About Me

100 Interesting, Random, and Stupid Facts About Me 

1. I’m an incorrigible bibliophile. My home library is threatening to take over the rest of my house. I have a book blog but I haven’t updated it in a while. I’m told it’s good, when it’s up-to-date.
2. I like photography, or rather, I like taking pictures. Currently my primary weapon is a Canon Elph SD1000, and I love it.
3. Although I have no children yet, I do have three furbabies. The oldest, and most recent addition to the family, is Sophie. She’s a 3-year-old flame-point Siamese. Next, and our first furbaby, is d’Artagnan. He’s 2 and a half years old and is a medium-haired orange-and-white kitty. In the middle is our youngest, Paisley. She’s an 18-month-old dark apricot toy poodle.
4. I like critters of just about every variety, with the exception of earwigs, which are just plain disgusting. I even like snakes and lizards and stuff, as long as they don’t bite me.
5. I’m a marching band enthusiast with nine years of active marching experience and three years on staff of a collegiate band.
6. My hair is red. Actually, it’s closer to orange than red, but that’s not the terminology. Yes, it’s completely natural.
7. If I survive this upcoming semester of student teaching, and if I get hired, I’m going to be an English teacher next year.
8. My elbows are ever so slightly double-jointed. Probably related, and as a result of over-enthusiastic saxophone-swinging, I have chronic tennis elbow in my right arm.
9. I like computers and have a mild internet addiction. I believe that teh intrawebz are, in fact, a series of toobs.
10. Although I can’t explain or defend it to save my life, I am fascinated with and inspired by Dooce.
11. I’m a child of the mountains and a Western woman.
12. My favorite kind of shopping involves a discount mishmash department store, like Ross or TJ Maxx, and no specific goal or deadline. I love the “treasure hunt” aspect of shopping and can happily kill a day in thrift stores. My favorite things to buy are bags, blouses, and cutely patterned skirts. I don’t like spending more than $12 on anything.
13. Ginger may very well be my favorite scent and flavor.
14. Heaven is very likely a clean hotel suite, with a featherbed swathed in luscious white sheets, and a huge bathtub with unlimited hot water.
15. I am a fifth-generation Texan.
16. I’ve been married since June of 2004. I was engaged for a year, and we’d been dating a year (to the day) when he proposed. Before that, we were best friends for several years. It has worked out quite well.
17. I’m a member of the United Methodist Church. When I was 13 I was baptized and became a member of the Presbyterian Church; we ended up going to the FUMC when we moved to Idaho, and I joined a couple of years ago.
18. To date, I’ve earned approximately half of a Master’s degree in what they call “curriculum, instruction, and foundational studies” (ED-CIFS for short) as well as pretty much all of a graduate certification.
19. I have a 4.0 in graduate school, so far. (Knock on wood.)
20. I eat meat but don’t like cooking with it.
21. I was there at the game of the century, but I had the flu and laryngitis and couldn’t cheer or anything.
22. I totally called the post-game proposal.
23. I prefer the aromatherapy fragrances at Bath & Body Works – they smell better and they have those beautiful apothecary bottles. My favorite, chamomile neroli, was discontinued and I haven’t forgiven them since.
24. My contact lens prescription is -8.5 in both eyes.
25. I enjoy, and am pretty good at, designing t-shirts.
26. I am the oldest of two children. My sister, Meredith, is five and a half years younger than I am.
27. I like Boise State  and the University of Texas. I dislike USC, Texas A&M, and any school in Florida.
28. In a past life I think I smoked cigarettes.
29. In a past life I think I may have drowned.
30. I don’t really believe in past lives/reincarnation, but sometimes, things make me wonder.
31. My favorite color is green, but there are no colors that I can think of that I dislike.
32. I prefer Facebook to MySpace.
33. My favorite movie is Harvey. I think Elwood would be a good middle name for a son. Goes nice with Daniel, don’t you think? Or Christopher?
34. One of my favorite books is The Far Pavilions. I think Anjuli would be a good name for a daughter, but I’m not 100% certain how to pronounce it. I mean, I know how I pronounce it, but whether that’s correct or not…. I could find out by watching the movie, asking someone from India, or asking a friend of a friend whose name actually is Anjuli, but so far I haven’t worked up the energy.
35. I do not eat bananas, donuts (except those tiny ones they make fresh and you buy by the half dozen at the fair) or licorice.
36. Among cereals, I prefer regular Cheerios, corn or rice Chex, Rice Krispies, and Lucky Charms. I eat any cereal plain – no milk, no sugar.
37. My “coffee drink” of choice is a nonfat chai latte, extra hot, no foam.
38. When I was a junior in college I used to drink “rocket fuel” – 4-6 shots of espresso in a latte with half a shot of syrup, usually caramel or pumpkin. Today, I can barely drink espresso.
39. I like college football and college basketball.
40. I do not deal well with betrayal.
41. I always feel very awkward when receiving a compliment.
42. My hugest grammar pet peeve is the misuse of “less” and “fewer” – not so much in common speech, but in things that people have paid money to have printed. I really just don’t understand how people can publish things without having an editor take a look first.
43. I don’t like being linguistically prescriptivist, but I just cannot accept the evolution of the word “funner/funnest” into common usage. I know it makes logical sense, but it’s just not okay!
44. One of my favorite things to do during the summer is to crew for hot air balloons.
45. I’ve flown several times, including two trips in the Energizer Hot Hare Balloon (a giant pink rabbit several feet taller than the Statue of Liberty).
46. I have real difficulty saying the word “critique” out loud. Always want to turn it into “citrique.”
47. My three favorite words are “defenestrate,” “discombobulated,” and “indefatigable.” Apparently I just like Ds.
48. In reverse order, I have held the following jobs: student teacher, marching band graduate assistant, locomotive manufacturer human resources specialist, gubernatorial campaign scheduler, marching band graduate assistant, academic adviser, writing consultant, student reporter/columnist, temp, car dealership receptionist, temp, state fair main office receptionist.
49. I believe all things happen for a reason.
50. I’m allergic to grass and sage.
51. Although it doesn’t count as an actual allergy, I can’t wear clothing made of animal fibers. No wool, no angora, no cashmere. Tragic, huh? It’s okay, I don’t miss it – it all feels like Velcro to me.
52. I have something called sensory defensiveness, or sensory integration disorder. I’ve learned how to deal with it pretty well, how to avoid the triggers, but it still affects my life. My main problems are with touch; I can’t stand tags or seams in my clothing, metallic threads, the wrong kind of underwear bands or trim, or what seem like negligible wrinkles pressed against my skin. It also manifests itself in other ways. People or vehicles passing behind me give me violent shudders, and the lights in places like Walmart sometimes give me what seem like mild anxiety attacks.
53. I also have problems with stereoscopic vision and depth perception. As a result, I didn’t learn  to drive on the highway until well into my 20s, and there are times when I still have to avoid it.
54. I don’t know how to sew (I mean, I know how to sew, but not how to create a garment or use a sewing machine effectively) but there’s a part of me that has wanted to be a fashion designer since I was very young.
55. My favorite Christmas carol is “O Holy Night” but I can’t ever find a recording of it that seems quite right.
56. I think I should have played trumpet instead of saxophone.
57. One of these days I’m going to learn how to play fiddle.
58. I am not a strong swimmer, despite years of lessons. I blame this on the fact that I failed to master proper breathing technique.
59. I read Questionable Content, Natalie Dee, Toothpaste for Dinner, XKCD, and Animals Have Problems Too.
60. I think that may officially make me a geek.
61. It surprises me that everyone isn’t as fond of the King Arthur and Robin Hood legends as I am.
62. Deep down, I suspect that female friendship is a myth.
63. I would usually rather eat melted cheese or fried potatoes than chocolate or baked goods.
64. Depending on the company, the situation, and the food, I like margaritas on the rocks, midori sours, rum-and-cokes,  or a decent whiskey or bourbon on the rocks.
65. I prefer darker beers, Mexican beers, and “bitch beers” (Mikes, Ace, etc.). Guinness is good in small quantities but I can’t drink a whole pint of it.
66. I would rather drink 2% or 1.5% milk than just about anything.
67. If I could borrow a in-better-shape body, I would like to play hockey or football.
68. I grew up in Colorado Springs, CO.
69. I blame my (optionally activated) dirty mind on being in band, but I think I really got it by spending several years trying to shock English teachers by reading texts with unnecessarily sexual lenses.
70. Although I was very small, I still remember living in Albuquerque. Also, I can spell “Albuquerque” without assistance.
71. I’m a Sagittarius-Sagittarius born in the year of the Monkey, and yet there’s an awful lot about me that is neither Sagittarian nor monkeyish.
72. I married a Capricorn.
73. In fact, 2/3 of the men I’ve dated have been Capricorns.
74. Despite what you may have heard, I am definitely an introvert.
75. I have two slightly webbed toes on my right foot.
76. When I was a creepy-crawly, I got in a fight over a sweet roll with my parents’ dachshund. The dachshund won; the right side of my face lost. Skilled doctors minimized the scarring so effectively that most people have no idea until I point it out. To this day, I have no fear of dogs but am vaguely nauseated by sweet rolls.
77. The only kind of dog that I don’t really care for is the Doberman. They seem kind of scary to me.
78. I have a matriarchal family philosophy.
79. I’m a tenor. Kind of.
80. I am not only a Brother in a Fraternity, but am a Founding Father of our local chapter.
81. I was born at 12:33 PM and I’m always looking at the clock when it says 12:34. I like to think that it’s an indication of some sort of internal rhythm or something.
82. My dislike of video games and computer games is inconsistent, hypocritical, deeply-rooted, and intense.
83. My hat size is really small, and my glove size is really big.
84. I watch Project Runway, Top Chef, and American Idol. I think Rami is going to win PR this season.
85. I never thought I’d get emotionally involved with a television show, but I was really upset when The West Wing ended. And I think they pulled the curtain on Studio 60 way too soon.
86. My turn-offs include defeatism, dishonesty, and dirty teeth.
87. I have extremely awful recurring nightmares about my teeth falling out.
88. I’ve never understood why other people didn’t consider the possibility that God created our universe through a process of evolution. Do creationism and evolution have to be mutually exclusive?
89. I like singing aloud to the radio when I drive, but not when I’m taking a shower.
90. Now that it’s entirely too late, I think it possible that I should have majored in a social science like sociology or anthropology rather than English.
91. I presented a paper (page 29) at the international conference for the Society for Ethnomusicology a couple of years ago.
92. I don’t know why, but I think that the numbers 4 and 5, and the letter E, are all blue. Five is slightly greener than four.
93. The number 3 is green.
94. I know that genetics and statistics are not in my favor, but I hope to have at least one redheaded daughter.
95. I’d like to have a large family – at least four children.
96. When I was in sixth grade my typing ability was tested. I typed 106 WPM with 91% accuracy. My accuracy has since improved. My fingers don’t stay rooted in the proper places, as I type words rather than individual letters. Consequently, my speed slows considerably when typing unfamiliar names or words. However, I still type well above 100 WPM on average.
97. I should have worn my lower retainer for a few more years.
98. I’m superstitious about knocking on wood, saying bread and butter, dropping silverware, opening umbrellas indoors, and eating black-eyed peas on New Years.
99. I am simultaneously terrified of and fascinated by the sea.
100. I think Coke Zero tastes pretty darn good.