25 Things About Me

1. I like TV and books much more than I like movies. I can only think of a few movies I really loved.

2. I am currently applying to the School of Information Resources and Library Science at University of Arizona for a master's of library science.

3. I am a perfectionist about organization, so I would rather live with piles of stuff everywhere than do a half-assed job of sorting, labeling, and storing things. I usually know where everything is even when it looks like total chaos as long as I put it there in the first place.

4. I love nail polish and have tons of it, but I'm a slob at putting it on. I have never been able to go slowly enough or hold the brush steady enough for perfect application. I just wait til it dries then rub off all the polish that got on my skin.

5. I took classical ballet, tap, and jazz dance lessons from age 7 to 18. I loved it but was never very good.

6. I love Hanson. Yes the band that sang MMMBop. I have no shame about this. I am a fan club member and a member of the official street team. I have spent hundreds of dollars and driven hundreds of miles to see their shows. I have never met them, but Taylor did sign my copy of one of their CD's after a concert once. I was behind some other girls and had one of them hand it to him.

7. I am just beginning to get into using coupons and being a super-frugal deal shopper. It is so much fun! I used to hate grocery shopping, but when I go with a detailed plan and coupons it becomes fun.

8. I have really bad joints. My knees crackle and crunch like a seventy-year-old. It is a hereditary arthritis thing from my dad's side of the family.

9. In high school I made the top ten of South Dakota every year on the National French Test. Not as impressive as it sounds when you consider how few schools actually offered French class and that the test was completely optional. Still though, I think I was one of the first to place all four years from my school.

10. Mountain Dew = Perfection. I have mostly switched to diet, but it isn't even close to the same.

11. Growing up in South Dakota was not as dreadful as it seemed at the time.

12. I have Bipolar II disorder, Seasonal Affective Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, and probably some other disorders too. I have been medicated since I was 14 and it has COMPLETELY changed my life for the better. I will take pills for the rest of my life and do it happily. I am not ashamed to talk about it, mental illness is a disease like any other.

13. I took piano lessons from age 8-18 and played flute from age 12-18. I haven't played either in about 7 years.

14. My husband plays a game called Settlers of Catan with friends every week. In this game you exchange resources with other players. One of these resources is Sheep, another is Wood. As you can imagine, there are many jokes to be made here. Because he hears everyone talking about sheep so much, my son thinks handing something to another person is called "sheep." He hands us things one by one saying, "sheep" "sheep" "sheep." It's really funny.

15. I love crafting. I currently do mostly scrapbooking, but I've also dabbled in polymer clay, jewelry making, decoupage, and random glue-gunning of sparkly things. Majoring in interior design for a couple years killed my creativity and desire to create anything for about 4 years, but it's back!

16. I have thicker hair than anyone I've ever known (except for my mom and sisters). If I braid it extremely tightly, the braid is probably still 2-3 inches in diameter.

17. I loooove desserts. Chocolate cake and cupcakes are my favorites, but I can't think of a single dessert that I dislike.

18. I am really bad at keeping in touch with people. If not for myspace and facebook, I would probably not be in contact with anyone from my past.

19. A big part of the reason for #18 is my aversion to calling people on the phone. I have serious anxiety when it comes to calling people, even friends. I am better at it than I used to be, but still prefer to chat in person or online.

20. I don't like violence. This includes playful hitting and videogame violence. I do very poorly in games that require shooting because I would rather run and hide than fight the bad guys.

21. I do love crime dramas like CSI and Law and Order: SVU, though. I think the difference is that most of the killing/violence has already happened and the drama comes from the suspense of figuring it out, not the action.

22. I like watching shopping channels when I have trouble falling asleep or am really bored. Jewelry television is the best one. Listening to people with slight southern accents and watching sparkly gems going around on turntable is very soothing.

23. I love musicals. However, I've never seen anything by Steven Sondheim. I have listened to some of the songs and haven't liked any of them. I feel like a fraud as a musical lover because of it.

24. I love my job and the people I work with at the science and engineering library.

25. I had a really hard time writing this list of 25 things. I probably did too much explaining of each point for anyone to read the whole thing too.