MeMe: Five Things

I am very excited and happy to report that Matt, of Matt Bites, has tagged me for a MeMe so I can reveal 5 Things About Me (that you might not already know). Actually since most of my blog readers are strangers, you probably don't know much about me at all, so here goes nothin'.

1. I sponsor a child in Hanoi, Vietnam. She just turned 8 years old, does well in school and seems like a pretty happy kid. When she was an infant, she was dumped in a paper bag on the side of the road and left there. I'm glad she is prospering and can't wait to one day be able to talk Vietnamese food with her!

2. I have an identical twin sister. We both live in the same city, so we often get mistaken for the other by friends/acquaintances. Last week, she was at Grace with her husband and someone I know approached her, thinking it was me. Yesterday, a guy waltzed up to me on the train platform and started talking to me, thinking I was her. The funniest thing is that these people don't even know we are twins, because it never occurs to us to say "I have a twin sister;" when people as if I have siblings, I usually say "Yeah, sisters." Gotta work on that and stop freaking people out.

3. My heart bleeds...for random people. Even though, on the surface, I am pretty sarcastic and thick-skinned, I have a weakness for sad/tired/fed up expressions on strangers. I'll be on the train, and see a middle-aged woman with what seems like a sad look and I'll start creating this story in my head about why she's so worn down and sad and I'll actually get teary-eyed thinking about it. Or I'll observe a teenager, tired from soccer practice and under the burden of his gigantic backpack and imagine how he doesn't get enough attention at home. Yes, this is ridiculous since I do not know these people at all, and I'm sure they could give a sh*t what I think anyway. But it's something I can't help doing.

4. I love the Western Bacon Cheeseburger at Carl's Jr. I haven't had one in probably 3-4 years, but every once in a while, I crave one. It's not rocket science, but the combination of a beef patty, onion rings, bacon and BBQ sauce is taste bud heaven.

5. I've had many amazing experiences with famous people. Catherine Keener once spilled wine on me by accident and bought me more wine plus spent 30 minutes sitting and chatting with me. Diane Lane and I shared a lovely two hour dinner at Gardens on Glendon where I saw her eat straight butter with her finger (nice to know some actresses actually eat!). Malcolm McLaren kept me on the phone forever giving me his theory on how the mafia runs everything in Hollywood, and he wasn't referring to the gay mafia. Thom Yorke once apologized with a song dedication to me after a misunderstanding. Yes, I feel very, very lucky and fortunate to have had these once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

Peace out. Oh, and I'll tag Robyn from The Girl Who Ate Everything, Jeni from Oishii Eats, and The Wednesday Chef.