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ladyspriteEverybody seems to be revisiting (or, for some, visiting for the first time) the Random Number of Factoids About Me meme. I remember doing this as 100 Things, way back when LJ was little - 2002, it turns out.
And, looking back at it, it's fascinating to see how many things are still true about me, and how many things have either changed, or my perceptions or feelings about them have changed. So, given both that and how many people read this journal now that I didn't know those many years ago, I now present:
1) I wish my hair were longer
This will likely always be true, no matter how long my hair gets.
2) I have a body image disorder (big surprise there, I know).
Alas, this will probably always be true too.
3) I would be bulimic, but I have no gag reflex.
And this.
4) I'm scared of fire. Not quite phobic, but it's a very strong dislike.
I should probably make folks more aware of this, to avoid unfortunate flash paper incidents and the like....
5) Foxes like me.
For a long time - at least since I was in college, possibly longer. That was half the inspiration for my Threads character.
6) When I was 15, I told my mother that I'd rather be a stripper than work in a fast food restaurant. She didn't believe me.
Food service is icky.
7) When I was 21, I had the choice. I took the stripping job. My mom hasn't doubted me since then.
Stripping is also icky, but doesn't involve deep-fat frying or food under heat lamps.
8) I do not understand machines.
Machines are weird, and they don't talk back in a language I can understand.
9) Although I'm more or less heterosexual, I do very much like kissing girls.
Noone seems to believe this when I tell them, which I find amusing.
10) I don't drink alcohol. Or anything with calories, if I can avoid it.
See above note about body image disorder.
11) I'm fine with real blood and gore - but the fake stuff in movies disturbs me pretty deeply.
In spite of many attempts to overcome this, I can't get past it.
12) Foam rubber squicks me.
Don't laugh - that stuff's creepy.
13) I'd die happy if hoopskirts came back into fashion.
In retrospect, having worn the things more often now, I retract this one. They really are a nuisance after all.
14) I only own one pair of bluejeans, but I have four different pairs of black velvet pants and three pairs of high black gothy boots.
OK, now I'm up to two pairs of jeans, and down to three pairs of black velvet pants.
15) My favorite flavors of ice cream are Toscanini's Vienna Finger Cookie and Ben & Jerry's Gooey Butter Cake.
Mmmmm. I miss Toscanini's.
16) I have a birthmark shaped like a butterfly.
Obviously, still true.
17) I'm not particularly fond of Tolkien. Or Heinlein. I'm sure this makes me a bad person.
I have accepted that Tolkien is tolerable, as long as read aloud. Heinlein... still not so much.
18) I was a semi-regular participant on a fairly silly game show when I was in elementary school.
I find it fascinating how many people I know now were on the same show....
19) I believe in magic.
I hope this never changes.
20) With only one exception, every tv series I've loved from the first episode has died by the end of it's first season.
Thanks to 'Heroes,' I can now change this to '...or has merely gone on to plummet into mediocrity-bordering-on-crap.'
21) I'm only a veterinarian because there's no such field as xenobiology yet.
And I'm impatiently waiting for that to change.
22) I want to get a tattoo - and I will as soon as I can think of something I'd still want to have on my body in 50 years.
....or as soon as I can convince myself that getting a tattoo that started out as an accessory for a LARP character isn't the height of dorkitude.
23) When I was in college I had an offer to be a green card bride. I still wonder what would have happened if I said yes.
Not that I'd want to be married to anyone else. Just... what shape would my life have been?
24) I can't turn cartwheels. I was thrown out of gymnastics because I just couldn't learn them.
And I'm still afraid to try to learn, because... what if I can't?
25) I never meant to start collecting stuffed animals; they just sort of accumulate around me.
Not that I mind at all.
26) When I was 5 years old I developed a rare blood disorder and spent two weeks in ICU, listed as terminal. Noone is really quite sure how I survived.
Sheer stubbornness is the best guess. Did I mention this was during a nurse's strike?
27) No matter how sophisticated I try to be, foodwise, I always wind up coming back to comfort foods like macaroni and cheese or tomato soup.
And fluffernutters.
28) I've never broken a bone. Yet.
Still blessedly true. Knock wood.
29) My great-grandmother was the coolest person I've ever known, and I hope my life is one tenth as interesting as hers was.
I really miss her.
30) The first book I ever read by myself was 'Frog and Toad Are Friends.'
It was the day before my fifth birthday.
31) I still have that book.
...I think. I'm not quite sure where it is, alas.
32) I make the world's best peach cobbler.
Though I haven't made it in way too long.
33) I walk on my tiptoes, unless I make a conscious effort not to.
Yet I avoided wearing high heels for way too long.
34) I adore amusement park rides of all sorts. Rollercoasters are my favorites, but I'll happily ride carousels and teacups and skyrails all day and into the night.
Why be so specific? I just adore amusement parks.
35) I've gotten over thinking of myself as ugly and stupid, but I do still think of myself as plain and slow-witted.
Yep.
36) I love getting letters and email, but I'm terrible at remembering to reply.
No matter how hard I try to fight this, it's always true.
37) The very concept of hypnosis creeps me - I can't stand the thought of letting someone else control my mind or perceptions.
*shudder*
38) I have learned from personal experience that necking under the boardwalk isn't nearly as romantic as the song makes it sound.
Though that may have been attributable to the choice of partners, if I'm completely honest.
39) I sold term papers to students at the local communit college for spare cash when I was in high school.
And I undercharged grossly.
40) The more I work with big dogs, the more I appreciate little dogs.
Don't always like them, but appreciate, at least.
41) I have a serious crush on Rhett Butler.
He's just so... fictionally awesome.
42) I fuly intend to make every cross-stitch pattern ever produced by Mirabilia. Eventually.
Except their angels - those are a bit too religious for me.
43) I am very, very slowly getting over my dislike of having my picture taken.
Still working on this, but at least making progress.
44) Despite my best efforts, I have never managed to develop a taste for coffee.
I love the smell, but that's where any fondness ends.
45) I have, however, become rather a tea snob.
And my default has slowly changed from Darjeeling to Nilgiri.
46) When I was in 9th grade I got into my first, last, and only fist fight. She broke my glasses, but I won.
And I'm still afraid of losing my temper and having something like this happen again.
47) My father was so proud of me for being a Fighter that he let me get contact lenses to replace my broken glasses.
Best thing that ever happened for my self esteem. The contacts, that is.
48) Noone ever picked on me after that.
At least, not physically.
49) I want to learn how to ski, but I'm too afraid of breaking my legs to try.
Especially after having messed up my knee.
50) I'm terrible with spatial relationships - I could get lost in my own backyard.
Interestingly, several years of relief work and driving around Boston has started to fix this. It's weird, realizing that I know where I am in relation to other points.
51) I love being read to.
Luckily, my husband seems to love reading to me.
52) I never learned how to properly put on makeup.
A trick I am *slowly* learning.
53) I much prefer salty and sour foods to sweet or spicy.
This is not to imply that I don't like sweet or spicy. I like food in general.
54) I do not understand the appeal of most computer games.
Except Nethack.
55) Women's magazines annoy the heck out of me.
Though they're sometimes unintentionally hilarious.
56) I wish I could keep my nails neat and manicured.
Alas, my job makes this more or less impossible.
57) I still like crayons and coloring books.
And, thanks to the internet, now have a new copy of my favorite one!
58) I love hats, but most of them look decidedly silly on me.
My husband disagrees. I'm not so sure I believe him, though.
59) I am a far more envious person than I would like to be.
I don't know how to fix this.
60) I spent more time in the local library than in my house while I was growing up.
Probably this was a good thing.
61) Saint Bernards still scare me.
After spending a great deal of time working with Saint Bernard Rescue, I can now touch them without shaking, but I will never like them.
62) If I weren't a veterinarian, I'd want to be a foley artist.
Whee, sound effects!
63) When I go to the movies, I have to sit through the credits - if I were the Second Gaffer's Assistant, I'd want someone to stay and read my name.
Everyone else does it for the end-easter-eggs. I do it for the gaffers.
64) I love reading cookbooks almost as much as I love cooking.
This is why I'm now in the situation of having a couple hundred cookbooks I've never used.
65) I'm not that fond of roses - I'd much rather be given lilies or carnations.
Honestly, I'm not that picky. I like flowers in general.
66) Sappy movies make me cry, even when I've seen them before and know that I'm being manipulated.
I admit, I don't fight it too hard.
67) I believe that artificial maple syrup is an abomination.
It tastes like sugar water.
68) The first movie that I ever saw in the theatre was 'E.T.'
I was at summer camp, and our pool day was rained out. They needed a way to keep 30 second-graders quiet.
69) When I was 13 years old I wasn't allowed to go swimming in my friend's pool because my mother said I was too fat to be allowed outside in a bathing suit.
I still have issues wearing swimsuits.
70) Most board games and card games either bore or frustrate me.
Mostly because I hate win/lose dichotomies.
71) I cry far too easily.
I'm not so sure this is true, anymore. I still cry, but I don't know that that's a bad thing.
72) I used to love horses, until I started working with them.
I haven't had a chance to challenge this....
73) I want to be a manatee in my next life.
Even more true, now.
74) My first pet of my very own was a gerbil named Scurryfoot. I used to carry him in my pocket and sneak him into school with me.
None of my other pocket pets were ever half as cool.
75) I am solar-powered.
And yet I stubbornly refuse to look into the possibility of having SAD
76) I once hitchhiked home from the boardwalk at 2:30 am. I probably should have been kidnapped and killed. Once again, noone is quite sure how I survived.
Can't blame this one on stubbornness.
77) Giant sea turtles fascinate me.
I really couldn't care less about tortoises, though.
78) Strangers give me jewelry, on a relatively frequent basis.
Not so often, now. Maybe because of the jewelry on my left hand.
79) I've been told that my best feature is my smile.
I don't understand this, though that could be because it's hard for me to see myself smile.
80) I'm still very self-conscious about the scars on my face.
Everyone tells me they can't see them, but I still can.
81) I don't think that my father has ever completely forgiven me for not being a boy.
I didn't even have the grace to be a tomboy.
82) I adore Broadway musicals, but I have no real desire to see 'Phantom of the Opera.'
Couldn't even sit through the movie version.
83) I love riding motorcycles, but I don't want to learn how to drive one.
It's more fun being a passenger.
84) My favorite gemstones are moonstone and garnets.
And amber.
85) Someday I will have a wardrobe made up entirely of velvet, satin, and silk. And I will be truly happy.
Eh, no longer a goal. I still like them, but I'm starting to also develop a fondness for jeans and t-shirts that actually fit.
86) I could spend my entire income for a year at Victoria's Secret and still not buy everything I want there.
Nope. I have learned that there is better stuff out there.
87) I don't understand why people think Mel Gibson is handsome.
Or most celebrities.
88) Jigglypuff is my favorite pokemon.
Please don't hate me for this.
89) Yes, I know Pokemon well enough to have a favorite. I blame brain-fry after cramming for too many exams.
I have nothing to say about this, only shame.
90) I still don't self-identify as an adult.
And I think I never will.
91) Every once in a while I have to fight the intense urge to body-mod. This is made more difficult by having a job where I need to look like a respectable adult.
Also by the fact that I'm running out of body parts that I'm willing to pierce.
92) I have yet to find a style of dance that I don't love.
The more I learn, the more true this is.
93) I'm almost never comfortable spending money on myself.
I consider buying a paperback novel a major splurge.
94) My former boss named me Most Likely to be Veterinarian On Call at Jurassic Park.
How cool would that be?
95) Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.
Food and family and friends, and yes I know the ethically-fraught origins, but... it's all the stuff I love.
96) I wish I could wear short skirts, but I'm way too embarrassed to show my legs.
Oh, well.
97) I have a fascination with heights and edges that borders on dangerous.
...and skydiving only enforced this.
98) I can tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue.
I learned how to do this at a particularly boring Bar Mitzvah party.
99) I have held an irrational grudge against Sandra Bullock ever since my boyfriend at the time asked me why I couldn't be as attractive as her.
I know it's not her fault, but I still hold it against her.
100) My job isn't nearly as exciting as people seem to think it is.
It's still awesome, though.
And, looking back at it, it's fascinating to see how many things are still true about me, and how many things have either changed, or my perceptions or feelings about them have changed. So, given both that and how many people read this journal now that I didn't know those many years ago, I now present:
1) I wish my hair were longer
This will likely always be true, no matter how long my hair gets.
2) I have a body image disorder (big surprise there, I know).
Alas, this will probably always be true too.
3) I would be bulimic, but I have no gag reflex.
And this.
4) I'm scared of fire. Not quite phobic, but it's a very strong dislike.
I should probably make folks more aware of this, to avoid unfortunate flash paper incidents and the like....
5) Foxes like me.
For a long time - at least since I was in college, possibly longer. That was half the inspiration for my Threads character.
6) When I was 15, I told my mother that I'd rather be a stripper than work in a fast food restaurant. She didn't believe me.
Food service is icky.
7) When I was 21, I had the choice. I took the stripping job. My mom hasn't doubted me since then.
Stripping is also icky, but doesn't involve deep-fat frying or food under heat lamps.
8) I do not understand machines.
Machines are weird, and they don't talk back in a language I can understand.
9) Although I'm more or less heterosexual, I do very much like kissing girls.
Noone seems to believe this when I tell them, which I find amusing.
10) I don't drink alcohol. Or anything with calories, if I can avoid it.
See above note about body image disorder.
11) I'm fine with real blood and gore - but the fake stuff in movies disturbs me pretty deeply.
In spite of many attempts to overcome this, I can't get past it.
12) Foam rubber squicks me.
Don't laugh - that stuff's creepy.
13) I'd die happy if hoopskirts came back into fashion.
In retrospect, having worn the things more often now, I retract this one. They really are a nuisance after all.
14) I only own one pair of bluejeans, but I have four different pairs of black velvet pants and three pairs of high black gothy boots.
OK, now I'm up to two pairs of jeans, and down to three pairs of black velvet pants.
15) My favorite flavors of ice cream are Toscanini's Vienna Finger Cookie and Ben & Jerry's Gooey Butter Cake.
Mmmmm. I miss Toscanini's.
16) I have a birthmark shaped like a butterfly.
Obviously, still true.
17) I'm not particularly fond of Tolkien. Or Heinlein. I'm sure this makes me a bad person.
I have accepted that Tolkien is tolerable, as long as read aloud. Heinlein... still not so much.
18) I was a semi-regular participant on a fairly silly game show when I was in elementary school.
I find it fascinating how many people I know now were on the same show....
19) I believe in magic.
I hope this never changes.
20) With only one exception, every tv series I've loved from the first episode has died by the end of it's first season.
Thanks to 'Heroes,' I can now change this to '...or has merely gone on to plummet into mediocrity-bordering-on-crap.'
21) I'm only a veterinarian because there's no such field as xenobiology yet.
And I'm impatiently waiting for that to change.
22) I want to get a tattoo - and I will as soon as I can think of something I'd still want to have on my body in 50 years.
....or as soon as I can convince myself that getting a tattoo that started out as an accessory for a LARP character isn't the height of dorkitude.
23) When I was in college I had an offer to be a green card bride. I still wonder what would have happened if I said yes.
Not that I'd want to be married to anyone else. Just... what shape would my life have been?
24) I can't turn cartwheels. I was thrown out of gymnastics because I just couldn't learn them.
And I'm still afraid to try to learn, because... what if I can't?
25) I never meant to start collecting stuffed animals; they just sort of accumulate around me.
Not that I mind at all.
26) When I was 5 years old I developed a rare blood disorder and spent two weeks in ICU, listed as terminal. Noone is really quite sure how I survived.
Sheer stubbornness is the best guess. Did I mention this was during a nurse's strike?
27) No matter how sophisticated I try to be, foodwise, I always wind up coming back to comfort foods like macaroni and cheese or tomato soup.
And fluffernutters.
28) I've never broken a bone. Yet.
Still blessedly true. Knock wood.
29) My great-grandmother was the coolest person I've ever known, and I hope my life is one tenth as interesting as hers was.
I really miss her.
30) The first book I ever read by myself was 'Frog and Toad Are Friends.'
It was the day before my fifth birthday.
31) I still have that book.
...I think. I'm not quite sure where it is, alas.
32) I make the world's best peach cobbler.
Though I haven't made it in way too long.
33) I walk on my tiptoes, unless I make a conscious effort not to.
Yet I avoided wearing high heels for way too long.
34) I adore amusement park rides of all sorts. Rollercoasters are my favorites, but I'll happily ride carousels and teacups and skyrails all day and into the night.
Why be so specific? I just adore amusement parks.
35) I've gotten over thinking of myself as ugly and stupid, but I do still think of myself as plain and slow-witted.
Yep.
36) I love getting letters and email, but I'm terrible at remembering to reply.
No matter how hard I try to fight this, it's always true.
37) The very concept of hypnosis creeps me - I can't stand the thought of letting someone else control my mind or perceptions.
*shudder*
38) I have learned from personal experience that necking under the boardwalk isn't nearly as romantic as the song makes it sound.
Though that may have been attributable to the choice of partners, if I'm completely honest.
39) I sold term papers to students at the local communit college for spare cash when I was in high school.
And I undercharged grossly.
40) The more I work with big dogs, the more I appreciate little dogs.
Don't always like them, but appreciate, at least.
41) I have a serious crush on Rhett Butler.
He's just so... fictionally awesome.
42) I fuly intend to make every cross-stitch pattern ever produced by Mirabilia. Eventually.
Except their angels - those are a bit too religious for me.
43) I am very, very slowly getting over my dislike of having my picture taken.
Still working on this, but at least making progress.
44) Despite my best efforts, I have never managed to develop a taste for coffee.
I love the smell, but that's where any fondness ends.
45) I have, however, become rather a tea snob.
And my default has slowly changed from Darjeeling to Nilgiri.
46) When I was in 9th grade I got into my first, last, and only fist fight. She broke my glasses, but I won.
And I'm still afraid of losing my temper and having something like this happen again.
47) My father was so proud of me for being a Fighter that he let me get contact lenses to replace my broken glasses.
Best thing that ever happened for my self esteem. The contacts, that is.
48) Noone ever picked on me after that.
At least, not physically.
49) I want to learn how to ski, but I'm too afraid of breaking my legs to try.
Especially after having messed up my knee.
50) I'm terrible with spatial relationships - I could get lost in my own backyard.
Interestingly, several years of relief work and driving around Boston has started to fix this. It's weird, realizing that I know where I am in relation to other points.
51) I love being read to.
Luckily, my husband seems to love reading to me.
52) I never learned how to properly put on makeup.
A trick I am *slowly* learning.
53) I much prefer salty and sour foods to sweet or spicy.
This is not to imply that I don't like sweet or spicy. I like food in general.
54) I do not understand the appeal of most computer games.
Except Nethack.
55) Women's magazines annoy the heck out of me.
Though they're sometimes unintentionally hilarious.
56) I wish I could keep my nails neat and manicured.
Alas, my job makes this more or less impossible.
57) I still like crayons and coloring books.
And, thanks to the internet, now have a new copy of my favorite one!
58) I love hats, but most of them look decidedly silly on me.
My husband disagrees. I'm not so sure I believe him, though.
59) I am a far more envious person than I would like to be.
I don't know how to fix this.
60) I spent more time in the local library than in my house while I was growing up.
Probably this was a good thing.
61) Saint Bernards still scare me.
After spending a great deal of time working with Saint Bernard Rescue, I can now touch them without shaking, but I will never like them.
62) If I weren't a veterinarian, I'd want to be a foley artist.
Whee, sound effects!
63) When I go to the movies, I have to sit through the credits - if I were the Second Gaffer's Assistant, I'd want someone to stay and read my name.
Everyone else does it for the end-easter-eggs. I do it for the gaffers.
64) I love reading cookbooks almost as much as I love cooking.
This is why I'm now in the situation of having a couple hundred cookbooks I've never used.
65) I'm not that fond of roses - I'd much rather be given lilies or carnations.
Honestly, I'm not that picky. I like flowers in general.
66) Sappy movies make me cry, even when I've seen them before and know that I'm being manipulated.
I admit, I don't fight it too hard.
67) I believe that artificial maple syrup is an abomination.
It tastes like sugar water.
68) The first movie that I ever saw in the theatre was 'E.T.'
I was at summer camp, and our pool day was rained out. They needed a way to keep 30 second-graders quiet.
69) When I was 13 years old I wasn't allowed to go swimming in my friend's pool because my mother said I was too fat to be allowed outside in a bathing suit.
I still have issues wearing swimsuits.
70) Most board games and card games either bore or frustrate me.
Mostly because I hate win/lose dichotomies.
71) I cry far too easily.
I'm not so sure this is true, anymore. I still cry, but I don't know that that's a bad thing.
72) I used to love horses, until I started working with them.
I haven't had a chance to challenge this....
73) I want to be a manatee in my next life.
Even more true, now.
74) My first pet of my very own was a gerbil named Scurryfoot. I used to carry him in my pocket and sneak him into school with me.
None of my other pocket pets were ever half as cool.
75) I am solar-powered.
And yet I stubbornly refuse to look into the possibility of having SAD
76) I once hitchhiked home from the boardwalk at 2:30 am. I probably should have been kidnapped and killed. Once again, noone is quite sure how I survived.
Can't blame this one on stubbornness.
77) Giant sea turtles fascinate me.
I really couldn't care less about tortoises, though.
78) Strangers give me jewelry, on a relatively frequent basis.
Not so often, now. Maybe because of the jewelry on my left hand.
79) I've been told that my best feature is my smile.
I don't understand this, though that could be because it's hard for me to see myself smile.
80) I'm still very self-conscious about the scars on my face.
Everyone tells me they can't see them, but I still can.
81) I don't think that my father has ever completely forgiven me for not being a boy.
I didn't even have the grace to be a tomboy.
82) I adore Broadway musicals, but I have no real desire to see 'Phantom of the Opera.'
Couldn't even sit through the movie version.
83) I love riding motorcycles, but I don't want to learn how to drive one.
It's more fun being a passenger.
84) My favorite gemstones are moonstone and garnets.
And amber.
85) Someday I will have a wardrobe made up entirely of velvet, satin, and silk. And I will be truly happy.
Eh, no longer a goal. I still like them, but I'm starting to also develop a fondness for jeans and t-shirts that actually fit.
86) I could spend my entire income for a year at Victoria's Secret and still not buy everything I want there.
Nope. I have learned that there is better stuff out there.
87) I don't understand why people think Mel Gibson is handsome.
Or most celebrities.
88) Jigglypuff is my favorite pokemon.
Please don't hate me for this.
89) Yes, I know Pokemon well enough to have a favorite. I blame brain-fry after cramming for too many exams.
I have nothing to say about this, only shame.
90) I still don't self-identify as an adult.
And I think I never will.
91) Every once in a while I have to fight the intense urge to body-mod. This is made more difficult by having a job where I need to look like a respectable adult.
Also by the fact that I'm running out of body parts that I'm willing to pierce.
92) I have yet to find a style of dance that I don't love.
The more I learn, the more true this is.
93) I'm almost never comfortable spending money on myself.
I consider buying a paperback novel a major splurge.
94) My former boss named me Most Likely to be Veterinarian On Call at Jurassic Park.
How cool would that be?
95) Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.
Food and family and friends, and yes I know the ethically-fraught origins, but... it's all the stuff I love.
96) I wish I could wear short skirts, but I'm way too embarrassed to show my legs.
Oh, well.
97) I have a fascination with heights and edges that borders on dangerous.
...and skydiving only enforced this.
98) I can tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue.
I learned how to do this at a particularly boring Bar Mitzvah party.
99) I have held an irrational grudge against Sandra Bullock ever since my boyfriend at the time asked me why I couldn't be as attractive as her.
I know it's not her fault, but I still hold it against her.
100) My job isn't nearly as exciting as people seem to think it is.
It's still awesome, though.
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no subject
Date: 2009-02-14 05:03 pm (UTC)Everyone else does it for the end-easter-eggs. I do it for the gaffers.
i do this too. i also like to laugh at the silly nicknames they put in sometimes. and my cousin is buried in there in some big special effects movies (he does digital effects)