25 Random Things About Me

Everybody seems to be jumping on the "random things about me" bandwagon, and seeing as how I never pass up a chance to fill out a survey or take a personality test I think this is the wagon to jump on. Enjoy:

1. When I was 5 yrs old, I stole a piece of candy corn from the bulk food bins at the grocery store. My mom caught me and made me apologize to the cashier and pay ten cents for it.

2. When I was born, I was a blond, and my hair was only slightly wavy.

3. I am part Syrian, which partly explains why I frequently get asked if I am a) Jewish, or b) black. But I am also part Cherokee, and according to the owner of Lounjin, there is this landbridge theory about the origins of Native Americans, so between that and the Syrian, I am really almost a quarter Asian.

4. When I was in high school, I had a paper route. I used to deliver papers around my neighborhood in the afternoons and then on weekends my dad would go with me because it was early in the morning. I was even Carrier of the Month once and got my picture in the paper. I delivered papers my freshman year of college too, so when they handed out end of the year floor awards in my dorm, mine was for 'Best Actress in the musical: "Jane Austen Delivers the 2am Newspaper"'.

5. I don't swim, I only dog paddle. Seriously, when I was little and my parents were trying to teach me how to swim, I would cling to them for dear life. Then they made me take swimming lessons when I was 12. I was the biggest kid in the beginner class. I still can't really swim, but I could probably stay alive for a few minutes before I drowned.

6. I bought my first car at 15, before I could drive. It was a Suzuki Samurai, a little mini-jeep, and I thought it was super cute. It was a good deal, but it was a stickshift, and I ended up not being able to drive it, so I had to sell it. I still can't drive a stick.

7. All of my family's vehicles, including mine, have names. My current car is named Katerina, Kat for short, because she is German and very fast and powerful. The Samurai was named Suzi.

8. All five of us siblings have different hair colors and textures-black, brown, red, curly, wavy, straight, all different combinations. If you just looked at our hair, we wouldn't look related. Contrastingly, my best friend and I have been asked if we are sisters too many times to count, and have even been asked if we are twins.

9. I have a little bit of asthma that kicks in when there is a lot of dust or I work out really hard. Which is why I found breathing difficult when hiking in Arches National Park last June.

10. My freshman year of college, I went through three roommates. One was fine, we just didn't get along. Another one was a thief. The last one was great, but attended school inconsistently. But during that year I became friends with the girl who became my roommate for the rest of college, who is still one of my best friends.

11. According to my dad, there is a Garrett's Pub somewhere in Yorkshire that is owned by ancestral relatives. Also, our family crest colors are supposedly cobalt blue and gold. Good thing I really like cobalt blue.

12. I love mushrooms, any and all kinds, raw or cooked. A mushroom-swiss burger is one of my great weaknesses.

13. I grew up constantly singing and acting in choirs and plays at church and school, but I have never had any voice or acting lessons and only 6 months of piano lessons.

14. When I was 15, I was at a friend's graduation party. One of his friends from school said that she had wine coolers in her car that her dad had bought her, and she was going to bring them down to the beach where we were. I got up and said that there was not going to be any alcohol because we were all under age and if she brought it down, I was going to get my friend's mom, and my dad, and the police, and it was not going to happen! The next day someone who had been at the party told his mom about it, and then she told all the parents at church about it. I got quite the reputation.

15. I have a weird habit of getting dressed in the bathroom instead of my bedroom which comes from 6 years of living in a bedroom with only two walls and no door.

16. The two things I own the most of are books and shoes. I collect antique books and they are all over my room and in boxes and just everywhere. If I had to get rid of them I don't know if I would survive.

17. My least favorite colors are chartreuse and bright orange. Oh, and puce. I probably hate these colors because I look horrendous in anything yellow-based. I am really picky about wearing colors that look good with your skin tone, both for myself and others.

18. I used to take horseback riding lessons and go to horse camp and I absolutely love riding even though I never get a chance to do it.

19. I was not allowed to listen to non-Christian music growing up, so my favorite bands were Newsboys and Switchfoot. The very first concert I ever went to was Carman: The Standard. The only reason I know any pop songs from the 80s and 90s is because of karaoke.

20. I was a HUGE scifi nerd (kind of still am) growing up. I watched every single iteration of the Star Trek franchise, actually knew a few phrases in Klingon, and can still carry on conversations about ST, Star Wars, Babylon 5, Stargate, Farscape, Firefly (the best) and other random things. The only thing I haven't seen is Battlestar Galactica.

21. If I were living in the sixties, I would have the biggest crush ever on James Garner. Support Your Local Sheriff, Move Over Darling, The Thrill Of It All. You've got to watch them. So great.

22. I never intended to get into banking. I actually said to parents and friends, "business? why would I want to be in business? I am going to be a teacher!" But then I finished my English degree and decided not to be a teacher. So I started applying to admin assistant jobs and randomly ended up on the WaMu website (good thing I didn't end up there). While I was looking at WaMu job openings, I thought, "Huh. Where else do I bank? Um, I have a card at US Bank. Ok. I guess I'll apply to jobs at US Bank." And then I applied and got the call. After I hung up with the manager I was going to interview with, I had to go look up the job to see what it was I was interviewing for. Six years later, here I am, still in banking. God has a sense of humor.

23. When I was five, I went with my parents on a mission trip to Mexico. We were helping to build an orphanage. I was playing with the kids, and my parents had to go get some supplies from town, so they asked someone to keep an eye on me while they ran their errand. But I looked up and saw them driving away, and I thought they were leaving me with the orphans! I ran screaming after the truck, yelling, "don't leave me! don't leave me!" I think it scarred me for life. I still have abandonment issues.

24. My mom (who is amazing) is only 17 years and 7 months older than me (my birth mother died when I was two and my dad remarried a woman six years his junior). She also looks about 35, so people think she is my sister (very annoying). So we have a tacit agreement that whomever I end up marrying has to be closer to my age than hers, which means he can't be more than 8 years and 9 months older than me. So if you were born before November of 1973, you are kind of out of luck.

25. I love any and all personality tests and surveys, from Myers-Briggs and StrengthsFinder to 'What's Your Coffee Personality' and 'Which Jane Austen Character Are You?'. I own books like Your Personality Tree and Now Discover Your Strengths. I'm an ESFJ (slight E, strong J) Provider-Guardian Melancholy-Choleric with a number one strength of Responsibility (big surprise there). I am also espresso and a cross between Lizzy from Pride and Prejudice and Anne from Persuasion.