25 Things

1. I disguise my utter disregard for hair styles by growing my hair out every few years to a length where I can donate it to the Locks of Love charity.

2. I keep an “ugly sexy” list of celebrities (it’s a mental list – I don’t actually have it written down). Richard Dreyfus in Jaws tops this list for me.

3. More often than not, I’m disappointed in myself because I still haven’t figured out what I want to be when I grow up.

4. I am a proud member of the polar bear club.

5. I prefer Kenken puzzles to Sudoku.

6. I like Klezmer music.

7. I graduated from college in May, 1996. I finished paying my undergraduate student loans in October, 2008.

8. I think Rene Descartes was an asshole.

9. I have witnessed the deaths of three people: my grandfather, my grandmother-in-law, and my mother-in-law.  The experience is intense and important, having forever changed how I understand mortality and my place in this world.

10. I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 30 years old. It explained a lot.

11. I don’t like large crowds of people. The idea of something like spending New Year’s Eve at Times Square gives me the willies.

12. Reincarnation makes more intuitive sense to me than a heavenly depository of souls.

13. I am dismissive of organized religion without denying the significance of human spirituality.  I value a secular society that emphasizes equality, tolerance, and rationality.

14. I am happily transplanted in Minnesota. I prefer winter (cozy fireplaces, flannel & fleece, thick socks, family holidays, stark beauty, no bugs) over summer (humidity, sunburns, mosquitoes, and swimsuit shopping). Summer is only made bearable by things like fresh tomatoes from the garden and 4th of July fireworks.

15. I love blue nail polish.

16. I am an animal person and tend to prefer them to most humans, probably because I understand them better than most humans.

17. I don’t like screeching guitar rock music very much, but I love to play Guitar Hero.

18. I think olive trees are beautiful, but I hate the taste of olives.

19. I swear a lot. I think imaginative cursing is funny.

20. I’m very protective of those I care about and I believe I would be ruthless while defending a loved one.

21. I love roller coasters and going to Cedar Point is on my before-I-kick-the-bucket list.

22. My standard order at a coffee shop is a vanilla latte, extra-hot.

23. I taught myself how to knit and crochet and now my day doesn’t feel complete unless I spend a few minutes playing with yarn. It’s my form of daily meditation.

24. If I won the lottery, I would buy a hobby farm. I would raise chickens, rabbits, sheep, and goats. And I wouldn’t be surprised if alpacas or llamas showed up, too.

25. I’ve learned that wisdom comes through experience at the price of innocence. It turns out I value innocence more than wisdom and I wish there was a refund available.