100 Things

I think it's about time i came up with a 100 Things list. Everyone else has one and I've been here for a year now. It's my turn:

1. I lived in the same house my entire life until I moved in with TheBoy in 2004. It was a really hard adjustment for me at the time.

2. I still miss living with my mom and I feel like i abandoned her, though i think she understands that it was about time i left.

3. TheBoy is 11 years older than me. I know. It's scary when you write it out that way, but in reality, you wouldn't know it unless someone told you.

4. I have never known someone who gets me as much as he does. We are very similar people and were lucky enough to find each other, even though he does piss me off sometimes.

5. I have been at my job - in the same desk, with the same chair - for 7 years. The title has changed twice, but my location has not. Everyone around me has moved at least 4 times, but for some reason, i have been here forever. At least i have a window.

6. I currently work in telecommunications in an office services department. This will, however, change come July 2007.Telecom is being taken away from my department and I'm not sure what is going to happen to me. Strangely, i am really curious to find out, so i have stopped aggressively looking for a new job. Don't get me wrong, i hate it here, but I'm really comfortable.

7. One of my biggest weaknesses is mistaking comfort in a situation for stability or happiness. I have spent too much time in situations because i was comfortable and was afraid to move on.

8. I am a serial-monogamist.

9. I am still friends with many of my ex-boyfriends. I truly believe that there are reasons why I dated most of them and that it wasn't just sexual or because of their partner-potential. Many of them are just really good people who I get along with. In fact, I miss seeing them as much as i used to.

10. I used to be in the orchestra in school. I started playing the viola in the 4th grade and didn't stop until i graduated high school. My childhood best friend and I used to call it Dorkestra, but i secretly loved it. Having that class 1st period was the nicest way for me to wake up in the morning.

11. I started playing the piano when i was 4, but gave it up when i was 16. I was in recitals and competitions and my piano teacher thought i was a natural. I gave it up after she moved to Florida and my new teacher would kick me under the piano because i wasn't practicing. I wasn't putting up with that shit.

12. I fully regret pushing music out of my life.

13. I get some of my grammar mixed up and i don't know if i will ever get it straight: Effect / Affect, its / it's, etc.

14. I also use too many commas.

15. I used to hate creative writing. I always dreaded doing the assignments and hated it every step of the way. I never thought that i would enjoy writing in a blog, but as it turns out, it's really fun to talk about nothing but yourself. Like, constantly.

16. Writing here has helped me with my college papers. They don't seem as daunting as they used to and don't take me as long to finish anymore. That - is truly a miracle.

17. I graduated in Dec. 2006 with my associates in liberal arts and a 3.9 GPA. I have no idea where to go for my bachelors in the fall, and am still unsure of what to major in. I think business is my best bet, but i feel like a business degree is a cop-out.

18. I think i want to start my own business. I've been playing around with the idea of opening up a Doggy Daycare or kennel, but I'm afraid of not being able to handle all of the work and responsibility that comes with starting up and running your own business.

19. I dropped out of college the first time - mostly because of a guy and a deep bout of depression. If i had completed my degree then, i wonder where i would be now.

20. During that depression, i lost an entire day to sleep. I didn't know it was possible to sleep through an entire 24 hours, but apparently it is.

21. Though i don't have the same commitment to sleep i used to, what with a full time job and all, i still love it. On the weekends, i rarely wake up before noon, even if i went to bed at midnight. I am lazy.

22. Ironically, dawn is my favorite time of day.

23. One of my favorite things to do is drive around and discover new places. I love to drive and i love to explore and there have only been a few people who have understood this and been a good co-pilot. Most people don't get it and get frustrated with me for never having a destination in mind. They are usually the people who are afraid of getting lost.

24. I love getting lost and finding my way back out. Truth is, living on Long Island, there is no way to get lost for very long because no matter which direction you go in, you will hit water.

25. I love living on Long Island. However, it is very expensive, no matter the quality of the neighborhood. Real estate prices and taxes are retarded here, but i couldn't imagine living anywhere else. You can go from farmland to city in an hour and pass through gang-owned ghettos to old-money-gold coast areas in the matter of minutes. It is such a diverse place.

26. If i could afford to live in Manhattan, i would drop Long Island in a heartbeat.

27. I am fickle.

28. But no matter what, if i had to live more than an hour away from the ocean, i would probably shrivel up and die.

29. Though i don't go to the beach as much as i want to.

30. In my late teens, a couple of friends and i used to go to the beach at night regularly, no matter the season. Mostly because we were poor and couldn't afford to actually DO things, but also because i love the beach (day, night, summer, winter) and used to find it kind of spiritually fulfilling.

31. There was one week that we were there every night "rescuing" the horseshoe crabs that were up on the beach during their mating season. Some of them would get stuck high up on the beach (after the act), sometimes on their back. We would pick them up and put them back in the water. I learned later that this was probably not necessary and might have been harmful, even. I hope i didn't screw up the horseshoe crab population of the Long Island Sound for the year 1999.

32. My first major (before dropping out of college the first time) was Marine Science. See? It all makes sense.

33. I came to a sort of epiphany during the second semester of that major that there was relatively little chance of me finding a job in my field even after a Masters. Cue the downward spiral.

34. I hate onions. Onions are of the devil.

35. I am a total carb addict. I love bread, everything bready. I don't think i could ever live without carbs and would not even dare to try. Down with Atkins.

36. TheBoy met with Dr. Atkins a few years before his diet was popular. TheBoy says he was a raging asshole, but his method helped Boy lose over 100lbs. He still believes that Atkins is the way to go in the dieting world, but i think it sounds like the most unhealthy, unnatural thing you can do to yourself. No bagels? Feh.

37. For a time at the first college, i worked in the university theater as a technician. I got to meet some interesting people this way, like Penn & Teller. This was hands-down the best show that i worked and got to watch for free. 2 interesting things: 1 - They wouldn't let anyone on stage while they set up the "Magic Bullet" trick, not even the resident stage manager, in order to keep their secrets. 2 - You learn things when you do other people's laundry. Things like, Penn apparently has a way with the ladies - according to massive amount of condoms he keeps in his luggage. I kept a handkerchief of Teller's as a souvenir. Post-washing. I still have it. He was nice.

38. I started getting a few stray gray hairs when i was 18. At the time i thought it was cool. I'm 26 now and it's not so cool anymore. They have started to take over the front of my hairline and it's a little upsetting. I always thought I'd be the kind of woman to let my hair go gray, but I'm just too young for this. It's not pretty. Or cute.

39. Conversely, I'm 26 and my face still breaks out. Zits and gray hair. How hot am I.

40. I can't eat spicy food. It makes my nose run and my eyes tear. It's pretty gross.

41. I can't watch scary movies. The imagery doesn't leave my mind and will keep me up at night, with all of the lights on, staring at the ceiling.

42. All of my most vivid and happiest memories all took place outside.

43. I don't spend as much time outside as i would like to.

44. My older brother is one of my favorite people; he and I are very close.

45. I can't dance but i wish i could.

46. I've been told that i have a decent singing voice, but i don't necessarily believe them.

47. I pretty much have been wearing the same perfume for the past 10 years; 5th Avenue by Elizabeth Ardin. That is how i smell.

48. I had caught up with an old friend after not seeing him for a bunch of years. When he got in the car with me he smiled and said, "you still smell like you" which for some strange reason i thought was such a sweet thing for him to remember.

49. I totally don't get Tom Waits. I'm sorry. I just don't get it. His voice is like nails on a chalk board to me.

50. I am usually a very good judge of character. I am usually chided for hating everyone and that's just not true. At least not right off the bat. I give everyone the benefit of the doubt until it's painfully obvious that you're just a shitty person.

51. I have trouble hiding it when i don't like someone.

52. I hate the Olive Garden. But i could probably live on their bread sticks and salad if i had to. Yum.

53. I used to be sort of a goth / industrial chick in the mid to late 90's and loved the feeling of my fellow high school students being intimidated of me. "Loved" is probably not a strong enough word for how much i enjoyed this.

54. I've mentioned before that i was a less-than perfect goth girl, what with my aversion to scary movies and all.

55. I died my hair black at 19 and while i thought i looked awesome, my hair was not the same for years. It totally ruined my hair and it wasn't even supposed to be permanent dye.

56. One of my favorite bands from this time period is playing in New Jersey next month and I'm sad that i can no longer justify traveling across state lines just to see a band play.

57. After my hair started growing out after dying it black, i had the genius idea to cover it up with red. For those not in the know, red does not in fact cover up black. I had two toned hair until that started growing out. Then i had 3-tone hair. Nice and stripey.

58. I started smoking cigarettes when i was 15. It was totally due to peer pressure. I wanted to fit in with the cool, goth/industrial kids.

59. Strangely enough, even though i was pressured into smoking cigarettes, i have never done any illegal drugs whatsoever even though I was surrounded by them. Not even pot.

60. My mother had no idea what a good kid i was.

61. Spiders freak me out.

62. But i try not to kill bugs when i find them in the house. I'm one of those 'trap it and set it free' people.

63. I don't have any issues with snakes, however. I've found that people usually hate one or the other.

64. I don't like children. Any children.

65. I know that i don't want any children, but occasionally i think i might be nice to be pregnant. But that doesn't mean I'll actually do it. See #64.

66. I took an intensive tarot class a few years ago. It was really expensive and really interesting. It turned out that i was really good at reading cards and probably could have done it on the side for extra cash. Sadly, life got in the way and i haven't looked at my cards in about 2 years.

67. I wear glasses and am afraid to try contacts. I don't want to touch my eye like that.

68. Everyone on my father's side of the family has a certain characteristic on their noses that gives us that family stamp. You can see who is related to my grandfather this way. My brother, cousins and i all have this nose trait - kind of like divots underneath near the nostrils. It's not that weird, it just sounds like it is.

69. My last boyfriend was a conspiracy theorist. It was weird and angrifying (real word) and i put up with it for way too long.

70. I broke up with him the morning after Valentines Day and the day before his 30th birthday. I felt like an asshole, but couldn't put it off any longer.

71. He is one of the few exes that i never talk to anymore.

72. I have a strange habit of either making my boyfriends fat, or causing them to leave the state. Some have done both.

73. I want to learn how to play the drums.

74. I am a late person. I am usually at least 5 minutes late to everything and i hate that about myself.

75. I have Dinner with Dad every Thursday night. This has been a standing event since a couple of years after he left my mom. It is nice that we stay so close, but sometimes it is still uncomfortable.

76. My parents split in 1996, but they are still not divorced. I wish i had a good explanation for that.

77. This list is turning into a confessional, and it probably should be a bit lighter...

78. I like bunnies. Like a lot. If it weren't for the two dogs, i probably would have a couple of house-rabbits.

79. I had a wild rabbit growing up and he lived for 11 years. I know now that what we did is illegal, but i found a baby rabbit in the street across from my house and we wound up keeping him. His name was Frisky. I was 10, so shut up.

80. Along with the rabbit, i had a frog, gerbil, hamster and fish - not all at the same time. My mother wouldn't let me have a dog and my father hated cats. Apparently rodents, amphibians and fish were ok, though.

81. If i had a dog when i was a kid, i would probably have been more prepared for the amount of work dogs are and never agreed with TheBoy to get BigDog when we did. She's a great dog, but such a pain in the ass.

82. Everything I own has dog hair on it. It gets everywhere. Even in closed closets and cabinets. It makes me absolutely crazy and no amount of vacuuming helps.

83. I have never been to the west coast. The furthest i have been is Las Vegas, which was with the conspiracy theory boyfriend and therefore not as much fun as it should have been.

84. I could eat cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I love it so.

85. I have to watch cheesy movies like, Dirty Dancing, When Harry Met Sally, The Princess Bride, Sleepless in Seattle, etc. whenever they're on tv. I know The Princess Bride by heart and if i happen to fall asleep while its on, the movie still plays in my head as if i were watching it on the screen. (The book was good, too, btw).

86. I had (and still do) a love for the Kevin Smith trilogy (Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy) for a long time and for a high school class assignment chose to go to Redbank, NJ to find the Quickstop from Clerks (to buy coffee), and the dinner in Chasing Amy (for dinner). We also stopped at Kevin's comic book store. Was such a fun road trip.

87. TheBoy used to be in the NY film industry. When we first starting talking, he informed me that he did the titles on all of those movies and worked closely with Kevin Smith. We have two posters from Clerks and Chasing Amy hanging in the house with all of their signatures. So cool.

88. I used to be queen of the geeks. Geeks love me and i don't know why.

89. To be fair, i like hanging out with smart people. They keep you on your toes.

90. I tend to be extremely introverted and shy. If i have to, i can fake confidence and get through uncomfortable situations, but it's hard for me.

91. I am also honest to a fault. Some people just want you to lie to them. I am a terrible lier.

92. I love the smell of gasoline.

93. In the springtime, i occasionally get the urge to frolic in a field. Sometimes i get to do it.

94. I enjoy spying on people i went to high school with on myspace. I would never make my own profile because i don't want them spying on ME.

95. On my short stint on an internet dating site, i never made it all the way to meeting the guys i was talking to because i was too afraid of what might happen. I was a total wuss.

96. Even though I'm a dirty smoker, i think chewing tobacco is disgusting.

97. I have trouble drinking vodka since Halloween of 2003. It still makes me nauseous.

98. Clowns kind of freak me out.

99. This list was harder than i thought it would be. I think everyone says that.

100. I wish i were a clean freak, but I'm not. I'm kind of a clean freak stuck in a messy person's body. I would like for everything to be spotless and sterile and maybe i can really appreciate the minimalist decorating style, but i hate cleaning and accumulate too much crap to stay so minimal. I would love to hire someone to clean and organize my life. That would be super.