Hey : ) I Reached 100 Posts!

Well, 102 to be exact (counting this one, of course). So as a celebration of sorts, here is a list of useless/interesting(?)/(definitely)unique facts about me. Enjoy :)

And as soon as I have 100 followers (or 102, if I am to maintain my lack of with-it-ness which you've all come to know by now), I will have a most amazing contest. Plans are in the works : )

Okay, here we go ...

* I lived up to my klutzy image by falling on ice at work this past winter ... in front of six kids that, to their credit, made a great effort not to laugh.

* I think "NCIS" is the best show ever created.

* I wonder constantly what my students take away from my class.

* My self-esteem is in the negative digits.

* I am addicted to a gossip website that keeps me up to date on all things celebrity gossip, one of my minor obsessions.

* I have two tattoos, but I desperately regret both of them.

* I can analyze literature with the best of them (I actually understand and--gasp!--enjoy Shakespeare), but I have absolutely no common sense.

* When I was a kid, I wanted to be a journalist, a lawyer, a psychologist, or an author. "Teacher" wasn't even in the running.

* I am a very different person when you first meet me than I am when you get to know me.

* I hate the telephone. Like, I deplore it.

* I have no patience for close-minded people. I have strong opinions about various things, but I will always listen to the other side as long as it is intelligently presented and not based in hate, ignorance, and bigotry.

* I used to love doing puzzles, but it makes me cry to do puzzles since my stepdad's death, since he usually helped me when I was at the point of giving up. It occurs to me that this is probably a metaphor in some way, shape, or form.

* Ketchup, even just the smell of it, makes me sick to my stomach.

* I think James Joyce is the most overrated author of all time.

* My black lab is so gentle that I'd trust her alone with a baby, yet at the same time I suspect that anyone breaking into my house or something would be in for a rude awakening.

* Even though I tend to lean left politically, I'd rather watch Fox News Channel than CNN or MSNBC. This in large part the entertainment factor rather than getting the news. I follow AP news releases for actual information.

* I LOVE maple sugar candy. And Zagnut bars : )

* My dad should be on "Jeopardy" because he is, as my sister puts it, a fountain of useless information.

* Writing is an imperative part of my life. So is reading. To quote Harper Lee, "Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing."

* I am a cheeseburger aficionado. One word: Fuddrucker's.

* I was extremely resistant to reading the Twilight series (and the Harry Potter books until the fourth one came out). I don't know why, really, except for a minor hang-up with cheap commercialism. I got over it : )

* I am so stupid mathematically that I can't play cribbage (too much fast addition).

* I had my IQ tested twice as a child (they thought I was retarded ... go figure lol), had scores within two points of each other, then took an internet IQ test a few years ago and scored the number in between. (I'm hoping you think I'm being modest by not posting numbers here :-) ).

* I rewrote "Hamlet" as a novel for a final project in my college Shakespeare class ... the night before it was due. Yes, I finished. Yes, I got an A. No, my blood pressure has not recovered : )

* I have lost several cell phones because I put them on top of my car and drove off.

* I used to dream about spending the night in the public library.

* My younger daughter is very blonde, and people who see her with me and my (also very dark-haired) husband often feel the need to comment on it. I make a lot of mailman jokes.

* I am really OCD about even numbers. Like, at the gas station, the numbers have to end even or I'll keep putting gas in until it does.

* My daughters both look just like my mother did when she was little and quite a bit like I did when I was little, but I don't look a thing like my mother.

* I HATE feet (especially toenails).

* I could (and have) sit at the beach and watch the ocean for entire days.

* I love smoked Gouda cheese.

* I don't like being touched under my chin.

* I suffer (and I do mean suffer) from chronic pancreatitis.

* Vanilla Ice is on my iPod, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

* I have an obsession with Charles Manson (the psychological aspects of his mind control thing, not in an at all admirable way).

* I think peanut butter pancakes are the best breakfast food in the world.

* One of my daughters thinks I know everything, one of my daughters thinks I know nothing.

* I cannot tell a linear story (in other words, settle down for a spell once I start talking because the ADHD will kick in and I'll add in numerous details and side tales that are not remotely relevant)

Yay : ) That was kind of fun!