25 Random Things About Me

Many of you have seen this going around Facebook, but I thought I'd post it on this blog. Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. If you are reading this and ALSO have a blog, I urge you to post your 25 random things on your blog, too, and then post a comment here so I know to go read your post, too.

1 - I do not use public restrooms unless it is an absolute emergency. I hate germs, and I would rather let my bladder explode than go into a public restroom. Being pregnant made this quite challenging, but I still managed to avoid public restrooms to the maximum extent possible. One time, my aversion to restrooms got me into trouble when a friend who was picking me up from the airport made a wrong turn, and I ended up having to use an awful, disgusting restroom off of the run by the park services. Ewww!!!

2 - I hate mustard - I think it is the most abhorrent substance on earth.

3 - I think fruit and milk should not be mixed. Something about the milk combined with the acidity of the fruit changes the flavor into something . . . awful.

4 - I hate stupidity. I mean REALLY hate stupidity. I am amazed that the world contains so many stupid people.

5 - I hate seeing grammatical errors and spelling errors in e-mail communications to me. I do not understand how people cannot tell the difference between THERE and THEIR, or WHICH and THAT, or WHO and WHOM. I do not understand why people think that the word definitely has an "A" in it. I once broke up with a guy I was dating long-distance because his letters contained too many errors and it made me crazy. I told that story to DH the day we met, and apparently I scared him so much he spent hours composing his first e-mail to me and double-checking his spelling about a dozen times before sending it to me.

6 - I don't sleep. Well, I sleep some, but I rarely sleep more than 4-5 hours a night, and I can go days at a time without sleeping at all. I don't understand people who go to bed at 10:00 pm and sleep until 7 or 8:00 am. I don't think I've ever slept 8 consecutive hours in my life. I once had a 2 week period in which I slept fewer than 5 hours.

7 - I'm a compulsive reader. I cannot just pick up a book and read a chapter, then put it down. If I start a book, I will keep reading it until I'm finished. I will skip plans, fail to do work, and refuse to leave the house. So, I've had to curb my reading in recent years so it doesn't interfere with me being a productive member of society.

8 - I actually don't care what other people think of me. I know I can be abrasive at times, and I generally don't mean to offend people (okay, there are times when I do intentionally try to offend people, but I'm pretty up front about that) and I will apologize if I've done something offensive and it is brought to my attention, but it really doesn't matter to me if someone likes me or not. I am perfectly fine with knowing there are people out there who do not like me.

9 - I like helping people. It doesn't matter the kind of help . . . school work, work projects, medical issues, a crossword puzzle, family problem, volunteer work. I tend to bend over backwards to help people even though I am awful at asking for help.

10 - Family and close friends mean everything to me. I prioritize family over everything else. I would drop everything to be there for any family member in a heartbeat, because I believe that is what you do for family. No questions asked. I love my family, and I'm so lucky to have such supportive parents who would do anything for me, and a brother who also adores me - despite what crap he might sometimes say. For as much as we can drive each other crazy at times, I know that we are always there for each other. I'm also amazed every day by how our family has grown - my brother's 2 adorable girls, and my new extended family - DH's brothers and sisters-in-law and their 4 wonderful children.

11 - I am a horrible procrastinator. I hate that I procrastinate and yet . . . I can't seem to stop myself from doing it. There isn't anything that I do in advance. I leave everything until the last minute - I guess I must work best under pressure. It drives me bonkers that I do that.

12 - I absolutely adore being a mom, and am totally crazy about Micah. But I've also found it challenging because I miss myself and I'm afraid of losing me while trying to be a mommy. I'm hoping to strike a balance and be both myself and a mom.

13 - While many people do not believe this, I actually DO work for a living, even though I work from home. I am an attorney by training, but no longer practice law in the traditional sense. I am now an advocate and a policy advisor, and I work on issues that help improve access to technology for people with disabilities. My clients are all over the country. I provide advice and counseling to several federally-funded national Technical Assistance programs, I work with a number of State Departments of Education, I assist several national disability organizations, I provide advice to technology companies on the accessibility of their products, and I work with companies that manufacture assistive technology.

14 - I never thought I would get married . . . not because I didn't believe it would happen, but because I actually never really thought I would ever want to get married. I told that to DH when I first met him, but he didn't listen to me.

15 - I have an adorable dog, a cocker spaniel/poodle mix. She is the biggest genetic lemon in the history of dogs - there is ALWAYS something wrong with her. I call her my million dollar dog because of the fortune I've spent on her medical bills . . . 4 surgeries and tons of medication, trips to specialists, special diets, etc. I wouldn't trade her for the world - I consider her my first baby, and I have no idea what I would do without her. She has been with me through some rough times in the past 11 years.

16 - I develop obsessions . . . I get fixated on something for months (or years) at a time, and that becomes my all-consuming hobby (or research project). I'll find internet boards with information on the topic, or I keep going to buy more supplies. The past few years, my obsessions have included knitting, crocheting, cake decorating, ttc (and my SK and FF obsession) and now breastfeeding and baby-raising. I love that DH takes an interest in my obsessions, and he will even feed my habit - ask me questions about what I've learned, or buy me more supplies (like an edible image printer). We have determined that we need a separate house for my cake-decorating supplies. And I haven't even baked anything in a few months! Just wait for Micah's first birthday . . . I'm already planning his cake.

17 - I'm allergic to coconut (and coconut oil). This is becoming an extremely inconvenient allergy. I have learned that all baby formula available commercially in the US contains coconut oil, and I break out into a nasty rash (and sometimes develop breathing issues) when I come into contact with the baby formula.

18 - I'm a night owl, always have been. This probably goes hand-in-hand with not sleeping, but I think the best time of day is late at night. I always laugh when people call me at 9 or 10 and say "am I calling too late?"

19 - I think obnoxious things all the time. I have a pretty good censor in my head that prevents about 95% of what I'm thinking from coming out of my mouth. So, if you think I'm obnoxious . . . you wouldn't like me with my censor broken.

20 - I once accidentally flushed my house keys down the toilet. Fourth of July back in 1999. If I could have stuck to my no public restrooms rule, it never would have happened! It was at a Cosi, and they have single stall bathrooms. Everyone was waiting in line and using the different stalls on a first-come, first-serve basis. I ended up in the stall marked "men's" and some drunken idiot saw me coming out, started ranting about how women were taking over the world and even the bathrooms, and he shoved me. I lost my balance, and fell back towards the toilet. As my keys were falling out of the pocket, I leaned back to grab something to steady myself . . . and found the handle to the toilet . . . and accidentally flushed it. It was terrible - I had not yet moved into my new condo, and my car was locked in the building (because my car keys were in the condo) and no one in the building knew me yet. I ended up leaving my friends because they couldn't stop laughing at the situation (which I knew I would also find amusing in about 24 hours) and had to take public transportation and figure out how to get in touch with my parents and have them meet me to pay my fare so I could get OUT of the station and spend the night in a bed at their house.

21 - I'm a sap. I cry at all kinds of cheesey things on tv and in the theatre. It doesn't take much to make me cry.

22 - I have a guilty pleasure . . . I watch cheesey love stories on tv (often on the Lifetime Movie Network). I can't help it - I have to see ALL of the new ones as they come out. And I'll watch them over and over again.

23 - I'm a feminist and I don't think it is a dirty word. I believe that men and women are equal, that men and women are capable of doing the same things (biological functions aside) and that men and women should be paid the same amount for the same work. I do not believe all the crap about how men and women learn differently - I think societal differences influence that. I was offended when some of the feminists started saying that women do not do well in law school because women can't learn competitively. I think PEOPLE learn differently, and some women learn well competitively and some men do, but if you don't, well, don't go to law school. It is a competitive field and adversarial in nature - if you can't take it, find a different career path.

24 - Despite my strong feminist side, I have a domestic side . . . I like to cook and bake, and I like to knit and crochet - I just don't believe I should HAVE to do any of that because I am a woman.

25 - I am not generally a very social person. I can withdraw from interactions for weeks at a time. I can't stand being out all day and then going out at night, too. I need to go home for long periods of time to "recharge." I very much need alone time, and miss it desperately. Facebook and other computer based communications are wonderful for me - I can keep up with people when I don't have the bandwidth without having to interact for long extended periods. Before these things, I would lose track of friends because of all the energy it takes to keep in touch with people.