On Awesomeness

Patti in Denmark recently tagged me in her Awesome post.

Patti is someone who rises to every occasion, including battling cancer. She is truly awesome, not just fake awesome like me, so you should check out her blog and get inspired by how she cheerfully deals with everything from health issues to finding reliable Danish repairmen.

Making a list of awesome things about me hasn't been easy. Once upon a time I thought I would be a hard-hitting environmental lawyer, a world-changing political economist, a physicist who would connect the dots between relativity and quantum theory, the inventor of the first successful artificial intelligence, a notorious character actress. . .

Then in college I got distracted by men and easy money (sorry, that came out wrong, what I meant is that I started taking classes with this guy I liked in an easier, more lucrative field) and smoothly transitioned into international affairs and business, which led into consulting and IT and ultimately a husband, a pet, a mortgage, two children and a Volvo.

Today I design software, work part time, pick up my kids at 3PM and fire up my computer again at 8PM. I get excited about a glass of wine with dinner or an old-fashioned TV show with real actors and a plot.

And for the most part it's usually pretty awesome, but not, like, list awesome, unless you count things like, 'I can do five loads of laundry and make dinner for two picky kids and a husband while writing a detailed design specification for compensation budgeting.'

Are you still awake?

Anyway, after many false starts, here's my list of 7 awesome things about me, followed by a list of 7 awesome people who are now tagged.

1. I can predict the future. Didn’t I tell you I’d be in the Earth Day video? And then I was. Spooky, huh?

2. I make things happen. I saved Chuck, didn’t I? And as you know, I’ve been working to get reasonable environmental legislation passed so we don’t turn the Earth into Venus. Last Friday the House Energy and Commerce Committee reported out a bill to reduce America's global warming pollution by 83% by 2050. Now we just have to get it through the House and Senate - you can help by signing the Sierra Club petition here.

3. I always admit when I am wrong. Most people don’t realize this about me because I’m hardly ever wrong so I wanted to bring this to your attention.

4. I drive a mean go cart. Enough said. 5. I am naturally blond. 6. I totally rock at fake guitar. 7. I am a cool mom. Not to my own kids, of course, but to other people’s kids. Unfortunately I have no photographic evidence of this so you'll just have to take my word for it.

And as an added bonus, I don't take myself too seriously.

Now I have to tag seven other awesome people. It’s hard to keep it to seven but for a change I’m going to try to follow the rules.

1. Kristina – You definitely get the ‘I wanna party with you, cowboy’ award. Kristina makes me want to be a better blogger.

2. The Dental Maven – The Maven has a really cool blogging niche and is married to a neurobiologist, which is really awesome.

3. Lawyer Mom – Lawyer Mom has devoted her life to public service. For example, thanks to her I don’t have to read the Economist myself, for which I am truly grateful because it's gloomy.

4. Debbie – Debbie is a good human being who manages to be very funny but never at someone else’s expense. Unless they deserve it.

5. Sara – Sara is living a country life most of us can only dream of. She captures bees and feeds baby cows with bottles. If you send your kids to her for a playdate, there will be horseback riding and canoeing. I wish she lived in Bavaria, we have lots of great countryside here.

6. Bebe – Bebe has five kids and finds time to blog. That alone clearly makes her awesome but she also has a great outlook on life. Of course, her recent vacation-o-rama in Greece and Italy without kids probably didn’t hurt the attitude.

7. Charlotte – A blogger community builder and spiritual leader who lives in a foreign land, raises two kids and a husband and just completed the first draft of her book. She spends most of her time trying to stay on top of her many blogging awards.