25 Things

While sitting backstage during a very long and boring moment in tech during which light cues were altered and sound cues were fiddled with, I scrolled though my phone in an attempt to stave off the tedium (since the changes to neither the lights nor the sounds directly affected my track). In between the something-something-Hilary and blah-blah-Kardashian, I landed on this Slate.com article that sang the praises of an Us Weekly feature where minor celebrities list "25 Things You Didn't Know About Me." I'm not 100% sure why I clicked on this particular story, because I've never once read an issue of Us Weekly and I'm not particularly interested in celebrity gossip, but it was clearly a slow news day (and an even slower tech). It got me thinking about what I would include in my own list of fun facts, which quickly turned into an actual list of personal fun facts, which even quickly-er morphed into this very blog post (the creative writing process is alive and well, folks!). I actually had a lot of fun delving into the "brain archives" to come up with this list, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it ;)

1. I have held over a dozen different jobs (outside of stage management) ranging from the mundane (receptionist) to the typical (waitress) to the bizarre (Easter Bunny in a shopping mall in Green Bay, Wisconsin).
2. The tune that I default to when mindlessly humming to myself is a 17-note melody from the musical Seven Brides For Seven Brothers.
3. Every time I get together with my parents, we sit around the kitchen table and complete a geography quiz found in the back of each issue of National Geographic Traveller. Doing these silly quizzes is my favorite family tradition and makes for some of my most treasured memories. 
4. I obsessively set multiple alarms in order to wake up in the morning, but they are all set at 1 minute past the quarter - so 7:01, 7:16, 7:31, 7:46, etc. This drives my partner crazy.
5. I used to lifeguard at a waterpark during my high school summers. I rescued three children in the four years I guarded, and I've always wondered who those kids grew up to be.
6. I self-diagnose my allergies, and am convinced I'm allergic to down feathers, nickel, mineral oil, and roll-on deodorants.
7. I despise the taste of green beans, and will avoid ordering something if green beans are listed as even a side dish for fear they will contaminate everything with their stench.
8. Knock on wood, I've never broken a bone.
9. I'm not a big crier, but the end of Field of Dreams gets me every. single. time.
10. I've worked professionally on over 100 theatrical productions in the past 11 years.
11. I used a dishwasher for the first time two years ago.
12. Even though I spent nearly a decade of my life working as a waitress and hating every minute of it, I still fantasize about opening my own coffee shop/bar/b&b and love coming up with names for sandwiches and cocktails.
13. I have only attended three schools - one for pre-school thru 8th grade, one for high school, and one for college.
14. I have been to 28 states and 22 countries on 4 continents, and will be adding #23 to the country list later this year (Ireland!).
15. For better or for worse, I was raised and remain a die-hard Cubs fan.
16. As a child, I wanted to be a marine biologist, magazine editor, cartoonist, dancer, and (very briefly) a shoe salesman.
17. I find pleasure in shopping for, scheduling, prepping, and cooking a large multi-course meal.
18. I grew up in Chicago, but thanks to childhood summer camps, friend's lake houses, and my college years, I consider the state of Wisconsin to be as much of a home to me as my actual hometown.
19. I am terrible about laundry - doing it, folding the clean stuff, paring socks - it stresses me out and is my least favorite chore.
20. My eyesight is horrendous, and one of my biggest fears is that my glasses will get broken while I'm on the subway platform and I'll have to call someone to come get me.
21. I am a fast and impatient walker. If you can't keep up with me, don't bother walking with me.
22. I love wandering around art museums, but sometimes I spend more time assessing what it is I love about art museums than actually looking at the art.
23. In my pre-teen years, I read a Chicken Soup for the Soul book and was inspired to create a "List of Things To Do Before I Die." I've made a few revisions over the years, but at 31 years old I'm 1/3 of the way through the list.
24. I wore a uniform up through my senior year of high school, and thus never quite figured out the whole "dressing myself" thing. If I won the lottery, one of the first things I would do is hire someone to help me shop for clothes.
25. I have always had incredibly vivid dreams, and can recall specific details from many of my dreams even years later. I also have frequent bouts of short but intense déjà vu. I have no idea if these two events are related, but I can't help but think they are.