100 Things

1. Both my first and last name are very common, but my middle name is fairly unique so I use my full name to distinguish myself in professional situations.

2. Although I use my full name for a practical reason, I worry that this makes me seem pretentious. I worry a lot about seeming pretentious, even though I know this is a mostly irrational worry.

3. I have a rule for myself that I need to work out twenty days a month.

4. I have accomplished this goal every month since January 2004, except for February and March of 2005, when I had a sprained ankle from falling down a stairwell in a parking garage.

5. Making rules about working out is good for me, because I LOVE food and don't think I could diet even if I tried.

6. Luckily, I would rather eat hummus than Cheetos anyway.

7. Speaking of food, I watch far too much Food Network.

8. I also watch far too much HGTV.

9. My college roommate was an interior designer. She taught me that the biggest decorating mistake people make is pushing all of their furniture up against their walls.

10. I fall asleep on my couch most nights and then wake up around 4 or 5 a.m. and move into my bedroom.

11. In case the above statement doesn't make it obvious, I'm single.

12. I haven't had an official boyfriend since August of 2003.

13. I had several quasi-relationships after that, though. So really, I have only felt completely single since February of 2006.

14. Yes, I haven't dated anyone seriously or otherwise for over a year.

15. Except for the guy I dated for three weeks in October. I stopped seeing him because he was a smoker and had a tobacco stain on one of his bottom teeth and it annoyed the hell out of me. I consider that a good enough reason to stop seeing someone, although it wasn't the ONLY reason.

16. Tobacco Guy was the shortest relationship I have ever had.

17. I did have a quasi-one night stand once, but I don't count that as a relationship.

18. The longest relationship I have ever had lasted three years.

19. I still talk almost daily to Phil, my ex from that relationship. We have tried very hard to stay friends, although our friendship/relationship has been tumultuous at times, to say the least. In my opinion, we've been striking a pretty good balance since January of this year and for now we're drama-free, but I'm still betting you'll hear about him here once in a while.

20. One of the main reasons I can't be with Phil is that I see marriage and kids in my future, and he doesn't.

21. Even if I don't ever meet a good guy and get married, I plan to have a child somehow. I can't remember a time when I didn't want to be a mother, and being someone's mother is a goal that is very important to me.

23. Yes, I question the sanity of wanting to bring a child into this world. At the rate we're going, I don't think any of us will be here much longer, honestly.

24. I am a feminist.

25. I'm a spiritual person who has yet to find a belief system that works for me. Yes, it's frustrating.

26. My only real hobby is reading.

27. I am certified to teach high school, but I don't know that I ever actually will.

28. I never changed my major in college.

29. I decided I wanted to go on for my Ph.D. my sophomore year of college. I no longer remember how or why I made this decision, but now I'm on that road and not planning to exit any time soon.

30. I'm not taking a break between my MA program and the Ph.D. program (well, only a summer break). Most people seem to think that's a crazy choice, but I don't understand why I should take time off if I already know what I want to do.

31. I think those must be my father's genes talking, since he got into the restaurant business when he was 20, managed his own place by the time he was 22 or 23, and owned his own restaurant before he was 30.

32. I have my father's drive but my mother's tendency to worry a lot and stress out when things aren't going according to plan. It makes for an interesting combination of wanting to take the big risks but being terrified to take them.

33. Of my three siblings, I'm the most likely to burst into tears.

34. Oddly, most people outside of my family don't consider me to be a very emotional person.

35. I had a friend ask me recently, "Is your dog more like your friend or like your baby?" and I thought that was a really interesting question. The answer: like my baby.

36. My cat, on the other hand, is more like my buddy than my baby. That's probably because my cat is extremely cool. Really, he is. I can't even tell you how many times people have said, "Wow, I've never met a cat like that before." He has a very sweet, chilled out, unique personality.

37. I've spent the past two years living alone with just the dog and the cat. I LOVE living alone.

38. When I'm living with other people, it's extremely important that I have a space somewhere that is mine and mine alone. Even when I'm sharing hotel rooms for short periods of time it's important to me to have my own space where I can organize my things, even if my "space" is just the side of my bed.

39. I am a neat freak, definitely a "place for everything and everything in its place" person.

40. I take really good notes. Really. In my MA program, everyone would make copies of my notebooks before tests to make sure they had all the information that I did.

41. My friends from my masters program also tease me for using "SAT words" in everyday conversation. The sad thing is I don't even realize I'm doing it until someone calls me on it. Most recently, I was mocked for using the word "palacial" when I could have just said "huge."

42. I overuse the words "ridiculous", "literally", and the phrase "in theory."

43. But at least I use the word "literally" correctly. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people say "literally" when they're not talking about something that has LITERALLY happened, i.e. "I literally died laughing." Uh, no. You didn't.

44. My favorite city that I have visited so far is London. Paris, on the other hand, was a huge disappointment. I'm willing to give it a second chance one of these days, though.

45. I have been to England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, The Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Mexico. I don't consider that to be nearly enough countries.

46. I love traveling. One of my goals in life is to visit every state in the U.S. and set foot on every continent, including Antarctica. And the more countries I can visit, the better.

47. I think after my drive from my current home state to my new home this summer, I will have spent time in enough states to finally pass the halfway mark on my goal of visiting every U.S. state.

48. I have to force myself to take a shower most of the time because I find showering to be a horribly boring waste of 10-15 minutes of my life every day. I have to entice myself by always having what most people would consider an insane variety of shower gel.

49. I eat too much frozen food.

50. I am very good at making change, but most math beyond that is completely baffling to me. (So hey, now you know what I don't study.)

51. My favorite parttime job was when I worked as a valet and bartender at a performance hall. I made very good money for doing an extremely easy job, and I got to drive some fun cars that I will never, ever be able to afford.

52. In general, though, I hate driving and am looking forward to moving to an area of the country that supposedly has somewhat reliable public transportation.

53. I love thunderstorms, provided I'm in the comfort of my own home and the power doesn't go out.

54. I have recurring nightmares about tornados, giving birth to a baby by myself, plane crashes and driving my car off an unfinished highway overpass.

55. When I get home the first thing I do is take off my shoes, jewelry, and pants. Sometimes I put on workout pants, but a lot of the time I just sit around the apartment in my underwear and shirt.

56. I generally stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning and sleep until 10 or 11 the next day. This schedule has worked well for me as a grad student, although probably won't work well at all in the future.

57. I wouldn't say I seek out wild and adventurous experiences, but when opportunities find me I don't generally turn them down. I will try any food, love going places I've never been, etc.

58. The only thing I can't imagine myself ever doing is sky diving. With that said, I almost feel like I need to make myself do it at some point just because I'm so incredibly scared of it.

59. My favorite colors to wear are brown, green, and purple. I can't wear yellow at all, it washes me out.

60. My grandfather is a gynecologist and gives me the free birth control pills he gets from drug reps at the hospital. I probably have a nine year supply of birth control at this moment. This is possibly why I never get laid these days, it never happens when you're actually prepared!

61. My mom's parents are both still living, and I love them very much and am very close to them. They live in my hometown.

62. My dad's parents have both passed away. I was never as close to them. My grandfather had his moments when I could tell he really loved us, but he could be a very abrasive person. And my grandmother had Parkinson's disease, so by the time I was old enough to want to have conversations with her, she wasn't able to really talk to me. That makes me sad.

63. I feel equally close to both of my parents but for different reasons. I feel very lucky to have such a great relationship with them.

64. My sister is two years younger than me, and my brother is two years younger than her. They have more in common with each other than I do with either of them, but I have a good relationship with both of them, too. We generally have a lot of fun together.

65. I am addicted to text messaging and probably receive 10-20 messages a day and send at least that many. I'm really fast at texting, too.

66. I listen to NPR whenever I'm in my car. I find it more relaxing to listen to voices than music when I'm driving, even if the voices are talking about bombings in Iraq.

67. I am addicted to the internet and reading blogs (which is why I keep my own), and I don't even want to know how many hours of my life I have spent on the internet, because I know the general waste of time would just depress me.

68. My favorite indulgences are professional massages and meals at restaurants that are normally out of my budget.

69. I like clothes shopping but never do it unless I am on vacation or need something particular. I think this trait probably saves me a lot of money.

70. I'm not a big impulse buyer in general. I go grocery shopping with a detailed list, I generally think about products for several days before I actually go out to buy them, and if I'm tempted to make an impulse purchase I usually leave the store and then come back later if I still really want the item.

71. I generally feel good about my body and don't spend much time worrying about my weight/looks. My best friend here says, "It's because you don't NEED to," but that's not true. It's just that I don't think ANYONE needs to. I think we should all be concerned about whether or not we're healthy, but not whether or not we're thin.

72. On that note, I think I would be more healthy if I boosted my cardio endurance and wore sunscreen more often.

73. I have been in love once.

74. My favorite TV shows are The Sopranos, Big Love, Lost, and Grey's Anatomy (although I feel like Grey's has been going downhill lately, unfortunately). My favorite TV show ever was Sex and the City. I have all of the DVDs and have watched the entire series probably five times.

75. For the record, I identify most strongly with Miranda.

76. I don't think I'm a very romantic person, at least not in the traditional sense. If a guy ever tried to propose to me by taking me to an expensive restaurant and putting my ring in a glass of champagne, I would say no. Anything that seems like a cliche is a huge turn off to me.

77. I don't like to have the overhead lights on in my apartment, so I have a lot of lamps.

78. I can't sleep soundly unless I am completely covered with a blanket, from ears to toes.

79. I have a freckled face and look younger than I actually am.

80. I have mostly Swiss, German, and Dutch ancestry.

81. I would rather wear silver than gold.

82. I am more of a saver than a spender and feel uneasy unless I have a certain amount of "just in case" money in the bank.

83. I watch Waiting for Guffman at least once very six months. It never stops being funny.

84. I'm allergic to cats and dogs but have built up an immunity to my own. I rarely get allergic in my own apartment unless I go too long without vaccuuming, but if I go anywhere else with animals I have allergy attacks.

85. My favorite types of food are Mexican, Italian, and Greek. But it has to be REAL Mexican food.

86. I am an animal lover, and if I hadn't chosen my current career path I wouldn't mind doing something animal-related. I used to think I wanted to be a marine biologist and work at Sea World, for example.

87. Once I got to swim with dolphins in Florida, and it was one of the most purely happy moments of my life.

88. I also wouldn't mind having a travel-related job. I still think if this Ph.D. thing doesn't work out I may apply for jobs as a tour guide taking groups of senior citizens on tours around the world. I'm dead serious about this, there are many companies that do it. The only downside would be I wouldn't be able to take my dog.

89. I don't like making phone calls. If it weren't for the internet, I would be terrible at keeping in touch with old friends.

90. I have a bit of OCD about shaving my legs and have to do it every single time I shower. If I don't shave my legs I still feel dirty even though I have just gotten out of the water.

91. I don't drink coffee, but I do feel a bit "off" if I don't have a Coca Cola every day.

92. I have to read for a few minutes before going to bed every night, even if I'm exhausted or have been out drinking and am too drunk to actually know what I'm reading.

93. I used to be horribly disgusted by loose strands of hair. I have gotten better about it in the past couple of years, but I still think hair is one of the most disgusting things in the world. Interestingly enough, strands of animal hair don't bother me at all.

94. I sleep with socks on my hands most nights. I put lotion on and then put the socks on to keep in the moisture. I don't use gloves because I like my fingers to be able to touch each other. If someone comes across moisturizing mittens, let me know!

95. My family has a cabin in the Rocky Mountains and it is my favorite place on earth.

96. I am a lip gloss addict and have seven different varieties on my dresser right now (really).

97. I wear Estee Lauder Beyond Paradise perfume most days, even though I have several different types I could use.

98. I started taking dance lessons when I was four and was on the dance team in high school. I really miss dancing.

99. It doesn't take very much to make me happy, and it takes a lot to make me sad.

100. I cannot wait for this movie to be released. It's directed by Julie Taymor, which means it has the potential to be very, very awesome. Unfortunately, I don't think it comes out until September.