Saturday 9: Melancholy Man - Saturday Fun!!

I was browsing some blog sites today and I found this weekly meme, Saturday 9, which looked interesting so I thought I would join in this week.  I like to do these occasionally as they're fun and they're different from doing the usual book reviews, posts, etc...  It's also a way to share some fun and interesting things about me that doesn't often come out in book reviews.  There are 9 questions to answer; some weeks the questions are focused around themes and others are just random questions. 


1. Are you more melancholy on occasion?
Oh, definitely.  I can brood with the best of them, especially if I don't get enough sleep and particularly during the months of November and February, which I tend to find gloomy.  Lots of walks, and plenty of reading material, especially of the dark nature, help me get through those moments.  If I can find books where the heroes and heroines have it pretty rough, it makes my life look pretty good, you know??

2. What did you think you looked like when you were a teenager?
Let's just say that there are pictures of adolescence I definitely do not want to show anybody.  I was gangly, grew almost six inches in one year, was shy, and had low self-esteem outside of a pool, but in the water I was aggressive and strong. I often get asked by my students if I ever had the chance to go back to my teenage years if I would, and my answer is a definitive "NO".  I enjoyed them, but too many turbulent emotions, and too many changes happening for my emotional mind to handle. I prefer things now.

3. Whose advice are you least likely to listen to?
I don't know.  If I was asked this question twenty years ago, this would have been easy to answer, but now, I tend to listen when given advice.  Whether I follow it or not is another thing, but I always tend to listen.

4. Tell us about a job that you liked when you were younger.
I was a lifeguard / swim instructor and I loved it.  It taught me a lot about myself and about teaching and about young children. 

5. Would you lie to someone if you knew the truth would end your friendship or relationship?
It would depend on the situation.  I know lying isn't great, but I have been in the situation where I didn't so much as have to lie as have to withhold the truth about something, and although it bothered me to the umpteenth degree, the truth wasn't my truth to tell, so I didn't.  It all came out in the end and the person and I are still friends.

6. What do you have little or no patience for?
Where do I begin? Slow drivers who get in my way, people who don't listen and ask the same question multiple times, rude behaviour such as not holding doors open for other people and jumping into line, people who can't throw their trash in the garbage even if they're standing five feet from a garbage can, smokers who throw their butts all over the ground, my daughter when she gets her back up, and the list goes on.  I try not to let it get to me too much, but there are times I find some things really irritating.

7. What is there never enough hours in the day to do?
Sleep, enough said.

8. What is the most productive thing that you accomplished in October?
It's sad when you have to think of this one.  I'm in the midst of preparing new courses for work so I don't always feel very productive, but I guess it would be accomplishing my goal of having a balance in my life between work and home.  I think that's pretty productive as work can get pretty busy.

9. What have you always wanted to learn but haven't yet?
Another one of those where do I begin things - golfing, learning to speak several other languages other than the two I speak, flying an airplane, repelling (down a mountain), and a thousand and one other things that I would love to try.  It's time to revamp that bucket list.