Joel Sax of the blog Pax Nortona, Twitter handles @EmperorNorton and @Bipolar_Blogs and all over the Internet since 1988, challenged me to list 50 things about me. I’m going to boast a lot in this interminable list. Forgive me. I also cheated by listing each city I’ve lived in. I could have listed each job I’ve held rather than each career and far exceeded 50 items. Here goes:
- I was born in San Francisco.
- I lived in Saudi Arabia for five years as a child.
- When I was seven, we moved to Cambridge, MA.
- Later, we moved to Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.
- Later, we moved to Valley Forge, PA.
- Then we briefly lived in West Los Angeles.
- Then we moved to Hermosa Beach, CA. I’ve lived with my parents in Hermosa Beach at various transitional times as an adult, too.
- I went to four elementary schools (in Saudi Arabia, MA, & CA).
- I went to one middle school in CA and one junior high in PA.
- I went to three high schools. That’s nine schools total before I graduated from high school.
- As an adult, I’ve lived in Westwood, CA…
- Berkeley, CA
- Oakland, CA
- Manhattan Beach, CA
- San Francisco, CA
- Benicia, CA
- Kentfield, CA
- Petaluma, CA
- Laguna Niguel, CA
- Eugene, OR
- Helendale, CA
- Mission Viejo, CA
- I have bipolar disorder.
- I’m a mother to a teen boy.
- I’ve been married since 1997, so I am capable of a stable relationship if not geographic stability. We move together.
- My husband and I met in 1994 as I was recovering from a psychotic break.
- Although I had moved back in with my parents at the time, the man who became my husband described me as the most independent woman he had ever met.
- I’m a proud geek.
- I love math and database design.
- I first designed a website in 1994.
- I was a drama geek.
- I love public speaking.
- I’m a performer, or more aptly a diva, at heart.
- I gave the eulogies at both of my maternal grandparents’ memorials.
- Here I totally boast: I got 100% on my math placement exam as an incoming freshman at UCLA.
- I started off college as an honors biochemistry major at UCLA.
- I regret not continuing my study of mathematics beyond a year of honors calculus at UCLA.
- I was suicidal when I attended UCLA.
- I attended a community college after quitting UCLA.
- I ended up graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies from UC Berkeley.
- I have a Master of Arts in Psychology from New College of California.
- I am a California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.
- I attended Fuller Theological Seminary, but did not complete my degree.
- My career history is just as flaky as my education and roving lifestyle. First I was a legal assistant.
- Then I worked as a nonprofit administrator.
- Then as a psychotherapist.
- Then in commercial real estate.
- Until I was hospitalized at the age of forty-one.
- I have been on disability since that hospitalization.
- I’ll be fifty-two in August.
[…] of this post for outing her husband about that. This meme thing has appeared made the rounds with Kitt, Sass, Tessa, and of course E. I wanted to do this since Kitt posted hers, but coming up with 10 […]
My pleasure.
You’re very interesting. I’m going to enjoy reading your blog. Thanks for noticing little me. ~DM
Thank you so much that’s very nice of you I am happy that you like my Jewelry 🙂
Your jewelry is gorgeous. I’ve liked and followed your social media presences. To what extent I’m able to actively follow and comment depends on my time. I’m pretty swamped and overextended.
I receive two local Yahoo parent digests (Santa Cruz Mommies and the Boulder Creek Family Network) comprised of hundreds of parents….and I’ve spotted several times how parents are literally counting down the days until school starts! :000000 I could never homeschool full-time either. Takes too much time and discipline if you want to do it right & you already know what my hands are full with – and hopefully it’s not “merde”! 😉 XOXO
Thank you so much for stopping by my Blog and to decide to follow I will follow back! I hope that you enjoy my Art 🙂
I know what summers are like for stay at home moms with kids underfoot (even though my kid is in his bedroom playing his Xbox). Fall can’t come soon enough. I could never homeschool my kid full-time. Though I did fill in the gaps when he was younger and often home sick.
Please copy. I’d be thrilled to learn 50 things about you.
[…] Gentle Kindness Kitt O’Malley […]
Thanks!! Hope you’re doing well – I’ve hired my dog Lucy to ghost write the book! 😉 Just kidding!
I’m going through a tough spell due to the demands of taking care of children full-time. I’m not the kind of person who gets up early or stays up late to write, but once school starts, I’m going to write my butt off! take care & thanks for saying hi!
Would you mind if I did this on my blog? I hate to be a copycat, but I really liked it.
I can be intimidating in person, as well.
Thanks!
Small world. I went to high school living on the Strand in North Hermosa Beach near the Manhattan Beach border, and lived in Manhattan Beach briefly after I graduated from Berkeley. Lots of champion volleyball playing happening in the South Bay. Great flat sandy beaches for it. Saudi Arabia has plenty of sand, as well, but the weather is horrible. So hot. Sand storms really suck.
Well, at least your writing packs a punch. 😉
I’ve always been open, perhaps too open. Just my personality. Takes no bravery when God made you that way.
There are positives and negatives. I’m adaptable to new situations. On the other hand, I always have one foot in and one foot out of social situations. I can bond, but I remain an outsider, an observer. I’ve developed an aversion to joining groups, and prefer privacy and to be an individual without strong group ties.
Aside from my friends from high school (for the first time in my life I found a group of “outcasts”, my tribe, they accepted and loved me unconditionally and I owe a great deal to them, one of them I owe my life to) and a couple of best friends since then, I tend to just walk away when I move. I do not look back and try to maintain friendships.
I often forget peoples names. In fact at UCLA, I was elected Vice Chair of the Social Committee of College Honors because two girls on the committee remembered me from middle school. I had NO idea who they were. I just pretended I remembered them so as not to insult them. They were REALLY nice and effusive and welcoming. I felt horrible that I could not recall them. But, too much for me to process and recall. Too many changes. Too many people.
My husband, who moved a lot, too, remembers every name, every friend, every neighbor, every school teacher. He revisits old haunts whenever we are in his old towns. Drives me nuts. I couldn’t give a sh*t. It’s just annoying.
Thanks!
That’s one of the things I like best about returning home — sleeping in our own bed. Only the very finest hotels have great beds, and only perhaps twice in my life have I had that luxury.
Honestly, I see it as somewhat symptomatic – restless, dissatisfied. We plan to stay put until our son graduates from high school and then move perhaps one last time. Who knows?
Unfortunately, my husband and I put our son through many moves. He went to five elementary schools. Since we moved back from the desert (Helendale is in the Mojave Desert), we’ve made a commitment to staying put until our son graduates from high school. Then we will probably move again… we just roll that way. Plus we yearn for even more quiet, privacy, and a view.
Thank you, Gabe!
Apparently. Well, only that I’ve moved a lot. Otherwise, I live the mundane life of a rather dull housewife. For now…
I’ve been a bit hypomanic as of late. Okay if I read in bed (dark screen, grey text), not if I go on social media. Too stimulating.
Apparently. We chose our mates well.
Such cool facts, so many questions. And I didn’t see any boasting in there…
Dyane, how’s the book?
Keeping you busy? Good to see you again!
Female Jack Reacher. Hahah
Hi Kitt. I’m really intrigued by the time you spent in Saudi Arabia and the South Bay (Manhattan Beach.) I lived there and Hermosa two summers when I played beach volleyball. I’ve had a lot of careers that I loved too and eventually I had to apply for disability when I feel into a suicidal depression in 2007. They backdated me to 2003 and I paid my credit cards off. Even though I had been working during that time. They take bipolar disorder very seriously. It’s amazing how many people don’t! Allison
Thank you for sharing that with us, that took some courage to reveal so much about yourself.
Wow! A full and interesting life. Thank you for sharing.
Apologies if this is too nosey a question, but how do you think moving so much as a child has affected you? You mentioned what your husband said about you being independent.
You’re a fascinating woman, Kitt. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Hi my sweet one!
You caught me! I couldn’t sleep last night – I went to bed around 1:30 or most likely 2AM. Yuck!!!! Everyone else was snoring away, especially champion snorers Craig & Miss Lucy, while I sat in bed like a guilty schoolgirl reading my Kindle. (At least I use that blue light app for night reading, but still…) Also, it probably wasn’t the best idea to inhale an entire pint of chocolate gelato for dinner, was it? Hmmm.
I spotted that you posted at midnight, so I knew we were up “together”! 🙂 I finally got off my WordPress reader, which does stimulate my weary brain far too much, especially when I return after a trip and see scads of posts I want to read… and I read a book – that always helps me wind down. Glad to be back home – and while we did have a great time, there’s nothing like sleeping (or trying to sleep) in one’s own bed. As lovely as the Munchkin cabin is, its tiny, crappy bed sucks! XOOOOOX!!!!!
Wow, Kitt! You’ve done so much and moved so much. Hats off to you for I know how stressful change, especially moving, is. My husband lived in the Middle East for much of his youth. But you should be proud of yourself!
Wow, Kitt. If you believe that moving is on the top 3 stressors list, just behind death of spouse and divorce, then you have every right to be one stressed out lady. Kudos to you for those survival skills. Your 50 list is extraordinary !
Kit, you are a mesmerizing human being. I’m so happy for all your accomplishments! You serve as an inspiration to me. Stay strong.
Warm regards,
Gabe Marquez
Great list!
Are you the female Jack Reacher? 😉
What are you doing up?
You are yet another disproof of the claim that 95% of bipolar marriages end in divorce. i am sure that Psychology Today just made that statistic up.
Welcome back. Hope you had a great time. What the heck are you doing online this late at night? I know I shouldn’t be over-stimulating my brain now.
Thanks!
Thank you so much. The Arab culture is actually very generous. The are wonderful hosts.
Pretty dang impressive, my dear!!! But then again, I’ve always known you to be absolutely extraordinary. Am catching up with blogs over the next couple days and I look forward to getting up to speed with yours!! Xo
That was a fascinating read. Now you’ve given me some inspiration for my own blog! Thank you!
Kitt – you were in such great and wonderful area – the school standards and system are much stronger in Middle East – You have gained many values and being polite – that is why you are unique and elegant.. Bravo
I was seven when we moved back to the US, so I forgot what little Arabic I knew. I lived in ARAMCO company compounds and attended the American School in Dhahran. We learned Arabic, but English was the primary language spoken in school and in the company compounds. I mostly learned how to be polite when visiting my Arab friends.
Kitt – They say travelling around the world is like a second university – You travelled around the world – do you speak any Arabic by chance? You should consider to write a book.