TEN THINGS I HAVE DONE WHICH NOT MANY OTHERS HAVE: a Looked at a complete stranger in a bar, thought, “Hey, that’s the guy I’m supposed to marry.”  And did it. Swam in Lake Okanagan, which is home to a sea monster called Ogopogo. Flew in a nine-seater seaplane, which landed on a lake. Watched a Humpback whale play, breach, and wave next to the boat I was in, for over an hour. Saw The Who in concert. Slept on the ground overnight. In a graveyard. Looked out the window of my elementary school and saw a waterspout gliding across the lake. Saw Billy Joe from Green Day run around in his underwear, saw The Red Hot Chili Peppers wear only socks, saw Eddie Vedder climb and swing from the stage’s metal frame when he still had his looong hair, and survived a psychotic mosh pit in which I stood about ten feet from Foo Fighters. Wrote and published a novel. Found my dream editor. QUIZ NAME: WHAT I WAS LIKE IN HIGH SCHOOL? What year was it? 1986-1991 (There were five years of high school in Ontario, at that time) I loved a lot of hairspray bands, much to my husband's horror. I'm not afraid to admit, I own Bon Jovi and Def Leppard CDs, and I still listen to them. Let's see, who else? I went through a big Depeche Mode phase. What was your favorite outfit?    I'm sure I must have had one, but I don't remember what it was. I wore jeans and sweatshirts a lot. It's not clothing, but I was very attached to a silver necklace that had a cross and a heart-shaped locket on it. I wore that thing absolutely everywhere, until I lost it in college. I left it on the kitchen counter of my apartment when I moved... sob! What was up with your hair?    Horrifying. Absolutely horrifying. My ninth-grade hair was short, and I used a curling iron to make my bangs curl straight up and flip over. I didn't brush the curl out or anything! If I saw that hair now, I'd run screaming. As that hair grew out, I went through a few more horrifying styles. I had cute, shoulder-length hair in... eleventh grade? I can't remember. I had my fair share of hideous perms, and then at the end of my last year of high school, a friend put perm solution in my hair and combed it perfectly straight. For a very short time, I had really nice long, hippie hair. Boy, I loved it. Who were your best friends?    I was a band geek and a partier. I had groups of friends to suit all of my personalities. I spent the majority of my time with my boyfriend or my band-geek, studious friends--Stephanie, Caroline, Amanda, Valerie, Sharon, and Lisa. We had a lot of fun, but not the kind of fun that led to trouble.  When I felt like doing the things that led to trouble, I went out with my little sister and her friends.  We also had a lot of fun.    Where did you work? A day care, a shelter for abused women and their children, and a few hotels/motels.  Who did you have a crush on? Hmmm, that's tough.  I had a serious (as in stalker-serious) crush on a guy in ninth grade. I had a serious boyfriend for eleventh and twelfth grades, so I didn't have any crushes then. Did you fight with your parents? No, I was the only perfect teen ever to exist.  HA!  Yeah, right.  I lived with my mom, and yes, we did fight.  Who did you have a CELEBRITY crush on? I loved Christian Slater.  Loved him.  I still like him, even though he hasn't made a good movie in years. Did you smoke cigarettes? Yes, during my last year of high school and my first year of college.  My sister taught me to smoke at a party.  Lucky for me, I got pregnant at twenty! Did you lug all of your books around in your backpack because you were too nervous to find your locker? No.  My school was a little square--four hallways, that's it.  It wasn't hard to find anything.  If I did lug my books around, it was because I was nearly always late for school (I lived a few houses away, so when I heard the bell ring, I threw the curling iron down and took off running), and I had to hurry to class. Did you have a 'clique'? If you consider Band Geeks to be a clique, then sure. Did you have "The Max" like Zach, Kelly, and Slater? Is this some kind of Saved by the Bell question?  Ick.  Why did I watch that horrible show?  No, we didn't really have a hangout like that.  Admit it, were you popular? Hmmmm, define popular...  I was a little invisible, but I think people liked me.    Who did you want to be just like? Winona Ryder or Jami Gertz  (I was a Heathers and Lost Boys freak) What did you want to be when you grew up? A writer.  Honestly.