Yikes I have been tagged - Be a Sport and Play Along- Please!!!

This morning, I got a pleasant surprise from one of my new friends in the fascinating world of blogging, Sandi McBride, a very interesting writer whose blog I now visit daily to enjoy her candid views on life- a woman after my own heart. Calling me "intriguing" - I wonder why since I am so open- and wanting to know more about me, she tagged me with a meme.

Before I proceed further, let me list the rules. Thereafter, I will ponder over and write six random things about myself:

First things first, the rules:

1) Link to the person who tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog (copy and paste 1-6).
3) Write 6 random things about yourself (see below).
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Ok now on to six "interesting" aspects about myself-this is not as easy as I thought it would be. But what the heck-here goes:

1) Though I have been in the US for almost 23 years now, I am still straddling two worlds of American and Indian cultures especially as a single mom and a single woman. The cultural rules in both the roles are very different and I am still trying to find that fine balance. By the same token, I feel I have an interesting perspective on life since I have been exposed to both worlds. Yet, it hits me daily how at the end of the day, human nature is the same across global boundaries... Cliched I know but still so true!

2)I am a woman of passion - no not that type only, but I have a passion for life - I have to have a passion for whatever I do otherwise I don't deliver. It is an all or nothing approach. I am a strong woman who cares deeply for people and issues and therein lies my vulnerability to hurt and I never seem to learn. Regardless, I am not one for the faint-hearted man. In other words, I will not act like a coy damsel in distress or play games to get a man's attention. Yet I am female in the truest sense of the word but with a strong mind of her own - a study in contradictions. So the quest for the Unintimidated One continues... Is he out there is the million dollar question?

3) Related to the above, I am a straight shooter and often end up putting my foot in my mouth but do not hesitate to apologize if I inadvertently hurt someone's feelings. But if you ask for my opinion - you will get it- the good, the bad and the ugly-not unvarnished but as I see it! Essentially what you see is what you get. Actually, I will even say "sorry" many times even when I am not, just to keep peace. So unnecessary ego is not high up in my priorities, but harmony certainly is.

4) I love learning all the time not just in the structured classroom environment but from life. I am like a sponge and will pick up and retain information all the time. I grew up surrounded by books, more books and even more books. This soaking up of knowledge has been facilitated even more due to the fact that I have had a varied career path from a novice journalist- didn't last more than two months, to a high school teacher, to retail management, to a paralegal in the middle of huge corporate litigation, to finally a policy analyst- my niche... It has been both very trying and yet enriching.... So now I can dabble and pontificate a bit about the British constitutional history and why Charles I got beheaded, my own country India's freedom struggle under Gandhi, smoking and various carcinomas due to my work on tobacco litigation, retail marketing and why the stores are so annoying in terms of playing "jingle bells, jingle bells" as early as beginning of November, to whether those big power cables outside your homes are distribution or transmission wires and the politics of energy... Just enough potpourri of knowledge to keep pace and survive in the DC rat race!

5)I am very instinctive and have often stumped folks by my "predictions" which are essentially listening to your inner voice along with being acutely observant and perceptive, things that folks put way past me because I am on the surface so garrulous. They cannot imagine me that I am acutely listening or observing at the same time while I am breathlessly running together hundred words a minute especially when I am excited which is very often, so the world is easily fooled/astounded when I put forward my deductions that are pretty much on target. Does that make sense? Needless to say, I do talk to myself especially when I am agitated but I don't answer myself yet! Oh I even thought at one time I could get on the psychic hotlines for 50 cents a minute. Did not - just kidding!

6) I studied throughout in a Catholic school run by Irish-Italian nuns in New Delhi and since then have developed an abhorrence for rules in general and any kind of religious proselytizing. Actually, I have a serious problem with any kind of "holier than thou" or fundamentalist attitude in any sphere of life and believe in live and let live. As a Hindu, I am still trying to come to terms with this organized religion viewpoint because Christianity was not the main religion in India. Needless to say, I was a handful for the nuns in the all-girls Catholic school. Yet they loved me, the rebel child! I think they basically forgave me for all the pranks because I also delivered academically and most importantly because my dad paid through his nose for that education... I will write a post on those days at some point. In all seriousness, I owe the nuns for the academic discipline that has been an integral part of my life.

Ok, now it is my turn to send this meme to six other people who I sincerely hope will play along at whatever level they like. I have to admit this made me indulge in a bit of the introspection and soul-searching which is never a bad thing...

The six folks I am tagging are:

Carey-Sue, someone whom I have become very fond of, whose positive attitude despite so many life's challenges is something I try to emulate. A beautiful person inside and out, she is very easy to love.

Inger-Lis who is a very bright young mother of a two year old and whose views on life are refreshing in their honesty. There is something about her which resonates with me.

Cyclingred is the other name I am putting down here because his single-minded zealous advocacy of biking in a crazy metropolitan area like DC is something to be admired as is his sense of humor and interesting twist on the seemingly mundane things in life.

The other person I would like to tag is Bragger, she is a high school English teacher with a tremendous sense of humor and her writing takes me back to my own days as a high school history teacher. A very nice down to earth lady whose blog I visit daily.

I am thrilled to have recently discovered Moannie, a British lady who is a prolific writer. It is a real treat to read her blog. Her sense of humor reminds me as to how much I miss reading PG Wodehouse, the greatest humorist of all time. The British sense of humor in my opinion is truly unbeatable!

And last but certainly not the least, I would like to tag Elizabeth who seems to have a very rich and deep perspective on life for someone so young. She writes well and is very non-insular in her life approach being well versed with the works of many world philosophers.

I think I have covered all bases. I hope all those tagged will play along as it is always fun to know more about the folks who have become part of a blogging community...