a few years ago there was a relatively short-lived fad on facebook where everyone wrote "25 random things about me" lists. i did one too, and even though i thought my list was kind of lame at the time, i recently reread it and it was kind of fun to remember what i had written. so i'm going to try to do another one now, although no guarantees that i'll actually be able to make it to 25...
these are in no particular order:
1. i gave up trying to keep nail polish off the skin surrounding my nails a long time ago. don't judge me - staying inside the lines is hard! anyway, when i paint my nails now, i just glop it on everywhere and once it dries i scrape/peel off the excess the next time i'm in the shower. the main downside to this technique is if you paint your nails and then have to leave home *before* you have a chance to fix them. there have been more than a few times when i have realized this too late...
2. snickers are hands down the best candy in the whole world. sometimes, i just need a friggin snickers and there's nothing i can do about it other than go buy myself one right then and there. reeses are a close 2nd, milky ways are pretty good, and twix are decent, but don't even TRY to substitute a snickers with a 3 musketeers. that's just offensive.
3. i know i didn't pick them, but i got stuck with one of the greatest families of all time. from two phd-wielding, kick-ass, incredibly generous and supportive parents (example: i think, in my 15 years of playing soccer, they may have missed one game between the two of them...), to my similarly-phd'ed, ceaselessly awesome brother and sister (who also happened to have married two very awesome people) - i got very lucky! and that's only counting my immediate family - the extended gang is pretty darn tootin awesome as well! (how many times can i use the word awesome? a few more? good...)
in a way, it sucks to be the baby in a family of overachievers (4 PhDs, are you people SERIOUS?!?!?), but mostly, it's been awesome to be the spoiled, gets-away-with-everything (love you, mom and dad! *bats eyelashes*), baby daughter/sister.
admittedly, each of them is their own unique brand of crazy (yes, mom, even you), but that's why they have me, ms. perfect, to balance them out. you're welcome, guys!
4. caramel macchiatos are THE BEST. they are cups filled with pure joy and wonder. ommm nommm nommmmmmm
5. one of my long-standing dreams is to write a novel, but the idea of putting pen to paper and then showing it to the world is pretty terrifying, so we'll see if i ever accomplish this. or maybe i will and i just won't show it to anyone... my #2 dream job would be a travel writer, mostly because of the travel part, but also because of the writing part.
6. i think i have an artist's soul trapped in a body with zero artistic talent. (see #1 above) pretty much the only "art" i make is affectionately called my squiggly drawings by my friends. so, yeah... pretty sure "artist" is not a future career for me.
7. after 4 years of undergrad, nearly 6 years of working, and 2 years of grad school, i am officially addicted to coffee. i am also a coffee snob. weak coffee is bad. bad coffee is bad, mediocre coffee is bad, and don't even get me started on those terrible fake-flavored creamers. they're the WORST.
8. i collect scarves when i travel. they are useful, pretty, and they remind me of all the amazing places i have visited. the only downside is that i now own approximately 134,890 scarves...
9. i love my dog, but when she endangers herself (like when she hops out of the jeep and runs into the street to see where granger is), i want to KILL HER myself. as soon as i know she's ok i get all sorts of rage-y in her general direction. stupid dog making me stupid worry by being a stupid stupid-head!
10. i don't know why, but i pretty much always feel guilty about something. i feel guilty that i don't walk sadie often/long enough. i feel guilty that i don't apply for 4253 jobs every day. i feel guilty that i don't work out more often. i feel guilty when i eat unhealthy things. (mom, don't read this next sentence) i feel guilty that i don't always walk to places that are within walking-ish distance (sometimes i drive *EGADS!!!!*). i feel guilty that my apartment isn't always neat and tidy, that the laundry isn't always folded and put away, that the dishes aren't immediately washed. i feel guilty that sometimes i don't want to go out, that sometimes i just want to be at home. i feel guilty that i am not a go-getter and that i hate networking. i feel guilty for not volunteering more. the list goes on...
granger keeps telling me that i need to give myself a break or i'm going to fall apart, but then i just start feeling guilty for not giving myself a break... sheesh!
11. the beach is my happy place. it doesn't matter what's going on in my life, i leave all my cares behind when the sand starts and i can hear the beautiful sound of waves hitting the beach. give me a beach and a good book (and some SPF 50) and nothing can bring me down.
12. i'm starting to get all teary-eyed when i watch those stupid HGTV shows about those stupid people who move to/live in stupid hawaii. i want to live in hawaii!!! why can't i live there, in *that* gorgeous house, on *that* beautiful beach??? (see #11) there are many other places in the world that i would LOVE to live, but no place can get me choked up like the prospect of living in hawaii can. and yes, i know they're small islands, and i might get bored blah blah blah, but they pack a whole lot of incredible beauty into a small space, and i really don't think i'd ever get tired of living there or ever feel stuck there. i think you'd have to drug me, kidnap me, and transport me back to the mainland to get me to leave!!
13. i'm starting to wonder when i'm going to reach that adult yeah-i-totally-know-what-i'm-doing-with-my-life stage. or is this stage just a lie that adults tell their kids to fool them into thinking that someday they'll figure it all out and their path in life will be clear? because that would be a mighty cruel joke... or perhaps it's just that my immediate family members just have their sh*t figured out way better than most people so my life only seems up-in-the-air compared to them. who knows. either way, i'm still waiting for it to begin...
*sits down and waits*
14. i hate being late to things. i also hate rushing to get places in order to avoid being late to things. but the only thing i hate more than those two things is arriving somewhere awkwardly early. like, they're-still-setting-up early, or there's-only-one-other-person-there early. these clashing hatreds lead me to leave early, arrive early, and then dawdle before actually entering. i wonder how much of my life i have spent waiting just outside or walking around the block simply to avoid the awkwardness of going in too early. oh the horror!!!
i'll stop here for now - if i think of any others i'll just add them as they come to me...
these are in no particular order:
1. i gave up trying to keep nail polish off the skin surrounding my nails a long time ago. don't judge me - staying inside the lines is hard! anyway, when i paint my nails now, i just glop it on everywhere and once it dries i scrape/peel off the excess the next time i'm in the shower. the main downside to this technique is if you paint your nails and then have to leave home *before* you have a chance to fix them. there have been more than a few times when i have realized this too late...
2. snickers are hands down the best candy in the whole world. sometimes, i just need a friggin snickers and there's nothing i can do about it other than go buy myself one right then and there. reeses are a close 2nd, milky ways are pretty good, and twix are decent, but don't even TRY to substitute a snickers with a 3 musketeers. that's just offensive.
3. i know i didn't pick them, but i got stuck with one of the greatest families of all time. from two phd-wielding, kick-ass, incredibly generous and supportive parents (example: i think, in my 15 years of playing soccer, they may have missed one game between the two of them...), to my similarly-phd'ed, ceaselessly awesome brother and sister (who also happened to have married two very awesome people) - i got very lucky! and that's only counting my immediate family - the extended gang is pretty darn tootin awesome as well! (how many times can i use the word awesome? a few more? good...)
in a way, it sucks to be the baby in a family of overachievers (4 PhDs, are you people SERIOUS?!?!?), but mostly, it's been awesome to be the spoiled, gets-away-with-everything (love you, mom and dad! *bats eyelashes*), baby daughter/sister.
admittedly, each of them is their own unique brand of crazy (yes, mom, even you), but that's why they have me, ms. perfect, to balance them out. you're welcome, guys!
4. caramel macchiatos are THE BEST. they are cups filled with pure joy and wonder. ommm nommm nommmmmmm
5. one of my long-standing dreams is to write a novel, but the idea of putting pen to paper and then showing it to the world is pretty terrifying, so we'll see if i ever accomplish this. or maybe i will and i just won't show it to anyone... my #2 dream job would be a travel writer, mostly because of the travel part, but also because of the writing part.
6. i think i have an artist's soul trapped in a body with zero artistic talent. (see #1 above) pretty much the only "art" i make is affectionately called my squiggly drawings by my friends. so, yeah... pretty sure "artist" is not a future career for me.
7. after 4 years of undergrad, nearly 6 years of working, and 2 years of grad school, i am officially addicted to coffee. i am also a coffee snob. weak coffee is bad. bad coffee is bad, mediocre coffee is bad, and don't even get me started on those terrible fake-flavored creamers. they're the WORST.
8. i collect scarves when i travel. they are useful, pretty, and they remind me of all the amazing places i have visited. the only downside is that i now own approximately 134,890 scarves...
9. i love my dog, but when she endangers herself (like when she hops out of the jeep and runs into the street to see where granger is), i want to KILL HER myself. as soon as i know she's ok i get all sorts of rage-y in her general direction. stupid dog making me stupid worry by being a stupid stupid-head!
10. i don't know why, but i pretty much always feel guilty about something. i feel guilty that i don't walk sadie often/long enough. i feel guilty that i don't apply for 4253 jobs every day. i feel guilty that i don't work out more often. i feel guilty when i eat unhealthy things. (mom, don't read this next sentence) i feel guilty that i don't always walk to places that are within walking-ish distance (sometimes i drive *EGADS!!!!*). i feel guilty that my apartment isn't always neat and tidy, that the laundry isn't always folded and put away, that the dishes aren't immediately washed. i feel guilty that sometimes i don't want to go out, that sometimes i just want to be at home. i feel guilty that i am not a go-getter and that i hate networking. i feel guilty for not volunteering more. the list goes on...
granger keeps telling me that i need to give myself a break or i'm going to fall apart, but then i just start feeling guilty for not giving myself a break... sheesh!
11. the beach is my happy place. it doesn't matter what's going on in my life, i leave all my cares behind when the sand starts and i can hear the beautiful sound of waves hitting the beach. give me a beach and a good book (and some SPF 50) and nothing can bring me down.
12. i'm starting to get all teary-eyed when i watch those stupid HGTV shows about those stupid people who move to/live in stupid hawaii. i want to live in hawaii!!! why can't i live there, in *that* gorgeous house, on *that* beautiful beach??? (see #11) there are many other places in the world that i would LOVE to live, but no place can get me choked up like the prospect of living in hawaii can. and yes, i know they're small islands, and i might get bored blah blah blah, but they pack a whole lot of incredible beauty into a small space, and i really don't think i'd ever get tired of living there or ever feel stuck there. i think you'd have to drug me, kidnap me, and transport me back to the mainland to get me to leave!!
13. i'm starting to wonder when i'm going to reach that adult yeah-i-totally-know-what-i'm-doing-with-my-life stage. or is this stage just a lie that adults tell their kids to fool them into thinking that someday they'll figure it all out and their path in life will be clear? because that would be a mighty cruel joke... or perhaps it's just that my immediate family members just have their sh*t figured out way better than most people so my life only seems up-in-the-air compared to them. who knows. either way, i'm still waiting for it to begin...
*sits down and waits*
14. i hate being late to things. i also hate rushing to get places in order to avoid being late to things. but the only thing i hate more than those two things is arriving somewhere awkwardly early. like, they're-still-setting-up early, or there's-only-one-other-person-there early. these clashing hatreds lead me to leave early, arrive early, and then dawdle before actually entering. i wonder how much of my life i have spent waiting just outside or walking around the block simply to avoid the awkwardness of going in too early. oh the horror!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
i'll stop here for now - if i think of any others i'll just add them as they come to me...
