A Meme of Firsts

OK, this meme actually has a cohesive theme!


1. When did you first utter a curse word/obscenity?
I am given to understand from reliable eye-witnesses that it was when I was a child (perhaps 3 or 4) and I repeated a word my dad said. The first instance I remember on my own was when I said a word (well, I thought it was a single word) that rhymed with "bucket," but I don't remember how old I was -- probably 9 or 10. I said it to some kids who were playing nearby. I thought it was a way of saying they were cool.

2. ... and when was the first time you said it and actually knew what it meant?
I remember being in a fit of anger and releasing a torrent of swear words on my sister Denise when I was in the 9th grade. My parents were shocked.

3. What do you say when you first wake up in the morning?
Hmmmm.....

4. What's the first thing you do when you arrive at school/your job?
Usually I lock the car and walk up the hill to my office. :) Once I'm there, I'm usually turning on the lights.

5. When, where, and with whom was your first "real" kiss?
Oh, dear, it was a boy named Barry (yuck!) who was a few years older than me. I think I was in the summer between 4th and 5th grade (so, 10 - 11 years old). It was in a shed in the back of a neighbor's lot.

6. On whom did you have your first crush (not counting television & film stars)?
Oh, besides Michael Landon (as Little Joe on Bonanza) and Davy Jones (of The Monkees)

7. What is one of the first television programs you remember watching? Captain Kangaroo!

8. What was your first pet and what was his/her name? Other than my grandmother's Manchester Terrier (named "Snoopy"), I remember an orange and white tabby named "Peanut Butter."

9. Which is the first birthday you can remember celebrating, and how did you celebrate it?
There are pictures of me sitting next to birthday cakes at various birthdays when I was smaller, but the first one I really remember was when I turned six and my mom and older sisters arranged a party for me.

10. What was the name of your first friend (real or imaginary)?
Donna. She lived just a few houses away.

11. Where did you first go to school?
St. Boniface in Westphalia, Iowa.

12. What is the first family vacation or other outing you can remember taking?
We went on a trip that took us to Atchison, Kansas, and then to a zoo, and then to West Bend. I was six or seven.

13. How old were you when you went to your first funeral, and whose funeral was it?
I as 13 or 14 and it was the funeral of one of my maternal uncles.

14. What is the first visit to a doctor or dentist or optometrist that you remember? How old were you? What were the circumstances?
I know I went to the doctor several times, but the first one I really remember was going to a dentist who pulled some of my front teeth to make room for the ones that were growing in. I think I was five or six years old.

15. How old were you when you first got a mobile phone?
About age 35.

16. .... when you first used email?
I as in my late 20s. We had an electronic messaging system called PROFS. It was very complicated, but it worked. I didn't use it much.

17. .... when you first used accessed the World Wide Web?
Um....I think I was 32.

18. Who were the major candidates for president in the first year you were eligible to vote?
Carter and Reagan.

19. What was the first car or truck you drove?
Some kind of four-dour sedan that my brother-in-law Ron had. He let me drive around in a field.

20. What was the name of your first school teacher?
Sister Cordula