Day 1: Self-Portrait and 5 Random Facts

So, Chili posted a thing the other day for writing prompts for her blog and, like her, I'm feeling the need for some prompting to get me to take time to write (or, at least, write something that isn't related to my profession).  Thus, I have totally stolen it from her (who, I think, stole it from Kwizgiver, so thank you to her, as well).


Self-Portrait and Five Random Facts

My camera is in my computer bag, which is all the way across the house. Plus, the battery isn't charged and I have coffee to drink. In short, I'm not getting up to take a picture of myself. Instead, you get my doodle:

This doodle is what I use in place of my signature sometimes, and I've always like how it represents the simpler, open and welcoming aspects of me.
In this blog, there are a fair amount of random facts about me, and I'll admit that it's taking me a minute to come up with some that, perhaps, not everyone already knows. Hmmm... Let's try these:

1. I can sew. I don't do it often and I do it much better by hand than by machine but, when the need calls for it, I can tie a decent stitch.
2. Among the several languages in which I count myself as proficient are Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. I can switch between them all but, curiously, some switches are easier than others. For example, if I'm using Italian and switch to Spanish, I can't go back to Italian without taking a break. If I'm in Spanish and go to Portuguese and back to Spanish, I speak it with a Brazilian accent.

3. I have in my lifetime started a martial arts school, a graphic arts business and an interscholastic athletics league. Two of the three are still in existence.
4. I have a strong visual memory and can read maps well (thanks for the latter go to my orienteering instructor in elementary school). Given this, I don't like to travel--especially by car--to someplace unfamiliar without a map, and because I find them distracting I don't own a computer that gives directions (like a Garmin or a TomTom). I can retain the image of a map in my head well enough to navigate with just that.

5. Although I don't do it nearly as often as I would like, I very much enjoy exploring and reading I Ching. I find it a peaceful and reflective way to connect with that which lies just outside of my routine conscious thought. I received a set of yarrow stalks some years ago and they are my preferred tool for this practice, but using them takes rather a lot of time sometimes and so I have other, less lengthy methods for when I can't spend two hours at once. For me, it's not about seeing the future or anything; it's about making more clear the sometimes disparate pieces of my universe so I can make better sense of them and how they relate to one another.
That's day one.