25 random, interesting, heartfelt, funny things about me

1. I have a birthmark on the back of my left leg. My mom has almost the exact same on in the same spot.

2. I have my dad's feet. Well…he has one now but I still have two and at least one of them still matches dead on. No pun intended.

3. I'm horrible with money and it causes me a TON of stress in my life. Like Jen, saving it is beyond my capabilities.

4. My favorite number is 17. I have a theory of why that is but I don't think I've ever told anyone. It's cheesey.

5. I can't decide if I regret starting my career as a dispatcher so early. The pluses and the minses are neck and neck right now.

6. I wish I went to a normal school/high school growing up. I missed out on a LOT.

7. I was raised in a cult (pre-VBC). No exaggeration…the environment that I grew up in as a child was criminal. I resent my parents for that part of my life. If they heard that, it would crush them. My mother has apologized for my childhood, but my father never has.

8. I never realized how much I want kids until I was on a date with a guy who looked at me over dinner and told me he would never bring children into this ugly world. That was my first sign he was all wrong for me.

9. I want to own a horse ranch with a lot of property. I'd adopt every stray animal and child that came across my path. I'd have a barn just to have barn parties. I think I might love to live in the south.

10. I wanted to be lawyer when I was a kid. I still want to do that sometimes but I don’t think I'll ever have enough patience to go to law school. I also wanted to be a nurse, a cop, a firefighter, a paramedic, and a teacher. Now I get to talk to all of them on a regular basis.

11. It is my goal to see as much of the world as I can. I love to travel just for travel's sake. Wanderlust runs through my veins. If I could have a career as a travel journalist, I would do that in a heartbeat.

12. I love that photography allows me to show the world my viewpoint. I look for beauty in hidden places and I love candid shots. Places and things are easier to photograph than people.

13. I wish I could have known my grandparents better. It has recently occurred to me that they were people too with stories that I wish I knew better. If I could go back in time and meet anyone, I would choose them. I knew my mom's mom the longest, her dad died when I was five. I have one or two memories of him. Until recently, I thought I was there in the house when the mortuary took his body away. I have this vivid memory of seeing him peaceful in his bed before they took him and watching then roll his body away in a black bag on a gurney covered in a white sheet. I think I may have imagined that scene when I was a kid and thought it was a real memory for 20+ years. It wasn't until about a year ago that my mom told me that I wasn't there at all. The images I have of what I thought was that day are so vivid. I never met my dad's dad, and the memories I have of my dad's mother make me sad. I think she had a hard, miserable life that lacked love and the good things that life had to offer. Everyone of my grandparent's immigrated from another country when they were children or young adults. None of them had riches and all of them struggled throughout their lives. Sometimes, I wish I could just tell them thank you.

14. I self medicate with material things. I'm not proud of it.

15. I can sing like Cher. It's hilarious and awful all at once. It's not a talent I worked hard to develop, it just happened one day.

16. I don't know how to not be single and I wonder if I even have the capability to learn anything else.

17. My worst habits are nailbiting, procrastination, and over-indulgence.

18. I am very giving. I wish I could say no more often.

19. If I could work for the United Nations, I would. I get frustrated with the people I have to talk to about petty complaints and their unrealistic "personal injustices". There is an entire world that is dying of starvation, disease, and civil war. I really don't give a s#!& about your exaggerated child custody issue, stolen purse you left in your unlocked car, or the fact that your neighbor parked within 6 inches of your driveway. I have begun to hate a certain part of society.

20. I want to be a runner. I can run a 10 minute mile about 2 minutes at a time. That's progress. I've been building up to that for quite sometime now. I've been really great about working out lately. I'm proud of myself for that.

21. I recently found a list of things that I wanted to get done in 2003. The top 3 hadn't changed at all - pay off all my credit cards, get my own place, lose 50 lbs. Those are still in my top 5 goals.

22. Until recently, I forgot how much I love to write. I realized the power of writing in 9th grade when I wrote a paper on why medical marijuana should be legalized. I went to a very strict Christian school and my paper went against the grain. My teacher who was opposed to the legalization, changed her mind after reading my paper. It was then that I realized how powerful words are.

23. I have 12 peircings, and 4 tattoos. I want more of both of them…in many, many places.

24. I was a waitress for 4 1/2 years. Only once did I intentionally mess with someone's food.

25. I once had a midget hit on me on the beach in Waikiki. My sister was there when it happened. I still don't think she has recovered from laughing. It is one of my best stories.

This is just the tip of the iceberg…