Thoughts on the Run

Beth and Teal over at Life is a Run tagged me in a blog post to share 7 things about me. Theirs was quite interesting so will see if I can get to their level!

Here we go …

1. I sang for the Pope

Okay, it wasn’t just me, as there was about 140 of us standing on the Vatican steps with Pope John Paul II and we sang in 4 different languages. I traveled in the company Up with People and we did 130+ shows in 9 countries covering 80 cities in 1 year. I played trumpet and did almost every stage setup/take down. Was also able to do a stage lighting internship for a couple months that has caused me to not look at any show I’ve seen since the same. Exhausting but life changing year!

2. I have 4 kids

Yes, all done on purpose and 20-23 months apart. While they test my patience all most of the time, I wouldn’t change a thing! All 4 have Scottish names (see #6) and have different personalities. Each day they teach me something new about the world or about myself. I hope that their determination and perseverance serves them well in the world as it is strong in them!

3. I worked 2 full time jobs for a year – During the day I was the manager of a Blockbuster Video (go ahead and quiz me on any movie pre-2000!) and I was a Project Manager on the graveyard shift at Kinko’s. We’re talking minimum of 80 hours each week. There were days you would find me sleeping in the back room of the video store, but I love movies. Towards the end of this year, I added in going back to college for a bigger challenge. My first degree is in Graphic Design & Multimedia. This gave me the opportunity to spend some time working on post-production for short movies and trailers. I still really enjoy putting together music videos! Then I went on to get a degree in eBusiness followed by my MBA.

4. I like country music – This one goes back to spending the first half of my life in western Maine. Grew up listening to my grandfather and 6 friends with their guitars playing bluegrass on Saturday nights in the garage. Lots of drinking, singing, dancing, and laughing. Country music for me these days include Lady Antebellum, Luke Bryan, Taylor Swift (starting pointing & laughing anytime), and Dierks Bentley. At the same time, my playlist has Metallica, a rock band with a bagpiper called Off Kilter, Jimmy Buffet (lots!), and Tao Cruz. When it comes to running, most people like the fast dance music. I seem to lean more towards the country and Off Kilter side. Tells more of a story which is good for distracting.

5. I have a weakness for donuts

My first real (not a paper route) job when I was 16 was working at Dunkin’ Donuts in my hometown of Rumford, Maine. It is very difficult for me to eat just one. No amount of running can help eating a dozen donuts, so these days I try to stay with the ones that don’t have frosting on top. Use it more of a treat and chance to relax. Then again, that second one doesn’t happen very often.

6. I wear a kilt

My great-great grandfather came to the United States from Scotland via Canada. For many years my family has gone to the Scottish Festival in Estes Park, Colorado. It didn’t take long for me to get fitted for a kilt with the Ross tartan, have it sewn in Edinburgh, and shipped to me. It’s made from sheep’s wool and quite heavy. At some point I want to have one made from a lighter material that I can use to run a marathon in. I would wear it to the office if I could, but I haven’t checked with the HR Department on that policy.

7. I wrote & sang a heavy metal song in Sweden – This is a little trickier to explain. While on tour, our band went and spent the day at youth center to jam. We didn’t speak Swedish and they spoke very little English. It was pretty cool though as we probably played music for about 3 hours. Drum set, trumpet, guitars, and saxophone. During that time I put down some lyrics, they laid down some beats, and I started to sing. At the end of the day, we had a little talent show for about 100 hundred people. I took the stage and without a word, we started to play. Fortunately (trust me), there was only 1 person recording the sound from the event. Somewhere in Quebec is a recording of me doing my best growl voice singing attempt in the world.

So there are 7 things about me that you probably did not know 🙂

I now extend the opportunity to my fellow bloggers to join in the fun:
Luciana at Mind Fire Runner
Emily at Unicorns on Rollerskates
Jim at Run Bike Surf
Trent at Trent Gillaspie
Heather at Twenty Six Point Two, Etc
Gene at Run for It!!