up my alley. If it makes it any better, my second TV addiction is Masterpiece Theatre, so that elevates the taste level, doesn't it?
7. I've been in the library field since I was 20 years old, and a professional librarian since I was 25 (heavens -- that was half my life ago, now!) Before that I was a waitress, a barmaid, a chambermaid, a housecleaner, and a home health aid. My favorite client was a man in his 50s who had had a stroke and lived alone. He never opened the Christmas and birthday presents his family sent him because he didn't like to open them by himself. So every time I went there to clean or shop for him, we would sit down and have a cup of tea and a cigarette together (I'm a reformed smoker), and he'd open a present. It turns out that most of them -- probably 18 out of 20 presents -- were blue button-down oxford cloth shirts. Sigh.
   
8. Even though I've been an off-and-on vegetarian, I like beef jerky. A lot.
   
9. I've over-indulged in most vices and also quit most of them.
10. I've been fired twice and been on probation once. Don't worry -- it was a long time ago, I learned my lesson, and my crime has been stricken from my record.

OK, so now you know more. I would love to hear your 10 things. Leave them in a comment if you're up for it, or post them on your own blogs if you have them. I need to pass along the challenge to some specific people, so I'll tag:

Sara (read her response here)
Lori (read her response in the comments, below)
Lindy (read part 1 of her response here and part 2 here)
Erin (read her response here)
Also read Dan's 10 things in the comments below.

Thanks everyone for playing along! Much love!