50 things you probably don't know about me

1.) I secretly think left-handers are just a little superior.

2.) I misplace my keys on the average of two times a day.

3.) I have about 10 dream jobs. Details on request.

4.) The only class that ever totally kicked my butt was Organic Chemistry. I think my friend Amy physically crammed every detail into my head.

5.) In Chicago I ran a 10-mile race and completed it within my goal time. I haven't run in a race before or since.

6.) Until 2002, I had been in Mexico, Palestine, Israel, Tanzania, Namibia, and England.

7.) Since I moved to Germany I have been in France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Italy (and Germany, too).

8.) My current favorite food is stuffed jalapeños.

9.) I was a National Merit Scholar, a fact I found tremendously embarrassing at the time. My friend Peter saved me from utter mortification by always scoring exactly the same as me on standardized tests, bless his heart.

10.) I chew on pens. And bite styrofoam cups. And shred erasers.

11.) I have very conflicted feelings about zoos.

12.) I have a chipped front tooth resulting from a mishap at Oktoberfest in Munich last fall.

13.) I was a vegetarian once, for two years.

14.) I used to like to memorize things for fun: the Preamble to the Constitution, poems by e.e. cummings, Morse Code.

15.) I have worked part-time as a babysitter, grocery store clerk, nanny, Sandwich Artist, video store clerk, secretary, camp counselor, teaching assistant, research assistant, registrar's assistant, publishing and shipping coordinator, translator and English tutor and full-time as Church Relations coordinator and Project Assistant.

16.) I have kissed 6 people. Three (or 4, depending) were my boyfriends at the time, one wanted to be, and one was just very long overdue. That's not very many, is it.

17.) My theory is that everyone has an alpha insecurity that they battle with most of their lives. Mine is the fear that I just don't matter to the people who are important to me, or that I love people more than they love me.

18.) I suck at anything that requires hand-to-eye coordination, hitting, kicking, throwing or dribbling. I only manage sports that go in a straight line (rollerblading, biking, running, swimming, ice skating...).

19.) For the first time since I was 14, I am not volunteering somewhere on a regular basis.

20.) From the age of 19 until August, I always had at least three roommates.

21.) At some point in my life I was conversant in: Spanish, Arabic, ASL, Kiswahili, Oshivambo, German (and Japanese, kinda). I can read: Greek, Biblical Hebrew, Latin and (if I squint and let my eyes go out of focus a little) Portuguese.

22.) I was editor-in-chief of my high school newspaper, copy editor of the yearbook and briefly considered a career in journalism but felt too burned out by the end of high school.

23.) I would absolutely love to sing in a choir, but I am too insecure about my singing voice.

24.) I once fell while rollerblading and got a Collie's fracture of my right distal radius. Apparently as I was talking to my mom on the phone in the emergency room I described my wrist as "significantly misshapen," which she has since then found incredibly quote-worthy.

25.) My biggest turn-ons: a big vocabulary, an Eagle Scout, guitar playing ability, soccer legs, sexy British (Irish, Scottish, Australian, etc, etc) accent, easy confidence, kindness to grandmothers, pets and small children.

26.) One of my regrets about not going to medical school is the fact that I will never get to dissect a cadaver.

27.) I detest calling people on the phone if I know they will answer in German.

28.) I have never had a haircut that I really loved.

29.) My sister used to be envious of me because I was older and got good grades (not that she didn't!); now I am envious of her because she knows exactly where her life is going.

30.) I love chick flicks where the guy gets the girl and they ride off into the figurative sunset whispering cheesy, quotable tidbits into each other's ear.

31.) But I also like a good thriller, especially if it's got brains or Matt Damon.

32.) I have been on an archaeological dig in the Holy Land. Twice.

33.) I am the only one on both sides of my family who didn't inherit the green thumb.

34.) There are a few books I reread about once a year, to remind me who I am. It's like comfort food or reading old love letters.

35.) I went down in the 4th grade spelling bee on the word "arraignment". I spelled it with an "e".

36.) I am very, very ashamed to admit that I did not vote. I applied for an absentee ballot in my state of permanent residence (Minnesota) and found out, just in time to miss the deadline, that I actually have to vote in my state of most recent residence (Illinois). Thankfully for my conscience, both were Blue states. But still.

37.) I am awful at buying gifts on demand. I am much better with spontaneous, this-reminded-me-of-you thoughtfulness.

38.) The summer I was 14, I was forced to watch the Little Mermaid twice a day, every day, by a holy terror I was babysitting.

39.) With the exception of roommates, the majority of my good friends have been male.

40.) My grandmother is way more fashionable than I will ever be.

41.) While I do have some virtues, patience is most definitely not among them.

42.) I am happiest when I am uberbusy, have lots of great roommates and a job that is meaningful.

43.) I am saddest when I have too much free time and nothing to do.

44.) I love how things smell, and often am fiercely reminded of something by a random smell drifting my way.

45.) I am fascinated with: bilingualism, language acquisition, cognitive science and linguistic theory; astronomy; the Deaf community.

46.) I am pretty sure that I will probably get a PhD someday, but I don't have any idea in WHAT.

47.) I am a rotten typist and don't use the correct fingers.

48.) My two favorite poems are "for most this amazing day" by e.e. cummings and "If" by Rudyard Kipling.

49.) Everyone thinks my life must be really exotic, but I find it boring at best.

50.) I am terrified that when I come back to the US, my friends won't like me any more.