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You are here: Home / Memes / 5 Things you don’t know about me

5 Things you don’t know about me

by Jeanne Horak on March 1, 2007 24 Comments in Memes

Cooksister-tomato

Well, some might say that there are no longer as many as five things people don’t know about me, particularly after my culinary confessions and the “too much information” meme… but since the lovely Ros has tagged me and I love a good meme, here goes:

1. I am lousy at all sports involving running or a rapidly-moving ball, which resulted in many years of misery at school!!  But show me a pool table and I will give you a surprising run for your money.  Call it a misspent youth – I call it the best social skill my dad ever taught me 🙂

2. I cannot listen to Mozart’s Requiem Mass, the second movement of Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto or the second movement of Mozart’s clarinet concerto without crying.  I also remember that Paul Gallico’s Jennie was the first book that made me cry.  When the little boy goes back to being a boy and has to leave Jennie behind, I sobbed uncontrollably.

3. I spent a large part of my early teenage years being in love with Richard Clayderman.  I also have his autograph, which I persuaded my mom to get when she happened to stay in the same hotel in Pretoria.  All offers considered… 😉

4. I am incredibly, consistently, incorrigibly, embarrasingly unpunctual.  I was about 10 days overdue being born and that has set the trend ever since.  I haven’t missed planes or trains but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time (as my husband keeps reminding me!).

5. When I was really little (like 4 or 5 years old) I used to ride in the car with my dad and he’d play his beloved 8-track tapes.  Mostly, he listened to Edith Piaf and I was singing (mostly in my made-up French!!) Non, je ne regrette rien by the time I was 6.  Years later I was astonished to find out she was uber-cool and that my dad had actually listened to her 😉

So there you go – astonishingly, more hitherto undisclosed tidbits about the Cooksister!  I have no idea who has or hasn’t already been tagged, so if you appear on this list but have already played along, please feel free to abstain – or if you have been dying to be tagged but nobody has obliged, take this as your tag 🙂

Susan from Food “Blogga” – already tagged – read her 5 things here!

Ashleigh from Stiched in Holland – read her 5 things here!

ExAfrica from I broke my mop

Scott from The Real Epicurean – alread tagged – read his 5 things here!

Brilynn from Jumbo Empanadas – already tagged – read her 5 things here!

Niki from Esurientes

Sam from Becks & Posh (see Sam – be careful what you wish for ;-)) – read her 5 things here!

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  1. Pille says

    March 1, 2007 at 2:57 pm

    Lucky you – my dad NEVER listens to any music to be proud of. We always argue what music to play at family gatherings! And that Richard Clayderman confession is simply hilarious:)

    Reply
  2. Brilynn says

    March 1, 2007 at 4:59 pm

    I was actually tagged for the 5 Things meme by Scott of Real Epicurean, so we’ve both already divulged way too much information about ourselves!

    Reply
  3. Brilynn says

    March 1, 2007 at 5:00 pm

    I tried to add the link to my answers last time, it didn’t seem to work… here it is:
    http://jumboempanadas.blogspot.com/2007/01/hola-un-pina-colada-por-favor.html

    Reply
  4. jenni says

    March 1, 2007 at 5:42 pm

    Oh, I love that book too – I should do, my mother is so fond of it that I suspect my brother Peter and I were probably named after the two characters… dropping the ‘e’, aged 13, was nearly the most rebellious thing I ever did 🙂

    Reply
  5. Jessica says

    March 1, 2007 at 5:44 pm

    I LOVE Edith Piaf! Sounds like your dad has better taste than mine.

    Reply
  6. Scott at Real Epicurean says

    March 1, 2007 at 11:16 pm

    Ah, I already did this meme too – but have been tagged again twice since!
    I’m going to have another bash, though. I’m sure there’s another 5 things that people don’t know (or care) about me!

    Reply
  7. Susan from Food "Blogga" says

    March 2, 2007 at 2:43 am

    Jeanne, I get teary-eyed every time I listen to Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, but it doesn’t stop me from listening over and over again.
    Yikes! I’ve already been tagged twice for this one too and did a post for it!

    Reply
  8. Charlotte says

    March 2, 2007 at 3:38 pm

    Ooh, I also loved Jennie! What a heart-breaking story.

    Reply
  9. Ash says

    March 2, 2007 at 4:43 pm

    I did this one already, but I’m sure I can find five more things 🙂 You’ll have to hang on a bit though – deeeeeep in birthday cakes here!

    Reply
  10. David says

    March 2, 2007 at 8:27 pm

    Richard Clayderman? You are, like, so going off my blogroll ; )

    Reply
  11. ExAfrica says

    March 3, 2007 at 1:27 am

    I never would have taken you for nonpunctual! You, with all your gorgeous photos, wonderful recipes in order, et al, seem so…so organized (thereby punctual in my book)

    Reply
  12. Ash says

    March 4, 2007 at 7:27 pm

    Ok, I’ve done mine. You might have to avert your eyes for some of it – I chose to share 5 teen-angsty things about me … eek! I’m sure I will regret it in the morning 🙂

    Reply
  13. Andy says

    March 6, 2007 at 3:26 pm

    I have been really enjoying your blog until I read this bit.
    You talk about being unpunctual as if it’s something you can’t do anything about. To me, people being late to meet other people just implies that they consider their time to be more important.

    Reply
  14. Jeanne says

    March 6, 2007 at 4:58 pm

    Hi Pille
    Sadly, I believe this was the highlight of his cool taste in music. After that there followed a number of markedly less cool people like Andy Williams and Neil Sedaka…!
    Hi Brilynn
    Ooops – that will teach me to tag people without double-checking whether they have already been tagged! Have now added a link to your 5 Things post.
    Hi Jenni
    You changed the spelling of your name unilaterally?? If I had known you when you were 13, you would without a doubt have been my coolest friend 😉 Not to mention the fact that you were named after such a great character in a book!
    Hi Jessica
    See my response to Pille above – sadly that was the highlight and it was all downhill from there 😉
    Hi Scott
    Clearly I have an insatiable appetite for trivia about you 😉 SOrry about the double-tagging – I have now added a link to your 5 Things post.
    Hi Susan
    Isn’t it a fabulous piece, so full of quiet longing… And apologies for the double tagging btw – I have now added a link to your 5 THings post.
    Hi Charlotte
    Jennie is marvellous and is the book that got me reading Paul Gallico. To me, it’s one of the classics of my youth and when I’m watching cats I still quote one of Jenni’s pieces of advice: “When in doubt, wash!”
    Hi Ash
    Wow!! That’s a pretty amazing teen-themed 5 Things you came up with, you wild child you!! 😉
    Hi David
    Hey, I was young, I needed the money!! :o) And anyway – who knows, some day Richard Clayderman might become so uncool as to be hip again – see ABBA!!
    Hi ExAfrica
    That’s so kind – *blush* – but sadly the two seem to have nothing to do with each other 😉
    Hi Andy
    I’m sorry you feel that way – maybe this is not the blog for you.

    Reply
  15. ExAfrica says

    March 7, 2007 at 1:19 am

    Okay – mine’s done. I’m afraid it’s not all too exciting.
    And I do have to comment re: the punctuality. I do wish I were more punctual. Really. But…there are only so many hours in the day and so much to do. Not to mention the times when “the mood just strikes and the planets align” and everything is going perfectly and you’d hate to put a stop to such loveliness or productivity just to be on time. Not that I am hours late, but give me a good 15 minutes any day. (maybe 20?)

    Reply
  16. Andy says

    March 7, 2007 at 9:03 am

    Apologies, just a bad day. Love the blog.

    Reply
  17. johanna says

    March 7, 2007 at 11:37 am

    andy, let me just say that jeanne is worth the wait ;-))

    Reply
  18. Andy says

    March 7, 2007 at 2:34 pm

    I’m sure, I’m very embarrassed to come across as so agressive. It’s not like me at all. I am very interested in the way that Jeanne uses flavours even if some of them are not for me (I have a bit of an issue with fruit and meat) but the whole thing is so well constructed and informative.

    Reply
  19. sam says

    March 7, 2007 at 4:08 pm

    I can remember when I was a teen thinking I was really cool whilst out shopping with my family, going into the record shop to buy a Lou Reed album. I was gutted when my dad knew who he was. I think it was the dismissive way he kind of sneered at me in a kind of ‘been there, done that’, dismissive kind of way.
    To this day I still can’t believe my dad might actually have been in to Lou Reed. Edith Piaf maybe, but Lou Reed?
    No one has tagged me. I might do this (the comment I keep leaving on every one I read and then never do anything about it)

    Reply
  20. sam says

    March 7, 2007 at 7:11 pm

    ok – i will do t at the weekend when nobody reads my blog!

    Reply
  21. sam says

    March 8, 2007 at 6:45 pm

    here you go then, just for you:
    http://becksposhnosh.blogspot.com/2007/03/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-me.html

    Reply
  22. sam says

    March 8, 2007 at 6:45 pm

    here you go then, just for you:
    http://becksposhnosh.blogspot.com/2007/03/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-me.html

    Reply
  23. Kit says

    March 8, 2007 at 8:31 pm

    Hi, I’ve just been going through blogs on the SA blog awards and have finally found yours that I’m going to vote for!
    I’ve switched continents in the opposite direction to you and it’s great reading about braais in London in January. When we were there my husband regularly braaied in the rain but never yet in January. Looking forward to reading more of your blog.

    Reply
  24. Emjay says

    April 10, 2007 at 12:54 pm

    Wow, you’re lucky having read a full edition of Jennie. All I manage to find are excerpts (“When in doubt, wash”, etc) which do nothing but increase my appetite for the whole story. Sadly, it’s no longer in print… Gah, you’re really SO lucky…

    Reply
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Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

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