Los Veinticinco, well...Veintiseis

The current craze on Facebook has been writing a list of 25 things about oneself and posting it as a note and tagging people. So of course, I posted it there and tagged people like I was supposed to. However, then I started thinking of my dear readers who don't have Facebook accounts, who will not get the opportunity to read these delightful facts about me, so I've posted them here as well. I'm such a giving person.

1. I had a horrifically traumatic and awful experience learning to drive and getting my driver's license. The first time I ever drove, I crashed through the fence in my front yard. I was told I was one of the top five worst drivers ever by my driver's ed teacher on my first class drive sophomore year. I had a heck of a time getting my drivers license. My driver's ed teacher loved telling following classes about my driving ineptitude. (He was an ass!) Because of this earlier humiliation, I still really don't like driving others around because I feel like they are judging me. I also never learned how to drive a stick shift because I never wanted to have to go through learning to drive again. I swear, though, that I am a decent driver.

2. I loved working at Camp Killoqua, and I worked there for four years and a few weeks during other summers. My favorite position there was working as the Unit Coordinator for Salishan, the unit of 9 - 11 year old girls. That age group is so much fun because they loved to do activities, and I always thought it was adorable that the girls loved singing their unit songs all around camp. That said, even though I never had a problem singing the Salishan songs, and of course I taught the girls the songs on the first day, my favorite camp unit songs were from Gypsy, the 9 - 11 year old boys. However, I could never be a counselor for Gypsy because my inner ten year old would always think - "OMG those boys are so immature!"

3. Speaking of camp, although I enjoy the work that I do as a lawyer now, I do sometimes wish I had deferred a year before I started law school to work the outdoor education season at camp (even though besides fire building, my outdoor living skills are slightly lacking), and then worked that summer as the UC of Salishan again. Also then I would have finally received my five year patch!

4. I HATED Twilight. HATED. I made it to page 70 before I slammed the book down in disgust. Bella was a smug, unlikeable wish-fulfillment device of the author, and Edward was a creepy, passive agressive stalker. Ugh! However, I'm sure I would have loved the book and thought it was so romantic when I was sixteen. I actually did enjoy the movie, though, since the director made Bella much more likeable, and Edward much less creepy. That said, I don't think that this book will utterly destroy the lives of the people that read it, and make them utterly incapable of having healthy relationships, like some other hyperbolic Twilight haters think.

5. I am disgusted by the fact that Chuck Bass, the two-time attempted rapist, is someone we are supposed to root for on Gossip Girl. Once the writers decided to make him more of a protaganist, which they decided before the pilot even aired, they should have just edited out the attempted rape scenes. After the episode where Blair slept with him, knowing that he did that, I was done with the show for good. As I've said before - it's offensive and it rips off daytime soap opera plot lines.

6. One day I hope to own a bulldog or bullmastiff. I want to name him Rufus.

7. I have the titles and teasers to a "cozy" mystery series saved on my computer. Someday I will actually start writing the books. However, when I was younger, I started writing many novels, but I never finished one. So we'll see how this goes.

8. Speaking of my writing career, when I was in sixth grade, I went on an RL Stein reading binge one weekend. Not Goosebumps, but the more "mature" young adult horror novels. This then inspired me to write horror stories for my sixth grade class newsletter - complete with gushing blood. When the teachers pulled the stories from the newsletter because of parent complaints, I cried about the cruel censorship of the newsletter. Then my teachers referred me to the school psychologist - who lied to me and told me she was meeting with everyone - which was so not true! But once I told the psychologist about my reading binge, she realized that I was just emulating a writing style and not actually deranged, so she never insisted on seeing me again.

9. I am still very close with my best friends from high school - Joooan! and RToo. And they always let me drag them to cheesy romantic comedies, though Joooan! always publically complains. I am so glad that we are still such close friends although we lead very different lives now. (Aww cheesy -- anyone want some crackers?)

10. I was cut from three high school sports teams - tennis, volleyball, and fastpitch. Luckily the swim team and the track team thought there was power in numbers, so I was never cut from those teams. Also, although I was cut from fastpitch, I went on to play on my law school slowpitch softball team (and I played second base, not right field!).

11. I have a very large head. During my year on the C-Team Fastpitch team, they had to special order me an XXL batting helmet.

12. I was the tallest person in my class until the fifth grade.

13. I was in 4-H throughout high school. I showed pygmy and dairy goats, and I was not very good. Yet for some reason, I figured this would be an interesting thing to talk about when I met people on my WOA trip at CMC. Of course then all my WOA tripmates thought I was quite urbane and sophisticated.

14. I twirl my hair when I get nervous.

15. I used to love to read, and I still love going to bookstores and libraries, but I find I am not reading as many books as I used to. This worries me.

16. When I go out and drink, I also want to do some activity -- compete in bar trivia, dance, play drinking games, play pool (though I'm embarrassingly terrible), or shoot darts.

17. I have wanted to be a lawyer ever since I was nine. However, I was not inspired by any great historical lawyers, I was inspired by Jessi Spano on "Saved By The Bell."

18. Sometimes I still dream about being a star of Broadway musicals.

19. When I was younger I wanted to be an Olympic Gymnast or Figure Skater. I even imagined how all the sports commentators would talk about my amazing rise to elite status even though I started training when I was nine or eleven respectively. Also, I was already 4'10" by the time I was nine, so sometimes my dreams could be a tad bit delusional.

20. I wrote my senior thesis in Spanish.

21. I never liked P.E., since I was never a great athelete. The only thing I excelled at was the sit and reach. 51 cm! Beat that jocks! (Sorry that I stole your idea Lucky!)

22. I tried out for cheerleading twice in high school. The first time I tried out, at the end of my individual cheer - my kicks were out of rhythm, so I yelled "oh crap." I was so shocked that I was mute during my closing rally. Needless to say, I did not make the team. I didn't make the team the next year either, probably for "whooping" during the rally, which is not the cheerleader way!

23. I was nominated for Prom Queen my senior year of college. Yes, my college had a prom themed party. But then I skipped that prom to go to Coachella. And Jeff Simonetti beat me for the Prom Queen title anyway.

24. I have been sunburned every summer of my life that I can remember.

25. I've studied Spanish since the eighth grade, but I still can't roll my Rs, unless I'm speaking very, very quickly.

26. I still have a stuffed rabbit named Bosley that I've had since my first Easter.