My 100 Things About Me List

1.  I was born on Christmas Day, 1955.  That makes me a Capricorn.
2.  I am the fifth of seven children born to my parents (three boys then four girls).
3.  I was born and raised in San Jose, just like the song says.
4.  As a child I suffered from Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.  I now have rheumatoid arthritis in my hands.  I also have a ganglion cyst in my right wrist that, although it was surgically removed seven years ago, is now back.  It causes great pain when I write/type for more than a few minutes.  But it is worth it.  When it gets really bad, I use voice recognition software.
5.  I had my tonsils out when I was three.  There was no children’s ward at the county hospital so I had to stay with all the grown up women for the three days I was infirmed there.
6.  By the time I was in kindergarten, I had so many kidney infections that I had already had two sets of kidney x-rays...the nasty ones where you have to swallow the thick liquid that they say is going to taste like a milkshake but actually tastes like liquid chalk.  As an adult I continued to have the infections.  Further tests showed that I have “horse shoe” kidneys, which although it has nothing to do with why I get these infections all the time, it is kind of interesting.
7.  In high school, I was on the school newspaper staff for three years and editor in my last year.
8.  I took four years of French in high school.
9.  I worked in the office of my high school for three years, after school and over the summer break.  It was part of a program called NYC... Neighborhood Youth Corps, which at that time gave jobs and work experience  to low-income students
10. When I was a high school senior, I was one of twenty contestants in the local Junior Miss Pageant.  No, I did not win but when you consider that more than 500 girls tried out and I made it to the final 20, I guess I was a sort of winner!  It was a very interesting experience.  I will have to write about that soon.
11.  Only three of my parents’ seven kids graduated from high school.
12.  I was awarded a full academic scholarship (boy, was I surprised!).
13.  My bachelor’s degree is in Spanish Literature.
14.  The degree is from Stanford University (1978).
15.  I took Spanish for Bilingual students for four years in college.  I also continued French and began Italian. 
16.  I was the only one in my family to go to college.
17.  When I was in college, I worked at Knotts Berry Farm on vacations.
18.  I have worked sales at Sears; sales at Knotts Berry Farm; payroll at a small military parts manufacturing company; and I worked in the Benefits Description Unit for Prudential Insurance.
19. I married a man that I met at Stanford when I was doing a work-study job at the Law School where he was a student.  I was married for fourteen years. We separated in 1992; the issues were bifurcated  so that he could marry his secretary and although I was officially no longer married in 1993, our property settlement was not final until 1997.
20.  I had three children from that marriage.  My son is 24 and my daughters are 21 and 16.
21.  I had a series of miscarriages between child number two and child number three (that’s why they are almost six years apart).
22.  My brother, David, committed suicide in 1982.  He was thirty years old.  That was both the happiest year of my life because my son was born in February of that year and the saddest year of my life because of my brother’s death.
23.  My brother, Richard, died in his sleep in 1989.  He was 37.  There was no cause found for his death. It was ruled “sudden cardiac death.”
24.  I was a stay at home mom during my marriage.
25.  I was very active in PTA and was the first single mom to be president of our elementary school’s PTA.  I was also on the PTA board for the Middle School the same year.
26.  I was my son’s Cub Scout Den Leader from kindergarten till fifth grade.
27.  I was my daughter’s Girl Scout Leader from kindergarten till fifth grade.  Four of the years overlapped with my Cub Scout den and my Girl Scout troup.
28.  I was the team mom for my son and daughter’s AYSO teams the same season.
29.  My third child was a high risk pregnancy all the way.  I had to take synthetic hormones for the first three months to keep from miscarrying her.  The hormone I took is the one that causes morning sickness so I was sick 24/7 for three months.  Then I developed gestational diabetes, another high risk factor.  Finally, she was delivered by C-section two weeks before my due date because she was a transverse breech and I had a placenta previa. 
30.  After my divorce, I developed uterine cancer and had a hysterectomy at the age of 37.
31.  I became very active in PTA, at all three levels, elementary, middle, and secondary.  I chaired parent advisory committees for Special Education and Gifted Children.
32.  I became a substitute teacher, working in grades 1 through 12.  I did that for one semester.
33.  After one semester of subbing, I was offered a classroom of my own and entered an “emergency credential” program.  At the age of 40 I went back to school for my credential, working a full day at school, coming home to my kids for two hours then going off to school until ten every night.
34.  My first classroom was a sixth grade one.  I loved it!  That continues to be my favorite grade to teach.  I also taught bilingual 3/4 grade,  regular 3rd grade,  fifth grade, and a multi-grade gifted class.
35.  I became active in the local branch of the Chiano/Latino Stanford Alumni Association and later became Board Chair for one year.  I have also represented Stanford at college days and college fairs.  In 1995 I was invited to speak to Latino Stanford students about community service.  It was a very rewarding presentation followed by lots of questions that I actually had answers for!
36.  I have two California State PTA awards for service to children and the community.   I am particularly proud of those.
37.  As a teacher I excelled in teaching writing and was sent to special training.  I am a Fellow of the National Writing Project and I also completed the same program for bilingual teachers so I guess I am a “double” fellow.
38.  As a Fellow for the Writing Project, I had the opportunity to work with teachers as a Teacher Coach in Writing Strategies.  I absolutely loved doing that.  I also presented staff development trainings for teachers, in the writing field, of course.
39.  I taught English As A Second Language to adults.  I had students that spoke Armenian, Spanish, Russian, Korean, and a few other languages as their primary language.  It was great fun for me and I found it very rewarding, as well.  Although it has been a number of years since I last taught adult ESL, I still hear from some of those students.
40.  In 1999 I was diagnosed as a diabetic, type 2.
41.  Favorite Beatle...Ringo; Favorite Monkee...Mickey Dolenz
42.  In 2002 I was in a car accident.  I was rear-ended on the freeway on my way home from work.  My car was totaled out.  I was severely injured.  I was not ever able to return to work.  I am okay, however I have fairly bad neck, shoulder, back and knee injuries which make it extremely difficult for me to stay in any one position for more than ten minutes without enduring great pain.  The pain medications impair my ability to drive and can impair my “judgement”  so I basically cannot work a job where I would have to drive to/from work or be left in charge of students while on the medications.  The doctors will not sign off on me returning to work.
43.  In California teachers do not pay into the state disability insurance program so I have no income other than the spousal support and support for one child.  I have no medical insurance.  This is not good for a diabetic with the kind of injuries I have.
44.  Two years ago I moved from southern California to northern California, severing the ties and roots established in 1978.
45.  I love to drive long distances.
46.  I have driven with my children from Los Angeles to the Texas Gulf coast (Corpus Christi); from Los Angeles to Albuquerque; Los Angeles to Sedona (this was a favorite trip made about seven times in a two year period); from Los Angeles to San Francisco a gazillion times; and from Los Angeles to Vancouver, British Columbia.
47.  Last March my youngest daughter and I drove from Santa Rosa to Portland to meet one of my daughter’s online friends and so the two girls could go to a Jenny Lewis concert in Portland.  It was fun to go, just the two of us.  She got to meet her online buddy and I got to make a friend in the girl’s mother.
48.  Three years ago I flew to Indiana to be Matron of Honor in a Renewal of Vows ceremony for a friend I only knew online.
49.  If I could run away from home, I would run to Hawaii.
50.  I never learned to  swim so I hope I can take a plane when I run away  to Hawaii!
51.  My favorite color is yellow.
52.  My favorite flower is a yellow rose.
53.  I collect Tarot decks and currently have about 27 different decks.
54.  I can read Tarot cards.  My readings for friends and relatives are always right on but I can never read for myself!
55.  The I-Ching fascinates me, as do Runes.  I burn candles in my bedroom constantly. 
56.  I do not play computer games...unless the games happen to be Tetris or Scrabble.
57.  I collect things with suns on them; posters, cards, pillows, etc.
58.  I love giraffes.  They are tall.  I am not.
59.  I am 5 feet tall.  The mean lady at the DMV will not allow me to claim my extra half inch on my license so it reads 5 feet 0 inches!
60.  When I got married in 1978 I wore a size 3 dress.
61.  I now wear a size 18 dress...but those are fitting lose these days so I am ready to get a smaller size!  Yay!  Weight loss is difficult because of my injuries which do not allow me to exercise for more than ten minutes every third day.
62. I have never told anyone my dress size before.  Now I have told  thousands,  potentially!  I am getting brave in my old age!
63.  I will be 51 years old on Christmas.
64.  I never had a birthday party until I turned 40.  I threw it for myself.  That was the year I was PTA President.  I had over 100 families at my party!
65.  The friend I have known the longest is named Bill.  I have known him since I was 15.
66.  I am still in contact with my high school counselor.  We sometimes meet for breakfast.
67.  I am still in contact with about five of my high school teachers, although they have all retired.
68.  My middle name is Joy, as in “Joy To The World.”
69.  I use my maiden name, not my married name.  I reverted to it when I divorced.
70.  I got my driver’s license on May 17, 1973.
71.  I have never had a moving violation. [at least not a driving one]
72.  My first car was a 1960 Plymouth Valiant.  It was green.  My friends dubbed it the “Jolly Green Midget.”
73.  I never cut a class in high school.
74.  I love to write and write mostly memoir.  I dabble in poetry once in a while.
75.  I love editing.  I am good at it.  This I know.
76.  I love to read.  My eyesight prevents me from reading much these days and I have resorted to audio books.
77.  I am partially deaf in my right ear and I often have to ask people to repeat what they have said to me.  They become annoyed!  The volume on the TV and/or stereo is always way too high but that is the only way I can hear it.
78.  I watch soap operas (only ABC).  Or rather they play on the TV behind me while I am online.
79.  I don’t watch a lot of TV but my favorite shows tend to be the dramas.  Past favorites include: NYPD Blue; L.A. Law; St. Elsewhere; China Beach; Northern Exposure; Thirty Something; Once And Again.
80.  I’m a sucker for a George Clooney movie.
81.  If I could meet Andy Garcia, I would give my first born!
82.  My favorite actress is Julia Roberts.
83.  My favorite all time movie is The Godfather.
84.  My favorite Christmas movie is It’s A Wonderful Life.
85.  When I was PTA president, I gave all of my volunteer moms a little bell on a pin with a note saying “every time a bell rings an angel get their wings; you’ve just earned yours!”  It was a big hit; the kind where everyone went “Ahhhhhhh!”
86.  I love to speak in public.  I was always the one that filled the Mistress of Ceremonies job for PTA award dinners, conferences, etc..   Give me a microphone and I won’t shut up.
87.  The nicest thing my divorce lawyer ever said to me was, “Corina, every time you walk in the room you ooze grace and intelligence.” I was not about to change lawyers after he said that, even if he did charge $250 an hour!  He was probably deaf, dumb, and blind but he was nice; he said the right things; and he was very handsome to boot!
88. My favorite artwork is Van Gogh’s Starry Night.  Second favorite is The Flower Vendor by Diego Rivera.  Third favorite is called Las Comadres by Simón Silva, a contemporary Mexican American painter.
89.  My favorite song is called “Samba Pa Ti” by Santana, but it reminds me of someone that is currently the cause of great pain to me so I will have to pick another favorite and get a new ringtone for my cell phone.
90.  I drive a Jetta.
91.  I prefer Word Perfect over any of the Microsoft word processing products.
92.  I have an HP desktop and a Sony VAIO laptop.
93.  I never went to a prom.
94.  Other than the Junior Miss pageant, I have never worn a formal gown.
95.  I did not have a big wedding.  We ran off to Carson City in Nevada (because it was a weekend and the license place was not open in Tahoe so we had to drive to the capitol city).  It was just the two of us.  No friends or family.  He didn’t want anyone with us.
96.  I have not spoken to my ex-husband since 1993, with the exception of calling him last year to tell him our youngest daughter was in the hospital.
97.  I am a procrastinator. 
98.  I can’t say “no.”
99.  I love to sing but my daughter says I can’t so she tells me, “ don’t!”
100.  I completed my first NaNoWriMo novel on Day 20.  I really needed to do that, for me.