25 things...

Let's pretend this is a blog entry.



1. I have a terrible imagination. Growing up, I never had any imaginary friends.


2. I subscribe heavily to the belief that anyone driving slower than me is an IDIOT and anyone driving faster than me is a MANIAC. (I am trying to overcome this by also subscribing to Glen's more rational belief that everyone has their own agenda and is not purposely out to mess with me, but the evidence continues to point in the idiot/maniac direction.)


3. Poor grammar drives me crazy, especially your/you're, their/they're/there, and affect/effect, but random capitalization I don't mind so much.


4. I have always known how to swim. I love the water, scuba diving and snorkeling. Being in murky water scares me a little, and while I think surfing would be a lot of fun to learn, I have much respect for sharks. Seeing them while scuba diving is a huge thrill and I seek them out, but being on the surface of the water looking like a helpless seal (a.k.a., "dinner") is not really my cup of tea.


5. I am not an introspective person.


6. I've had 3 surgeries in my life: Tonsilectomy at age 4, a hysterectomy at 26 due to cervical cancer, and bunion surgery on both feet at 34. Coincidentally, I've also had stitches 3 times (not counting the surgery stitches). I ran into a shopping cart, impaled myself hanging on a tree by my armpit, and bit through my lower lip.


7. I have never had a desire to have kids. One of my dad's favorite stories about me is that one day when I was in high school, he asked me if I wanted to have kids in the future, and I said no. He asked why, and I said "Because they might turn out like Kristi." (My sister.)


8. I believe that fate sometimes takes naps, but she was wide awake and possibly on several lines of cocaine when I met Glen. The number of things that happened to bring us together is, even in retrospect, quite staggering. It's a "25 Things" list in itself.


9. I gravitate towards comedies almost exclusively when it comes to movies, which drives Glen up the wall. I do like other kinds of movies, but have to be pushed to see them. However, I am proud to say that I have never seen Titanic, and I walked out of Pearl Harbor after I realized that a) it was awful, and b) the majority of the attack scene was ripped off from Star Wars: A New Hope. Check it out if you don't believe me.


Now for a sub-list: My favorite comedies of all time, in no particular order: Spaceballs, Animal House, Caddyshack, The Breakfast Club, Airplane!, Weird Science, Tropic Thunder, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Office Space, Old School. I've probably seen The Breakfast Club over 100 times. I used to watch it every day after school.


10. When I perform a routine task, such as getting ready for work in the morning, I have a need for efficiency. Everything I do is done in a precise order to make the best use of the time allotted. Running is my favorite exercise because it gives the most benefit in the least amount of time.

11. Shopping frustrates me immensely, because it's so hard for me to find things that I like and because I hate spending money on clothes. Last night I had a dream that I found a pair of purple suede John Fluevog high-heeled boots, and they were the most beautiful boots I'd ever seen and matched the dress I was wearing perfectly, but I didn't buy them because they were waaaaay too expensive. (Also I think I was a teacher, which is strange, but that's beside the point.)


12. I count stairs when I go up & down them, and sometimes when I walk I count each step. A very mild form of OCD, to be sure, but I know it's not bad because I don't care if I stop counting. It was helpful in our last apartment because I could go up and down the back stairs with laundry or groceries and didn't have to worry about missing a step and killing myself.


13. Glen thinks I'm quite clumsy, but really I'm just not paying attention. I've got enough things going on in my mind without having to think about not running headlong into a wall.


14. I am a certified scuba diver and I have my pilot's license (though it's not current). Taking #2 into account, my friend Glenn once labeled me "a menace on land, in the air, and at sea". He has also called me "International Woman of Mystery". I approve of both.


15. I love my Jetta but think it's a cruel twist of fate that I bought the one car that has an ignition wire too short to allow for installation of a remote starter. (There's fate again, awake and sniffing glue.)

16. I'm definitely a summer person. Like Paige, I can sit outside in the summer heat all day and be very happy, as long as I've got my trusty sunscreen. I despise the cold. I don't mind snow except when I have to drive to work (see #2), and have enjoyed my attempts at snowboarding. But I get cold very easily and my body temperature runs low, so it's hard for me to be comfortable in the winter. I've developed a nice relationship with cashmere over the years.

17. Just because you crank up the distortion on your guitar does not mean you are rocking out.

18. I'm a volunteer diver at the Shedd Aquarium and I love it. My dive buddies are great and I love getting out of the water and talking to people, especially kids, about what I do. I get a kick out of hearing people say "Hey look, she's the one who was just in the tank!" It's like they think we're not real people in there. Robot divers!!

19. I like punk rock and swing music. Opposite ends of the spectrum, you say? That's just how I roll.

20. I wish I were more creative. Trying to think of a creative, funny video for The Best Job in the World is frustrating the hell out of me.

21. I tried to learn bass guitar in college. I played in a band at a graduation party; one of the songs we played was the theme to "Laverne & Shirley". I later played in another band where I was so obviously the least talented person that I had to quit to allow them to find someone better.

22. In high school, I was voted "Most Likely to Be the Next MacGyver", probably due more to my excellence in all my science classes than my ability to defuse a bomb with a paper clip. That has yet to be tested.

23. I've always liked football, but I thought baseball was the most boring game in the world until Glen came along and explained it to me. It took about a year, and of course I'm still learning, but now I understand it better than most people and I enjoy it. I'm a Bears, Cubs, and Red Sox fan.

24. I hate cleaning but I like the result when I do it.

25. Glen's sarcastic, weird sense of humor cracks me up, and it's one of my favorite things about him. He's definitely my best friend.