Six random weird things

Real photo of real lightning taken by me in Rotterdam, NL

1. I have been struck by lightning.

Yes, really. I was about 22 years old, sitting in my apartment watching an electrical storm as I've always loved doing. I sat on the window sill with my hip against the metal casement window and my foot on the radiator. Perfectly grounded. The next thing I knew, it felt like someone had thrown a rock through the window and I literally flew across the room. I was shaking and crying but had no obvious injury other than a big burn on my thigh. I know now that I should have been checked out for neurological damage, but at the time I was more like "WTF?" and instead of 911, I just called people to tell them about the cool thing that had just happened.

2. I cannot stand beans of any kind.

Can't even be in the same room as a bean. Can't listen to people talking about beans. (Can barely write this post about them without gagging, let alone searching for and posting that photo.) My father tortured me with them as a child...the classic "eat them cold for breakfast the next morning" scenario. Baked beans, kidney beans, and worst of all...lima beans. Not the green ones, the white "cannelini"variety. The pivotal incident happened when I was about five years old. One night at dinner he told me that I didn't have to eat the pasta fagioli ("pasta fazool" in our house). I could not believe my good fortune! Too good to be true! Indeed, little Panthergirl...should have been wiser When it was time for dessert, I was presented with a big bowl of vanilla ice cream -- riddled with the lima beans I had been spared earlier. I was forced to eat the entire thing until I vomited. (My mother recently told me that the intention was to get me to like beans by 'disguising' them. Uh huh.)

3. I am a named inventor on an International Patent.

I developed a web-based application for the multi-billion dollar company where I worked, at a point in time when the type of work I do was rarely managed by computers, let alone web-based applications. The patent was for a "method of doing business" and I wrote the document myself (our patent attorney didn't understand enough about what the system was). Oh, and I was given a crisp $1 bill for my efforts to cover the legal requirement to "compensate" me. (same compensation I got for appearing in The Groove Tube)

4. I used to collect newspaper clippings about murderers and serial killers whose names contained either "Wayne" or "Lee".

You would not believe how many there are! John Wayne Gacy are Lee Harvey Oswald are just the obvious ones. I even found one extensive study of serial killers that was conducted by...wait for it... Wayne State University. (as a kid I collected my father's toenail clippings and my dogs' baby teeth, so the Wayne/Lee File was a step up)

5. I sold cars for a living (for six weeks).

Since I wasn't also willing to sell my SOUL, I opted out. Circa 1988, pre-internet research, sleazy new car dealer in Manhattan with the motto: "Buyers are Liars". The details are fodder for an entire YCMTSU post, so you'll just have to wait.

6. I have an irrational fear of bees.

I have never been stung, but I worked as a research assistant one summer to an allergist who was doing a study on bee sting deaths in the US over a 10 year period. (pre-Internet, mind you. No wonder I also have an irrational fear of phone calls now). No conclusions could be drawn from the research, though. Some people (usually beekeepers) had been stung a million times...then one time, BAM. Dead. Others had never been stung before. First time, BAM. Dead. Some knew they were allergic and were being treated with shots. Didn't matter. Some dropped dead, some went into anaphylactic shock, one was in a coma for 30 days, one had complete internal hemmhoraging. While other 16 year old girls were working at the supermarket that summer, I was transcribing accounts of doom and gloom and having a nightmares about getting a box of bees in the mail.

Bonus item: I also learned to put household dust and sputum under a microscope to identify molds and allergens. I was practically Doogie Howser. Did you know that household dust can contain penicillium mold? So if you're allergic to penicillin you might want to have your dust bunnies tested.