Too Much Information

I have been tagged by Mellifluous Dark & Mad Scribblings (sort of).

Here are the "Rules":

1. Let others know who tagged you.
2. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.
3. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.
4. Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been tagged (I'll do like Mad and just put it out there that if you want to do it go ahead, but I don't do the tag thing as I'm a slow runner)


OK, as stated in my blog bio I'm a dull person really, but here is my attempt at 8 random facts. Mind you it does say random, nothing about interestingisness or fascinating. And in thinking it seems kind of timely to do this type of reflection the day after my birthday.


1 - I have never had any typical communicable diseases, aka mumps, measles, chicken pox.

I did once have Roseola which is kind of like the measles but generally only happens in infants. I was in grade 2 or 3 at the time but the infant of my babysitter had them and I picked them up from the kid. You get spots like the measles and a bit of a fever but nothing horrible. I did get to miss some school though. I am still very wary of getting any of the above mentioned illnesses as they say they are much worse as an adult.


2 - I was 12 before I learned how to light a match and 41 before I flicked my first Bic Lighter.

What can I say, I was afraid of fire. That's a healthy fear I think. The way I learned how to light a match was my mother (bless her heart) locked me out on the deck with a pack of matches and wasn't going to let me back into the house until I lit one. I was a Girl Guide at the time and apparently one of the skills you need is to learn how to build a proper camp fire. She was horrified that I had managed to get as far as I did without being the one to physically strike the match.


3 - I have skinny dipped in a fresh water lake in the Okanagan Valley.

Again this was a Girl Guide thing from my youth. Camping in the wilderness without access to showers for a week can be a bit rank so there we were. All standing on the beach wrapped in our towels clutching our bottles of shampoo and bars of soap. 1..... 2..... 3.... and we all dropped the towels and ran screaming (as teenage girls will do) into the lake trying to avert our eyes at each others nakedness. For some reason getting out wasn't a big deal, but the getting in was. Sadly I do seem to recall there was one girl that didn't run with the pack and then was left standing on her own crying as she didn't want to do it. I'm sure in this day that would be a large no-no.


4 - I have never had a boy (that wasn't a relative or an infant) tell me he loves me.

I will accept your sympathy now.


5 - I am listed on IMDB.com for two movies.

In another life I worked as a Foley Assistant for Sharpe Sound Studios in North Vancouver BC. What does the Foley Assistant do you might ask?

Well you get a video tape (at least back in the 90's it was video tape) with the SMPTE time code on it. You need to watch the tape and decide what Foley (or live sound effects) needs to be recorded and then mark down on the track sheet the time code, for it to start and what direction the sound is coming from (i.e. left, centre, or right) and then the time code when it ends and then assign it to a specific track.

It would take me a whole day to do a 42 minute TV show or 2 days to do a movie. You need to watch it multiple times and follow a character through. When you identify the sound you scroll back and forth frame by frame to get the times etc. This track sheet is then given to the Foley Artists and the Recording Engineer as a map/guide for the recording process.

When I started out I sat in on a number of the sessions. I remember one in particular where there was the big 'sex scene'. Watching the Foley artists and what they did and used to get the sounds for various 'activities' on screen was hilarious and extremely entertaining. In prep for that night's session the engineer had Barry White playing in the studio. Another interesting Foley sound is for vomit. Good Times.

Oh, in case you were wondering it was only feature film that I would actually get a screen credit for. Most of what I worked on was for TV, then it would just be the artists and engineer that would get the credit. I worked on the TV shows Poltergeist, The Outer Limits and Beast Wars and a whole whack of made for TV movies.


6 - I have very tiny feet and hands.

In UK sizes I'm about a 2 1/2 for shoes (and narrow) and a 4 1/2 North American sizes. I find it incredibly hard to find adult dress shoes and have yet to find a shop in Glasgow that carries shoes that small. My hands I guess are in proportion to my feet and my overall body (I'm a little person, only 5' 2 3/4" tall).

Most kids get a kick out of the fact that they have bigger feet than me. Most people I meet, my hands fit in the palm of theirs. Still imagine how strange I'd look if I had big feet and hands.


7 - I've just now realized that my BC drivers license expired as of yesterday.

I think that means I'm out of luck to get a UK one now without having to take a drivers test (something I really don't want to have to do). I am slightly miffed at myself about this as I had re-taken my road test before I left Vancouver (at a cost of $55) so that I could get a UK drivers license.

What does this really mean? I'm not sure as I honestly have no desire to drive here, but now it's officially not an option. Well I think it's not an option as I haven't done the proper research for it. Perhaps they will accept the expired license as the test itself was only taken in October of last year.


8 - I have only ever walked out of a movie theatre twice, and neither occasion was my choice.

The first time it was a documentary called "It Came From Hollywood". In retrospect I think this is when I started to realize that not everyone appreciates film. The friends I was with thought it was boring and wanted to leave. I found it very interesting and wanted to stay, but they were cool, I wasn't and peer pressure got the best of me and I followed. I'm happy to say years later I came across the movie on TV and was finally able to watch it from start to finish.

The other time it wasn't a movie but a festival called 'Spike and Mike's Sick & Twisted Festival of Animation' (please do NOT click on that link if you are easily offended). I mean the title gives it away what you are in for, and even before the first animation began the host (can't remember if it was Spike or Mike) got up and gave a warning that if you want to leave now you can and your ticket cost would be fully refunded. So when the animation fun began, I can't believe the group I was with was surprised at what they were seeing. What exactly did they think sick and twisted meant?

Again this was a peer pressure thing as I was with a group of people and when they got up at intermission and walked out I sheepishly followed. I find it funny that now, years later my now flat mate who was also there that night was feeling as I had, and would have been willing to stay for the rest but didn't know I was like minded.

This festival was my introduction to the characters Beavis and Butt-Head, the short Bambi Meets Godzilla and many other now classics. True it is not for the faint of heart and if you are at all easily offended I do NOT recommend checking out the website. But still, people, if you are of the naive sort please fully check out what you are about to go and see beforehand.

The End.