{eleven things}

If you've been keeping up with the blogs of Julie Ann Art, Wonder Forest, and Yellow Heart Art, to name a few, you may have seen this "11 Things" post going around. It's a fun way to share with readers those random fun tidbits that make you, you.

I thought I'd join in the game and give you all a fun taste of what makes me tick. Enjoy, and please play along! :)


1. I love, love love adaptations of fairy tales. I don't know why, but any kind of story or adaptation is totally my cup of tea. My favorite re-tellings are of Cinderella and Peter Pan (there are so many clever spins you can put on these classic tales!), but heck, I love 'em all. My new favorite TV show is Once Upon a Time on ABC. If you haven't seen it yet, you should... it's addicting.

2. I experience deja vous like, all the time. Science tells us it's probably caused by a brain mix-up of long term and short term memories, but it sounds way cooler to tell people I can predict the future.

3. I'm kind of, slightly, more-or-less, neurotically OCD. I love organizing closets and other spaces, and my perfectionist tendencies drive some people nuts. When I used to work in a retail clothing department, I got somewhat compulsive about turning all the clothing hangers the same direction. A symmetrical life makes everyone happier, people, trust me.

4. The phone is my enemy. Unless you have something specific to say to me, I don't want to talk to you on the phone. No offense. It just makes me feel weirdly awkward. I will go to great lengths to avoid talking on the phone, especially to people I don't know. I'll either con Tanner into making appointments and calling customer services for me, or I'll show up in person to get things accomplished.

5. I love puzzles and crosswords. I love logic games like Euchre, Trivial Pursuit, Spades, Code 777, and Mastermind. I could fill a book with all the random facts I can spout off at any one moment, on totally random subjects. Is this an important life skill? Definitely not. Does it improve my chances of winning Jeopardy? Totally.

6. I'm a complete master/nerd in the following subjects: British history. Musical Theatre. Astronomy. Star Wars. My Jeopardy triumph (see #5) would be secured with any of these topics.

7. I eat pizza with a fork and knife. I eat Mini Wheats in sets of three. I blow the bubbles away from my milk before drinking. I like the heels of bread loaves. On occasion, I eat cold oatmeal. I like bananas but not banana-flavored things. I love anything lemon. I could live on bread and bread alone. Mmmmm.

8. Despite my many happy years working in the theatre industry, I absolute hate talking in front of people. I will have panic attacks, talk too fast, and freak out the entire time. The funny thing is, I'm really good at hiding it: people tell me I'm awesome at giving presentations and doing interviews. Let it be known, however, that I would rather drive blunt objects into my eyes than be the center of attention.

9. I've been keeping journals all my life. In college I started keeping a "quotes journal" of all the hilarious things my friends say on a daily basis. After 10 years it's 160 pages long and still cracks me up.

10. I'm not a very touchy-feely person. I come from a big ol' family of huggers and emoters, but tragically, that's not me. I have a personal bubble of two feet and I tend to be rather stoic about my emotions. People often take my quietness to mean I'm not having a good time, when really I'm having a great time. I just tend to observe much more than I participate. It doesn't mean I love you any less. ;)

11. I read incredibly fast. I can go through a good chunky-sized novel in a day if I'm enjoying it. I read the entire Harry Potter series and the entire Dark Tower series in a week. When I started dating Tanner, I finally found someone who reads faster than me. The two of us could decimate an entire bookstore in a month. The sheer amount of tomes in our house warrants a library someday.

So that's it! If you want to hear more weird quirks about me, check out this post about finding your strengths.