I was tagged by Carolyn Shelby to write 8 Random Things About Me from Paul Ruppert’s original meme.

So, here are 8 randomly awesome things about Rhea that should fill the void while I take care of personal stuff and refrain from serious blogging.*

1. I’m filled with irrational fears. Things that terrify me include, but are by no means limited to:

  • Ceiling fans
  • Clowns – “Killer Clowns from Outer Space” and “It” scarred me
  • Apple corers
  • Ice skating
  • Surfboard fins -I’m okay with sharks, it’s the board fins that bother me.
  • Snakes – Small ones like garter snakes, not big ones like anacondas and rattlesnakes, for some reason I’m cool with those. I’ve actually gone rattlesnake hunting, below is a western diamondback (or mojave) we caught (legally) in Arizona:

2. I love cheese. I’m slowly turning into a foodie and have an unhealthy obsession with cheese, especially gourmet varieties. Every time I go to the store I come home with a new, expensive type of cheese!

3. I used to think I had telepathic and telekinetic powers. When I was around 9-years-old my friends and I discovered X-Men. While they enjoyed the TV show, I discovered the comics and quickly amassed hundreds. During those years, whenever I got a sinus headache, I refused to take medicine because I swore my mutant abilities were developing and I had to fight through the pain. Being an intellectual redhead with a soft spot for bad guys, I was obviously partial to Jean Grey:

4. I’m NOT a morning person. This definitely runs in the Drysdale blood. My grandmother wouldn’t talk to anyone in the mornings until she’d read the paper, had her coffee and eaten her cereal. No exceptions. I’m not that bad, but I have been known to say some terrible things to anyone that dares wake me.

5. I like to climb things… without safety devices. While I’m terrified of surfing, I love free climbing the sides of cliffs and have been doing it since I was a kid. If I see a wall, a rocky ledge or a sheer cliff, I need to climb it. Fortunately or unfortunately, I live in Florida, so I don’t get to entertain that side of myself very often. Here’s a picture I took on my trip to the UK with my then boyfriend (now fiance; Brad proposed literally five minutes after this picture was taken and was less than happy with me dangling over the edge):

6. I curse like a sailor in traffic. My excuse: my mother’s from Chicago and I’m an Irish/Scottish redhead. Genetically speaking, I was designed to be feisty.

7. I studied primates for years and everyone called me Monkey Girl. This shouldn’t be news to many of you after Li Evan’s interview. During that time of my life I visited every zoo on the eastern seaboard, the Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Duke Lemur Center and a number of other facilities. I also received a scholarship to attend the Third International Conference on Environmental Enrichment, an Earthwatch scholarship to study whiptail lizards in Arizona and I participated in the Busch Gardens zookeeper resident camp. In other words, I was a royal dork, but my only passion was primate behavioral research and being a normal kid didn’t matter to me. I burnt out really quickly and chose to major in Advertising and here I am today… a primatologist turned SEO chic:

8. My drink of choice is cider, preferably Magners or Bulmers with ice.

And, that’s it! Obviously it’s late and I should go to bed, but I was excited to see my first Digg homepage submission.

*For those I haven’t already vented to, that personal stuff includes a new job, election to chair(wo)man of First Coast Surfrider and my wedding in November!

People tagged… Patrick and David Mihm. Sorry, I’m only tagging two people because I don’t want to piss off too many people with tagging games. =)