15 July 2015

I’m not an active non-medical blogger. However, when Jackie Fox tagged me in a tweet on Sunday, I gave in to peer pressure, and put together a few “fun facts” that you might not know about me.

Here you go – 15 Random Things About Me:

1. I was born in the Bronx, NY.

2. Deep down I am very shy. My mother used to tell me not to be a “scared rabbit” when I was around other people.

3. I have been the shortest one in my class since kindergarten. I didn’t go to pre-school otherwise I would have been the shortest one there, too. I used to be called Tiny Mighty Mo in elementary school. That stupid song still gets stuck in my head sometimes.

4. I still ask my sister, the English major, for grammar advice. I’d be lost without spellcheck.

5. I used to wonder about people who lived in California, given all the earthquakes. I moved to LA in 1999, and I wouldn’t live on the east coast again – I’m not a fan of winter. But I do get annoyed when it’s still 90 degrees in November.

6. I love NBA Basketball. Anyone who has seen me (all 4’11” of me) knows I could never play. I was a serious Michael Jordan fan. I saw his IMAX movie. 3 times. I still have the Sports Illustrated from his final championship. And a commemorative book. I’ve watched all of the Dream Team documentaries. I wish the Fun Police were still around.

7. Since 1999 I’ve been an LA Clippers fan. I usually pull for the underdog, which they were at that time. I had season tickets for a few years. It’s rare that I miss an episode of the NBA on TNT. I only like watching the games on TNT. The commentators on the other stations irritate me.

8. With the exception of the NBA I don’t watch TV. Except the occasional episode of House Hunters.

9. I love living on the west coast because I can stay up for the late basketball games, and still get to bed at a decent time.

10. Ideally I’m in bed by 9pm, 10 at the very latest. I eat about 5 times per day, at very regular intervals. Lack of sleep or food makes me incredibly cranky – ask my staff.

11. I have a serious chocolate problem.

12. My biggest influence and mentor during my surgical career has been my father.

13. I used to hate gardening. My mother grew all sorts of things. She would drag us to nurseries on the weekends and we’d be there for what seemed like hours. So how do I currently spend my weekends? I tend to my garden, read gardening books and seed catalogs, and go to nurseries.

14. While I enjoy traveling to new places, there’s no where I’d rather be than my vegetable garden. It feeds me in so many ways. Thanks to the milkweed, I have plenty of monarch butterflies.

15. My cat has no name, but after 14 years, she actually responds (when she feels like it) to “Sweetie” or “Good Girl”. She’s a scaredy-cat that I got from a shelter when she was barely 3 months old. She’s gotten much bolder in her old age. Here she is eating my breakfast when I got up to make some tea. As she gets older I let her indulge. Life is too short.

There you have it. 15 random things about me.