Firsts....

When is the first time you...fell in love ?
real love, not puppy love, I was 19. I still love the guy just in a different way now.

lost someone close to you?
my dad died when I was 15 but I wasn't that close to him really. The death that had the most impact was my brother's best friend, Mark, who died when I was 17.

drank alcohol?
We were always allowed sips growing up so I can't pinpoint exactly. But the first time I drank I was 13. I had always hung out with older girls in my neighborhood and Janice F. was 16 and had a driver's license. We went to 7-11 and she asked some old guy to buy us a 6-pack of Michelob. We went to the drive-in and drank beer.

got kissed?
Aw, this is a sweet memory. Eric T., a long-time friend of my brother's, I had loved since 4th grade. He asked me to the Homecoming dance my freshman year. I was 13. It was wonderful.

went to the hospital?
For a hospital stay? I guess when I had my tonsils out - I was 18.

got your heart broken?
Mike - we spent a summer together (nothing happened) we were good friends. We had a connection. He always had a girlfriend (whom he is still married too) but he said he wanted to be with me and wished things were different...blah, blah,blah. I lived 40 miles away. I got my heart broken.

lost a pet?
We didn't really have pets. We had a couple of dogs thrust upon us that we were really too young for (we were solely responsible for the pet care). Our dogs ran away. I don't blame them. In my late teens I spent time with someone who had a wonderful dog. I helped with Amy dog and grew to love her very much. I miss her - she was the best dog ever.

smoked a cigarette?
New Orleans, 1993, French Quarter, trying to pi$$ off someone I was with. Bummed money from a guy on the street and purchased some menthols. Smoked a few. Boy was that the worst hangover ever.

broke a bone?
Senior year of high school was at a friend's house with a group of kids. We were leaving and someone (Gary R.) pushed me and I ran into an piano bench with my foot. I hobbled on my foot for a few days and finally went to get it checked out. I had a triple floating fracture in the bone in my foot. I was on crutches for what seemed like forever. Oh, I broke my front tooth in 5th grade.

got a job?
Chula Vista Department of Parks and Rec. I was a playground aide and I worked at Loma Verde Rec Center. Thanks Mr. Tollefson.

got cheated on?
D.M. - you know who you are. We didn't date very long....can you guess why? No tolerance for that business. Don't want to be with me....move on fella.

rode the city bus?
As the child of a mother that has never driven and has married 4 times, I can tell you about the times I rode in a car before I can recall the first time on the city bus. I knew all the drivers, routes, transfers for our city by the time I was 7. I rode alone a lot. Horrifies me as a mother now but it was a different time. I have good memories of Mr. Turner, Betty and Janeine, they looked out for us and were very kind.

went to a concert?
The year was 1977, me and Candi (my friend since I was 5 - and still is) went to see Donny & Marie at the Sports Arena in San Diego. If you have seen the movie Almost Famous then you have seen the location of my first concert (that is the thing Cameron Crowe and I have in common- the location-not the group!) Later, I would spend years going to concerts. 1989 I lost count of the number of shows I attended. Fun memories.

Met someone famous?
I have met lots of famous people. But the first one was once again with my friend Candi. We were 10 or 11 and we met ...Eric Estrada!!!!Hot stuff for the time.

dyed your hair?
I had a friend who was a bit of a wild child. She used to tease me and say that I was Mrs. Rogers (as in Mr. Roger's Neighborhood). So one year on my birthday (28 maybe) she dared me to pierce, color, fake something. I double pierced my ears (dumb), I got fake nails and I dyed my hair. She laughed at the hair dying tho......she said it was like the scene from Beaches when Hillary spends two hours dying her hair the same color.....Hillary says.....there is a subtle difference. That was me. I let the holes close, took off the nails and don't dye my hair - yet. Funny part is my friend is a cosmotologist.

got your own cell phone?
not that long ago and it is a trac-phone so I don't use it much at all.

snuck out the house?
Senior year, BI told her folks she was spending the night at my house and I told my folks I was staying at her house. We went to the beach with our friends and slept on the football field. The next day we graduated and went to grad night. Upon arriving home from grad night I moved out.

drove a car?
My cousin Margaret taught me to drive in my uncle's old white truck. That was fun.

got your own digital camera?
I am supposed to have a digital camera? I better go get one.

how old are you now?
40