Six weird things...

A few days ago I was tagged by Lori for the "Six Weird Things About You" meme. So here it goes:

The Rules: Each player of this game starts with the 6 weird things about you. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names.)

1. I was named after a squirrel. Really. My first name is Perri. In 1957, Disney came out with their first "True Life Action Film," in that it was filmed, not animated. That first movie was about a little girl flying squirrel named Perri. My mom was enchanted and liked that it went with "Penny," my older sister's name. There are only a handful of Perri's, in fact, I know of only two others. One is known to us all -- Perri Klass, who writes a column in Vogue Knitting. I don't know, but I bet she's 48 and had a creative mother too. I did not like my name when I was in grade school. Too many bad Perry Mason jokes. Now that I'm mostly grown-up, I like it. Except that I always have to spell it for people.

2. I have a degree in Peace Studies. Yup, you can actually get a degree in Peace Studies.

3. I once ate guinea pig in Peru. Tastes like chicken. Really. I tried very hard not to think about "Priscilla," a guinea pig I had when I was 10.

4. I am an extreme introvert. Off the scale. It's not that I don't like people, it's more that I find it exhausting to be around people I don't know well. Over the years I've learned how to act more extroverted, but it still doesn't come easily. This is one of the reasons that I really, really, hate to talk to people on the phone. I don't mean like, family, especially if they live far away and the only way to keep in touch is by talking on the phone. But pretty much every other phone call I will avoid if I can (just ask the Spouse). This can be a problem at work, where I have to make a lot of phone calls.

5. I am a classically trained singer (Mezzo Soprano). For a long time I wanted to be an opera singer and started out as a music major in college. Then I took my first music theory class. It was way too much like math (which I'm very, very bad at) and I panicked and quit. I actually don't regret not having majored in music because I've continued to train and sing when and where I want to -- no pressure!

6. I have very long thumbs. I am undefeated at thumb wrestling.

That's it. And I'm going to break the rules and won't tag 6 others (see #4).