Sure, I'm starting a bit late by the calendar's standard, but then, I'm going to start trying to work on my own timetable and not hold myself accountable to anyone else's standards.
So to start, a bit about me: I'm Michele, a divorced mother of one beautiful, witty little girl named Gabby. I'm 26 and i live in Alabama. I still see myself as a transplant to the area, though I've certainly been here long enough to basically become a local. Family is from all over courtesy of Uncle Sam and his paychecks. I love the military background as it enabled me to grow up in a very unique household. On any occasion, there could be several languages being used all in the same conversation to the same people, just to test and see who was paying attention. We all learned that in order to keep things up and running at the house, how to repair or jury rig most anything on a limited budget.
You could say i have a vast variation in my scope of abilities. I taught myself to read at three, and have been inhaling books ever since. We had a lot of cars at the house with both parents being mechanics (among other things) and so I grew up out in the garage helping tinker and fix what was needed. We also built the very garage we used to store the tools and all the other stuff in there. You learn really quick how to swing a hammer at eight when everyone else is holding the wall in place for you to secure.
I'm not saying it was a bad childhood at all, just a much different one than my friends had. I didn't have much when it comes to toys or things of that nature. We weren't poor, but I'm sure we weren't far from it either. I'm proud of my mom for keeping the house running. It couldn't have been easy with us three kids.
The whole family is much smarter than the national average and so we held ourselfs to a higher standard. Unfortunately, it also meant that we get bored quickly. Boredom with us tends to get destructive unless turned to something constructive. I wonder sometimes if that wasn't why we ended up working on the cars, building things, replumbing the house, and in general making use of our abilities and energy. Had to keep us out of trouble somehow.
In keeping with the tradition of making rather than destroying things, I have learned all sorts of crafts, from sewing at 5 to my on going attempts at tatting lace. I still have several things that I'm interested in taking up that I'm sure will become another feather in my cap at some point. Things like blacksmithing and metallurgy in general, to weaving on a loom are on the list.
I also play roller derby. I'm still fairly new as i started at the beginning of September last year. I love it though. I joke with Matt, my boyfriend, that the derby monster has taken over my life and I've never been happier. And it's true. I'm more able to focus on what needs doing and I know that there are people who care about me and my happiness.
More tomorrow. Maybe I'll tell you more about my midget ( pet name for my Gabby).
