25 Random Things About Me

I originally posted this on Facebook, but since most of it is still true, I thought I'd re-post it here. Enjoy!

Originally posted on: Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 8:04pm

Rules: Once you've been tagged, OR have been tagged 2.8 million times, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.(To do this, go to “Notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

Ok,fix yourself a cup of coffee cuz I'm long winded...here goes...

1. I speak four languages, but none of them particularly well. You would think I could speak English rather well, however my husband would disagree with you. Also, I don't consider English my first language. Really your first language should be the first language in which you learned to say the F word, in which case my first language is Italian.

2. I hate being thirty. HATE it with the fury of 1000 suns. The phrase "act your age" has taken on a whole new meaning in the past couple weeks. And for the record, I fully intend on regressing as much as possible for the next 350 odd days.

3. My awesomest memory of high school was the time I spent attending Trinity Preparatory School. No, really, just ask Ryan...or Taylor... Actually, ask him when he's drunk. Taylor is much more adamant about my being a student at Trinity when he's inebriated. And by the way I went to Lake Brantley for all four years.

4. Someone from high school asked me recently what I did for a living and without missing a beat or even really thinking about it at all, I told him I was a writer. For the record, I think about thirty people have bought my book. (although, ahem, some of you have ordered copies and have not paid for them! ahem). I've made very little profit from my novel. I make my living as a drug prevention program coordinator and a therapist. But I am a published author with a real ISBN and everything. That must count for something right? More days than not, I wish I could quit my job and just write and write and write. As it is, even when I'm doing my "real" job, I am writing in my head all day long. I love it. It makes me feel more alive than most things. Unfortunately that does not mean I'm any good at it.

5. Somewhere along the lines while dancing throughout my entire childhood, acting in high school and captaining the IE squad of the debate team in college, I became an introvert. I'm not really sure how that happened and I kind of hate it. As part of my year long regression I fully intend to become an extrovert again.

6. I am a die-hard, orange and blue bleeding, fiercely obnoxious member of the Gator nation. I believe in FOCUS! My favorite thing about my job is that my boss is a Gator, too. During football season, we have Gator Mondays where we play the fight song and talk boisterously about the game and how much better we are than everyone else at work are because we're Gators. During football season, everyone in the office hates us. One of our co-workers, Ryan, actually initiated an intervention. Money was collected. We used it to buy a Gators desk calendar with trivia or facts for each day. I regularly tape them to Ryan's cubicle. When interviewing candidates for my new secretary, I asked if they had any problem with the Gators or if they were fans of FSU or Tennessee. My new secretary considers herself an honorary gator since she was hired on the day we won the national championship...AGAIN.

7. The only "thing" I love more than the Gators is the New Kids on the Block. I can't really explain it...Actually I can, but it's just not that interesting...it's just an enormous part of who I am and has been since I was nine years old. I'm so glad I met Jen M here in Charlotte because she understands...kind of. She does think I'm crazy, but that's okay, because I know it's true. I'm going to meet them next month...again. I'm petitioning my husband to let me kiss Donnie Wahlberg. Anyone who wants to sign, just let me know. Or let him know. Put it on Bruce's Facebook wall, he'll love it. Every wife needs one freebie and I want Donnie to be mine. I mean, come on, I've loved the man for twenty years.

8. I've kind of always known but really, really embraced recently that I don't do shades of gray terribly well. I kind of polarize (to steal Susan's observation) things, see them as black or white.

9. I'm completely and totally fascinated by illicit substances and the people who use them. I'd pay some of my drug addicted clients so that I could counsel them. There are two that I've been counseling for over three years now for free because really, I get so much more out of the experience than they do. I just love the way their minds work and the way they manipulate themselves.

10. I hate Facebook (see, it's that whole no shades of gray thing?) but I'm really glad I broke down and got one and that I actually use it because I'm having more contact with my cousins on my dad's side now than I ever have before. This is super important to me because I felt rather shunned and disliked by them growing up. Our parents' relationships were always kind of complicated and I'm about ten years younger than my closest in age cousin so this is a whole new experience and I love it.

11. Related to number 10, I miss my grandmother every day. Both of them, actually, even though my mom's mom has been dead since I was 6. This summer was the most awfully painful and spiritually awakening, growing experience I have ever had as a Malo. I hope I got good things from them and I can see some: female strength without feminism, awareness of the importance of family and heritage, and the ability give a damn striking evil eye are amongst the things I inherited that I know about.

12. Unlike Christy, I do consider myself a mother to my creatures. Anyone who doubts that has not spent much time with my Maggiecat. She is only about 10% cat and about 90% human infant.

13. I miss Frankerdoodledoo every day, too. It's still very hard to see Zoe without him.

14. I am a Disney Princess. For real. I have pictures to prove it.

15. I went to see Rent last week and was super excited about meeting Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp even though I barely said two words to them. When they sang Seasons of Love I cried like a baby. I didn't realize why until later that day. It was the first time I'd seen the show since losing Andy.

16. I miss debate. I miss extemp boxes and suits with sneakers and waiting for finals postings and stupid spaceship-shaped trophies and that weird, pacman-looking hand signal people give you when you have thirty seconds left and marathon rides in the minivans and practicing for FIFA at three in the morning in Rolfs Hall. I miss my teammates.

17. There are few sounds I love more than Bruce belly-laughing at random shit on YouTube

18. We are not at all related, but I consider Nathan my baby brother and Nadine my favorite sister. Whoever hurts them needs to be forewarned that they're gonna get cut.

19. Although I've loved all my friends and families weddings, hands down the best wedding I've attended other than my own has been Marie and Elysa's.

20. I have kept Kosher on and off for the last four years. I'm doing it again now and I feel 1000 times healthier even though I'm still eating all kinds of unhealthy crap. I intend to stick with it for good this time.

21.(Bruce you're gonna wanna skip this one or your eyes are gonna get stuck to the top of your sockets from you rolling them so much). I want to go back to Russia and bring home a baby. I really believe in my core that it's the reason I did study abroad in the first place. Seriously, of all the places I could have gone to study, Russia? I don't believe in coincidences. My biological clock is screaming but does not include in any way shape or form the desire to get pregnant or give birth. I want to genetically engineer a baby delivering stork.

22. I think that mental illness cuts both ways. There are some serious strengths to so-called disordered thinking. Three of the most important people in my life are chronically mentally ill. I am one of them..and not because I want to go back to Russia to bring home a baby.

23.Although, I don't watch a lot of television in general there are few inherent truths I subscribe to: I firmly believe that The Office is, hands down, the funniest television show ever. I don't care how many times I've seen the episode, if To Catch a Predator is on, I will watch it. My favorite part of Superbowl weekend is the Animal Planet Puppy Bowl.

24. I don't cook. I can cook. In fact I think I cook better than the average person. But I don't like cooking.

25. I would rather eat cake batter than actual cake.