25 random things about me

This is a meme going around facebook. I was tagged by a few people so here is mine.

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged.


25 random things about me:

1. I played the baritone in 5thand 6th grade band. It was almost as big as me. I would get this huge ring around my lips from the mouthpiece that would last for hours. I switched to the saxophone for 7th and 8th grade band.

2. I have a tattoo. It’s the Eye of Horus, an Egyptian symbol for wisdom and protection. It’s located above my left breast. I got it my first semester of college as a sign of rebellion. Wow I was soooo cool. Not! But now I think of it as a permanent reminder of who I was back then.

3. I have a condition called vassal vagal syncope that basically means I pass out when certain things occur with my body. It’s usually when I experience sharp sudden paint, get back stomach cramps, get overheated, have low blood sugar, or some combination of those. I think of it as my body’s reset button

4. I passed out in the White House when I was 12. We were on a tour during the summer. The air conditioning wasn’t on (who decided to keep the air off in the summer in DC?!?), I hadn’t eaten, and I started feeling woozy. We were in the Green Room, and the tour guide moved a divider so I could sit down. I passed on an antique Duncan Fife sofa. A secret service officer then escorted me and my parents outside. I wonder what the tour groups we walked by were thinking I had done!

5. My hair has been various shades of brown, red and blond throughout my life. Dirty blond naturally when I was young, slowly turning brown during my pre-teen years. Then I died it blond before I started high school, but let it go back to brown after my freshman year. In college I kept it various shades of red, including manic panic tangerine, with blonde again right at the end of college. My final foray into blonde with a home highlights kits was a disaster, so I had to dye it dark brown to cover up the mess. That was 1998. I’ve been a brunette ever since then.

6. I had plastic surgery when I was a kid. It’s not as bad as it sounds. I was born with really stick-out ears. Think Will Smith. When I was 10 I had to get my tonsils out and the doctor said he could easily lay my ears back while I was under. My parents said okay so I did it.

7. After said ear laying-back surgery, I developed a condition known as Keloids behind my right ear. Basically a small build-up of scar tissue that was only visible if you were looking directly into the back of my ear. Therefore, I didn’t wear a ponytail in public from the time I was 10 until I got them removed at 20. Now I love wearing ponytails!

8. I buy waaaay to many books. Amazon’s used book buying option has ruined me. I calculated how much I spent on books last year and was shocked. I don’t think I will ever read them all completely.

9. I also buy waaaay to many shoes. I had to count them recently (for the closet built-ins for our new place) and I stopped at 100. David started calling me Imelda.

10. I have dated guys from four countries outside of the US - Ireland, Germany, Belgium, and Sweden.

11. My ears are currently pierced 10 times (7 on the left, 3 on the right), although I only got them pierced for the first time my senior year of high school.

12. I still haven’t found an activity, job, cause, etc. that has inspired me to work my ass off as much as I did in high school debate.

13. Speaking of debate, my senior year of high school I was fifth speaker at the NFL debate national tournament. (No relation to the football league for you non-debate types).

14. When I was growing up, my dad would ask me “how was law school today” when I got home from school. I think this is what caused me to never consider law school after undergrad. Too bad because I think I would have made an excellent lawyer.

15. I am one of the worst procrastinators on the face of the planet.

16. I have always loved science fiction – books, television, movies, you name it. My mom introduced me to the original Star Trek when I was young and I’ve been hooked ever since.

17. I am a whore for anything Joss Whedon has done. Buffy and Angel are my two all-time favorite TV shows. I could watch them over and over and never get tired of them.

18. I would jump at the chance to live forever. Therefore, I will be the first in line to cryogenically freeze my body, upload my consciousness onto the internet, or get bitten by a vampire.

19. I am a skeptic towards all things paranormal, pseudoscientific , religious, and the like. I have never personally seen evidence to convince me any of the above are real. However, I try to keep a cautiously open mind about others’ experiences.

20. Even though I don’t believe in any of the above things, I kind of wish some of them were real. (Hence my interest in science fiction.)

21. My husband is the shortest guy I’ve ever dated. I used to have a thing for tall brunettes. Of course I would marry a 5’7” blonde!

22. When I grow up I want to be a college professor. However, while I love the teaching part, I don’t like the research part as much.

23. Because of the above, it’s taking me way too long to write my dissertation. I need to be finished!

24. If I were to do college and grad school all over again, I would ditch the political science, international relations and economics, and instead focus on philosophy, cultural anthropology, and history. If I could start my Ph.D. over again, I would do it in either Cultural Studies or American Studies.

25. I have explored a number of religions throughout my life. I was raised Catholic, but left that when I was about 14. My freshman year of high school I went to Baptist youth group a few times with a friend. Another acquaintance took me to an evangelical meeting once the same year, but it kind of scared me. During later high school I would have considered myself a liberal Christian (probably would have liked some of the Episcopalians or the Unitarians). By college I had abandoned Christianity and read up on Buddhism and Wiccan. I adopted a kind of vague spiritualism, the whole “no one religion is right; they all have good and bad parts and all have been corrupted by humans” kind of thing. By grad school I was agnostic and a few years ago I embraced my growing skepticism and finally atheism. Philosophically, I now consider myself a secular humanist.