8 Random Facts

This blog is dedicated to Katie over at http://l-i-t.blogspot.com
She requested 8 Random Facts about me, and here they are. I tried not to self-monitor, these are the 8 that came to mind right away.

1. My Body Is Asymmetrical. After careful observation for years, I have come to a few strange observations about my body and how asymmetric it is. First I am convinced that right armpit sweats more than my left. My right arm is significantly stronger than my left and in high school when I raced in the backstroke, I would sometimes veer into the lane ropes on the right. Recently I have discovered that my left leg is shorter than my right. I won't bore with the discovery, but I can assure you, it's a little bit shorter. I remember a conversation years ago with my mom when she pointed out the asymmetry of most newscaster's faces. I haven't been the same since, I'm always looking for that droopy eye.

2. Seven Years of Ballet. When I was 4 I was enrolled in ballet lessons. The lessons didn't stop until I was 11. I danced in the Nutcracker every year. Now that I think about it, I did jazz and tap some of those years too. I also was a cheerleader for 4 years. All that to say, I have no coordination. A slight variation in the sidewalk and I'm on the ground. In our stairwell in China, I've tripped on the same stair at least 5 times. If we've spent more than 2 hours in each other's presence, you probably have a story about a time I fell. Now, I blame it on the shorter left leg.

3. Matilda- When I was in the 6th grade, my aunt got my cousins and I on as extras in the film, Matilda. It's a kiddie movie with Danny DeVito and my aunt was working Wardrobe. As a 6th grader this was huge. I was a freckled 11-year old that managed to get a shot of my face in the film. No, not just in the background, but my entire mug filling the screen. I don't usually tell people about this, but my mom sent the new Matilda DVD to me in a care package a couple weeks ago. My teammates wondered, "Why Matilda?" The truth came out and before I knew it, my faced was paused on the screen and everyone was taking pictures of their face with the same expression. My awkward 11th year is forever documented.

4. First concert was Billy Ray Cyrus' "Achy Breaky Heart Tour" in South Florida. A couple of us rebellious girls snuck in at a fair after selling Girl Scout Cookies. I was great at selling Girl Scout cookies. That stint didn't last past Brownies, but I could push the cookies. Probably the reason I ended up with a Marketing degree.

5. I'll be living in Beijing in 2008 before and during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Should be interesting.

6. To Do Lists- I make extremely long to-do lists. I empty my brain of everything that needs to be done, even the really small things. And then I triumphantly cross them off. At the end of the list I write something that I've already finished and then cross it off immediately. It's a mind game for myself, I suppose.

7. Music trivia- My musical knowledge is pretty much non-existent. I don't know album titles, or band members, or the titles of songs. I don't know what a bridge is, or scales, or the opposite of alto. But if you're humming, I can probably sing the lyrics that match it. And therein, lies the mystery of it. I like to think of myself as some sort of musical elitist in that regard- I don't know the singer or the components- I'm just in it for the music. The reality is that I don't care and no matter how much my friends act disappointed... the song title/artist category of my brain was filled in my youth by Billy Joel, Rod Stewart, Elton John, and U2.

8. When I was learning to read, I memorized the Dr. Seuss book "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish." Sometimes, at the strangest times, it pops into my head. The song "Get a Haircut and get a real job" by Blues Travelers (I think?), and "Jesus, lover of my soul" also fill my mind at weird times. As does Ephes. 3:14-21, I memorized it one spring break in a park in Mexicali, Mexico.

In the time it took me to write this blog, I've killed three mosquitoes whom most assuredly feasted on my skin last night. I've left and gone on a walk in the sweltering heat of Nanchang, and I've learned that Starbucks bought out Dietrich's coffee. My friends, we've lost another great coffee company.