100th post

In honour of my 100th post, here are 100 random things about me:

1. I’m a Gemini, which means that my mood changes with the wind. It makes me mysterious.
2. I have a deep and inexplicable connection to Africa. When most kids were dreaming about going to Europe, I was dreaming of Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, Morocco, Ghana and South Africa.
3. I have been to 4 continents in the past year.
4. I have an insatiable wanderlust. I’m always planning my next trip.
5. I have always wanted as many children as I could afford both emotionally and financially. (I think the emotional aspect will be the more difficult)
6. I believe that childhood should be a magical time.
7. I believe education should fall primarily on the shoulders of parents, and that people often blame schools for not doing what they should be doing themselves.
8. I love ginger. In every possible form (although chocolate covered candied ginger is my very favourite). I think it’s the secret to why I rarely get sick.
9. I have been a vegetarian for more than half of my life. I can’t imagine any circumstance under which I would be willing to eat meat.
10. My fingernails grow very funkily, so I keep them pretty short, but when I paint them, I like them to be deep red.
11. I love massages. I need to find a way to make them more of a priority in my life, because I think they are my greatest therapy.
12. My eating style is world vegetarian food. I love Ethiopian, Thai, Indian, Mediterranean, Mexican, Italian, Jamaican, French, and Korean food. The spicier the better.
13. My mom died last year. We knew it was coming, but you’re never ready. Her voice is still on my parents’ answering machine, and I sometimes call just to hear her.
14. I hate the television, but I’m finding that it’s sucking me in more and more.
15. I learned to ski when I was 8. I will never snowboard.
16. When I was 14, I had pretty extensive knee surgery. I now have two 2 inch long screws holding my left knee together.
17. I don’t like to compromise.
18. I’ve never felt compelled to follow the crowd just because it’s the popular thing to do.
19. I’ve also never felt compelled to be nonconforming just for the sake of being different. I like what I like and I do what I do because it’s what I want to do.
20. My music collection is completely eclectic. I love everything from Ani Difranco to Mos Def, The Shins to Yo Yo Ma. I listen to punk, folk, hip-hop, classical, emo, ska, and world music.
21. My recent favourite instrument is the cello.
22. I have a lucky number. It finds its way into every important event in my life, and it sometimes shows up in completely random ways (like the number of the car on the roller coaster I ride).
23. I love photography and I’m actually pretty good at it.
24. I was very against the digital camera revolution because it meant that I couldn’t spend time in the darkroom, which is one of my favourite places in the world. I love painting with the light and watching the images appear. However, once I broke down and bought my digital camera, I had to admit that it’s making me a better photographer.
25. When I feel sad, I create art.
26. I have been a foster child, a foster parent, and a social worker.
27. I believe that children should learn that their parents are human and fallible early on, but as gently as possible.
28. I love stars and mountains.
29. I miss the climate and beautiful scenery of Colorado every day.
30. I could never live anywhere but a major city.
31. I am not a baby person. One of the many appeals of adoption is that we could skip over the baby stage. Ironically, we were referred 7 month old twins (9 months when we traveled). Somewhere, my mother is laughing...
32. I love those babies more than I ever thought possible.
33. Before the twins came home, I took a bath almost every day. It’s my favourite way to unwind. (note to self: find a way to do this again!)
34. I love giving gifts, but not under the pressure of holidays.
35. I watch a lot of movies, most of which you’ve probably never heard of, and many that I know very little about before putting them in the dvd player.
36. As cliché as it is, my favourite book is “Catcher in the Rye”. I still aspire to be a catcher in the rye if I every grow up.
37. My other favourite book is “If nobody speaks of remarkable things” by Jon McGregor. I’ve never read anything more beautiful in my life.
38. Two of my favourite contemporary artists are from Iowa.
39. My favourite painters are kandinsky, rothko, and klee
40. I’ve decorated my house with all sorts of fun accessories that I found at flea markets.
41. I would rather own art than furniture.
42. I collect children’s books because I love their illustrations.
43. I also collect coloured glass apothecary jars.
44. Water is definitely my favourite element. I love lakes, rivers, rain, oceans, waterfalls, etc.
45. You’ll never catch me without my burt’s bees.
46. I have had a fear of train tracks ever since I was in high school. In a nearby town, 7 teenagers were killed in a horrific accident where a train hit their school bus. To this day, I shudder each time I drive over them.
47. Being a part of my mother’s life and witnessing her death has made me appreciate her humanity more than I could possibly have before.
48. My favourite cities in the world are New York, Paris, Chiang Mai, and Amsterdam.
49. The top 5 destinations on my dream vacation list are: Peru (Macchu Pichu), Tanzania (Kilimanjaro), Morocco(to see the markets in Marakkesh), Hong Kong (because it’s Hong Kong), and Reunion Island ((off the coast of Madigascar) because it's just so beautiful).
50. I have taught in some of America’s most dangerous neighborhoods, and never once felt unsafe.
51. I believe that you can’t know love until you’ve owned a dog.
52. There is a street named after me in Saegertown, Pennsylvania.
53. I am more excited about the upcoming presidential election than I have ever been in the past.
54. My 2 favourite websites are www.wherethehellismatt.com & www.postsecret.com
55. I have slept in the back of my car at a truck stop in the middle of Pennsylvania during a horrendous snowstorm that made it take 4 hours to cross New Jersey.
56. My first car was a red Jeep Cherokee. I put almost 200,000 miles on that car before giving it to a family friend who still drives it.
57. I once put together a soundtrack to my life. The main theme song is Joyful Girl by Ani Difranco.
58. I wear 5 pieces of jewelry every day. One is a necklace with my mother’s fingerprint on it, so that she is with me wherever I go, one is a bracelet that she gave me, one is my wedding ring, one is my engagement ring, and one is my tongue ring.
59. I have 6 tattoos. Each of them holds a special meaning for me, and reminds me of a specific point in my life.
60. My favourite pizza topping is pineapple.
61. Every Monday night we go to a friends’ house for dinner. We rotate who hosts among the 7 of us.
62. “This too shall pass” is my mantra.
63. Ennui is my favourite word.
64. I love architecture and can often be found wandering through neighborhoods admiring beautiful houses.
65. My least favourite thing about my body is the skin on my elbows.
66. I don’t own a tape player, but I refuse to get rid of my mix tape collection because it has so much sentimental value.
67. I love working with paper and dream of starting my own stationery company.
68. I’m not the best at staying in touch with people, but I often wonder how the people from my past are doing.
69. I have a myspace account, but I didn’t use my real name, because while I love to check up on other people, I don’t necessarily want to be found.
70. I have an alter ego who is a revolutionary. The name came to me on my very first voter registration card.
71. In college, I had a weekly radio show with a friend. I don't know if we had a very big following, but it sure was fun!
72. I write shopping lists on envelopes and people's misprinted wedding invitations (because the paper is so luxurious!)
73. Fall is my favourite season, followed by winter, and then spring. I really don’t like summer.
74. Huge thunderstorms make me happy.
75. I often put the needs of others before my own needs.
76. If I could have 3 wishes, I would wish to rid the world of ignorance, to have a career that allows me to revolutionize the educational system while still making a comfortable living and being able to spend time with my kids, and to be able to pass three wishes on to someone else.
77. If I could have a superpower, I would want the ability of instantaneous transport.
78. I would love to live abroad for at least a few years. (Though I’m not sure I could be convinced to come back to America)
79. I love slam poetry, but most things with regular rhyme and meter bore me.
80. I dream of owning a vespa one day and using it as my main method of transportation.
81. My parents spelled my name wrong on my birth certificate, so when I was 12, I had it legally changed. (To be fair, I have been obsessed with names for as long as I can remember. When I was 4 years old, I came home from preschool and asked my mother why she didn't name me Kathleen. For my entire 4th grade year, I signed every assignment I did with the name Victoria.)
82. I once had to make a choice between going to college and training for the Olympics. I chose college, but often wonder what might have been had I gone the other route.
83. I have driven a Porsche regularly.
84. I’ve eaten dinner with Dave Matthews, sang and danced onstage with George Clinton, and driven the Squirrel Nut Zippers around in my car.
85. I’m a huge fan of rainbows.
86. I don’t understand why the U.S. government refuses to sanction hate, but will do everything in its power to control and limit love.
87. I consider myself socially progressive, but fiscally middle of the road.
88. I have friends from all over the world.
89. I’m an excellent singer.
90. I’m really Italian, but everyone thinks I’m French
91. I am a terrible sleeper – I move around constantly and I hate to share the bed.
92. I wanted to name my son Max after the main character in “Where the wild things are”
93. I adore craftsman style bungalows.
94. Tennis is the only sport that I can watch religiously.
95. I have ridden both a camel and an elephant.
96. My best New Years ever was spent with complete strangers in Montreal.
97. My IQ was once tested at 155
98. I have never had a cavity
99. When I was 21, I was offered a children’s menu at a restaurant. I declined and ordered a beer instead.
100. A bird once pooped directly on my head at a rodeo in Jackson, Wyoming.