103 Random Things

1. I was a published author by 19, but it’s been 11 years since I’ve submitted anything else for publication. I’ve partially written a book and need to finish it.

2. I went to college off and on for 18 years due to financial reasons, but when I graduated it was with honors, Magna Cum Laude -a 3.79.  Of course, I’ve lost 2 jobs here in Michigan since graduating.

3. I’ve seen every episode of Seinfeld, Friends, and 90210.

4. I’m more of a cat person than a dog person.

5. I’ve traveled to 13 countries and 39 states.

6. The meanest thing I ever did was tell everyone in 5th grade that a girl got her period. Then I showed them her pads. I am still bothered by this, which is why I am confessing to you now.

7. I used to live in Vegas, and I hated it. However, I love to vacation there, even though I don’t gamble more than $20 when I visit!

8. I once got a private tour of The Mint, a bar in Hailey Idaho owned by Bruce Willis.  AMAZING.  I even got to see the secret shower room–but please know that I didn’t use it.

9. I liked the movie Across the Universe.

10. I hate chicken, turkey, and fish.

11. I have horrible ADHD, but became organized because of it.

12. I was in a rock video – Cocky by Kid Rock, filmed in Detroit. The Detroit News interviewed me and put my picture in the paper. My husband saw the article when it came out–and remembered me a year later when we met.

13. I was a flight attendant and miss wearing the uniform.

14. I love to take photographs, especially of animals and landscapes.

15. I love road trips. My longest road trip ever was 19 days, which I did twice, both times with my friend B. We traveled all over Florida the first 19 day trip, and all out west and to national parks and Las Vegas during the second trip.

16. I have had three D & C’s and an endometrial ablation, which didn’t work.  My uterus split in half, so I had to have a hysterectomy in my 30s.  On top of all of this, my boss tried to lay me off the day before my surgery.  So, not only have I lost my job, but I’ve lost the ability to have children.

17. I love all things Star Wars.

18. I used to work at a movie theatre as a popcorn seller, a projectionist, and a manager. I really miss getting free movie passes.

19. I own 5 cameras, one of which is a rare antique camera given to me as a parting gift from an old boyfriend. My latest camera is a Nikon D80.

20. I was engaged for one day. I planned my entire wedding and honeymoon in less than 3 hours, and we married across the country within 36 hours.

21. I used to be a cocktail waitress in Vegas, and they forced me to stuff my A-cup bra to a size D. The horror!

22. I waited on Tupac and Snoop-Dog about a month before Tupac died. They were the nicest guys and tried to force me to take an autographed cd, which I turned down, as I had NO IDEA who they were. What a mistake that was!

23. The Beatles were and are the best band, ever. Don’t you argue otherwise with me.

24. I never knew my dad growing up. I hired a private eye to find him, and he doesn’t want anything to do with me, even though I am his only child. This really bothers me. I googled his name recently and found out he died, and that his family didn’t even bother to list me as his child.

25. When I was growing up my mom used to prank phone call people with me.  We’d always ask them stupid stuff like Where’s the Beef? or Is your refrigerator running?  I miss the days before caller ID and Star 69.

26. Capture the flag is the best game to play as a child.

27. I am not athletic at all, but I can walk circles around anyone. I walked an average of 16 miles a day when I was in Europe in 2007.

28. Eddie Van Halen was fabulous and sober in concert during the 2007 tour. I pray for his continued sobriety.

29. Bob Guinney from the Bachelor lived in my dorm at MSU. We had friends in common and went to the same parties all the time. He was an ass, but his band Fat Amy was decent.  I once had the pleasure of kicking him in the ass and calling him a big dummy. I can’t believe that chick Greenley from AMC married him.

30. I love the Beatles so much I went to Liverpool on my honeymoon.

31. I used to subscribe to 8 magazines, but since losing my job, I’ve let all my subscriptions go, except EW of course. I miss Star Magazine already.  I wish they would send me free copies every week.

32. I still have all of my Barbies, including Cher, Farrah, and all of The Sunshine People.  (Update – In early 2009 I had to make room and let them go.  I continue to mourn the loss of them.)

33. I loved MASH and we often watch it reruns in the early evenings.

34. I am a feminist.

35. As a third grader I had a club called Hot Lips, in honor of Major Hoolihann. We would beat up boys who picked on weaker girls in our class. I even had a shirt at the mall that said “I’m with Hot Lips.”

36. I prefer writing with blue ink over black ink.

37. My favorite artist is Vincent Van Gogh, but I went to the Ann Frank House in Amsterdam rather than visit his museum.

38. I hate all things flavored grape, and love orange flavored anything, except I hate eating actual oranges and love eating grapes.

39. I have sweared since the third grade, but never swear in front of my step-kids, which is so HARD.  (Update – When my stepdaughter discovered this fact on my blog she lol’d me.)

40. I have a cat named Beatrice. She is fat, lazy, shy and fabulous.

41. I have moved 22 times in my life.  With the economy the way it is here in Michigan, I may never move again and this terrifies me!

42. In college I would entertain people (while drinking) by shoving my entire fist in my mouth.

43. I used to be able to put both my legs behind my head, too, but arthritis has ruined my talent…

44. I loved Michael Cera way before Superbad and Juno. Watch him as George-Michael in Arrested Development.

45. I hate video games, and of course we have an X-box and Nintendo Wii.  But Guitar Hero is growing on me.

46. I love to pretend I have a British accent, just like Britney Spears did.  My family often tells me how horrible it is.

47. I’ve sold three stories to Star Magazine and made a few hundred dollars. It was so exciting!

48. The Sound of Music has finally beat Grease as my favorite musical of all time.

49. Halloween is my favorite holiday.

50. I have won Halloween contests by dressing up as Marilyn Monroe, Dolly Parton, and Michael Jackson.

51. I hate beach vacations. I have been on enough of them to last a lifetime, and after you have drank yourself sick for days and gotten sunburned I feel there is nothing else to do other than swim.

52. I’m a proud Democrat and can’t wait until Bush leaves the White house next year.  (Update – And see … he did, and I’m so happy!)

53. I miss Howard Stern on regular radio and tv. I wonder how his show is doing?

54. I’ve not owned a car for 14 months. I share a car with my husband, and while I hate it, it saves us a ton of money.

55. I love LOST, and can not wait for season 4 to begin tomorrow night at 9:00 pm on ABC.  When the last season ends I won’t know what to do with myself.  (Update – I still love the show and was so excited when EW put the cast members on a recent cover. Long live LOST!)

56. I love nothing more than laying in bed with fleece pajamas – especially on a cold winter night. I own 19 pairs of fleece and flannel pajamas.

57. I am 51% Finnish, 25% Italian, and Scottish, Irish, and French Canadian. Many people have told me I look Asian, Polish, German, Jewish, Dutch and “elfish.”

58. I know the real way Jim Morrison died. My college professor’s twin brother’s best friend used to manage the Grateful Dead and was there the night Jim died. He pulled a record player in the bathtub and electrocuted himself by accident. The people there at the party freaked out, and moved from the tub to the bed to the tub. They waited very long before calling police, too late in fact, as he was not dead right away.

59. One of my biggest regrets in life was throwing away my Breyers horses, which I only did because our home has no storage space.  I never knew that some of them sold for $50 a pop.  I had about 25 of them, and sadly, I started re-collecting them, in some weird attempt to recapture my childhood.

60. I hate going to the gym and seeing people talk on cell phones, wear too much make-up, or couples working out together.

61. I once had a 100 things before I die list and wripped it up after I’d crossed off 75 things. I figured that was close enough.

62. I like to collect postcards, cds, books, Beatles items, and magnets.

63. I love traveling more than anything else in this world. If I was rich I would travel as much as possible.

64. I am obsessed with jewelry, and will sneak in buying some any chance I get. Pandora, Swarovski, and Troll are bad habits and are hard to break…

65. My senior class song was Sweet Child of Mine by Guns and Roses.

66. Angelina Jolie has tainted Brad Pitt forever for me.

67. If you must know my top 5 hot movie stars list, I’d say it was: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Edward Norton, Jake Gyllenhall and McDreamy.

68. I love violent films: Fight Club, American History X, The Godfather, Goodfellas, The Usual Suspects, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill vol. 1 (and 2) and countless others.

69. McDreamy over McSteamy any day. My step-daughter disagrees….

70. The Office is finally funny again.

71. I have a Dwight Schrutte and a Han Solo Bobblehead.

72. Cameron Crowe is my favorite director, although Elizabethtown kind of stunk.

73. I love to read books about dysfunctional families, like Running with Scissors, mainly because they make me fell better about my dysfunctional family.

74. A mouse jumped on my head when I was 17 and I’m still freaked out by this. I have to sleep with the covers over my mouth to this day and my husband always mocks me because of this (but in a fun way.)

75. I read the entire Old Testament by the time I was 9 years old.

76. I have no religion, but I’m very interested in Buddhism.

77. I’m trying to get tickets to see the Dalhi Lama when he comes to U-M this year.  (Update – I didn’t make it, damn.)

78. The nicest thing I ever did for my mom was take her to a $500 show to see Paul McCartney. She still talks about it with joy in her eyes to this day.

79. The first cd I ever bought was The Police Greatest Hits.

80. I still have all of my old records at my mom’s house, including the soundtrack to Miami Vice.

81. I believe that what goes around, comes around.

82. I’ve decided this posting is the hardest one I’ll ever write.  (Update – It was, and so is updating it from time to time.)

83. I loved John Cusack after seeing Say Anything.

84. I was once chased by the Secret Service and outran them. It was on campus when Bill Clinton was campaigning. We were just hopping a fence to get out of the crowd to leave.

85. I loved Knott’s Landing as a teenager and wouldn’t miss an episode, even for a bar night once during college.

86. I fought off digital photography as long as possible, but now love it.

87. I text when I drive.  (Update – I barely do it now, as I bought one of those keyboard ones and its harder.) (Update – now that it is illegal here in Michigan, I only do it when I forget that it is illegal.)

88. I put on make-up at stoplights.  Rush hour traffic is horrible in my hood.

89. In college, I gave a guest lecture about a short story that I wrote–it was about my hometown.  Some students wrote on their final exams that it was their favorite short story they read that semester.  Awesome, right?

90. I grew up next door to drug dealers.

91. My mom used to charge my and my friends each $2 one way for any rides she gave us once we were in high school.

92. My house was crawling with mice who often would join me in the shower as they climbed up from the drains.

93. I think that buying a coach purse is worth it, but only if you go to the outlet store.

94. I’m addicted to red carpet coverage on E!

95. I’m bored with Facebook. Twitter is so much easier and fun.

96. The worst pain I’ve ever felt was when I feel asleep with fake eyelashes and contacts. They glue from the lashes glued my contacts to my eye, which I ripped off when I forced the contacts out. I had to take steroids for weeks and wear those think weird black glasses old blind people wear, even to work. My eyes were blood red. Tt was AWFUL.

97. If I ever had a daughter I was going to name her after my great-grandmother Rose who raised me.  (Update – No uterus = no daughter.)

98. I enjoy acting silly and goofy. If I can do a weird dance and make someone laugh, I’ll do it in a heartbeat.

99. I love to karaoke, but haven’t done it for 3 years.  When I’ve done it, I was usually sober.  I’ve even karaoked on stage in Vegas.  Terrifying, but not as scary as my choir solo in middle school.  Braver as I get older, I guess.

100. I am a secret romantic at heart, even though I make fun of all that stuff.

101. For some reason, I’m shrinking. In the past 6 months I lost a 1/4 inch, and in the past 8 years it’s been a total of 1 3/4 inches. I’m still in my 30’s … (Update – I’m up to two full inches.  I hope I won’t lose much more.)

102. In 2008 I got to be an extra in the movie Whip It staring Ellen Page and Drew Barrymore. It was a dream come true!!!

103. I have been diagnosed with Dysautonomia.  There isn’t enough research on this condition, no cure, little treatment, and it pisses me off.  Sometimes it steals my soul.