25 Random Facts

Those of you who are on Facebook may have seen this coming, or have already been tagged. It's the new phenomenon, just like pomegranate is the new cranberry.

1. I worked at a hotel gift shop when I was in high school. One evening, about 3 minutes before closing time, Corey Feldman walked in and bought a pack of Zig Zags (papers for rolling tobacco). I accidentally turned the lights out on him – I didn't know he was wandering the shop after he made his purchase.

2. Drove to Reno one night on a whim with some friends. It's the only time I've been there.

3. I didn't skip a grade! I spent 3 weeks in 6th grade before being promoted to the 7th.

4. In 4th grade, as a new student at a new school, I wrote and performed a one woman show called "This is a Way to Get Fat" for the annual school talent show. I spoke in a funny accent, and used a metal bowl and some saltines as props. I got a lot of laughs.

5. I'm fascinated by the business of Hollywood – how movies are produced, who has a shingle where, who's slated to be in what next. I would love to see how a movie is made from the germ of an idea to the national and international premieres.

6. My first job out of college was at a crime lab. Yes, the techniques of CSI are mostly real. And no, county or city crime labs do not have near enough money for all of the fancy gadgets and machines. Nor can DNA be extracted and examined in less than 24 hrs.

7. I clip out articles from the newspaper, and get cantankerous when someone messes with the newspaper before I've finished with it (e.g., leaving the sections all scattered and out of order).

8. I would love to tour the houses where they filmed Sense & Sensibility (the Ang Lee version), Pride & Prejudice (both the Colin Firth, and Kiera Knightly versions), and Jane Eyre (most recent BBC production). The English countryside looks so scenic & beautiful in those films!

9. The moon is one of my favorites. Regardless of the phase, I marvel at its beauty. Unfortunately, I usually can't marvel for very long because I tend to be driving when I see the moon.

10. I do not like the sound of fountains or water features; they are wasteful cacophony. There are people who drink from mud holes, and we're shooting clear water 30 feet into the air in 50 degree weather!?

11. I once started crying at Wal-Mart, because I didn't have enough money to buy all of the things I wanted to give to some of the victims of Hurricane Katrina. (Our neighbors belong to a church that sent some of their members down to help in the aftermath; they were taking donations.) About two days later, a woman from my church gave me $50 because she felt I needed it. That's how good God is.

12. I like tools. Don't know what half of them do, or how ¾ of them work, but they sure are pretty.

13. One cannot have too much Sam Cooke.

14. People who define black people by what we can or can not do limit us more than The Man ever will. Who's more effective at quashing a black boy's dream of being a champion NHL hockey player? The people at ice rink or the black comedian who declares that 'black people don't play hockey'?

15. The first time I cut my hair 'boy short' (think of the model Alex Wek, or the images of African school girls), was the first time I truly felt beautiful and sexy, comfortable in my skin.

16. I have a little bit of arthritis in my lower back, and in my knees.

17. Curt Henke taught me how to die with grace.

18. I drive a stick-shift. Despite having driven one since I was 16, I still grind the gears from time to time.

19. I have a hard time finding pants that fit.

20. I'm older than I look and sound.

21. I'm not a fan of bio-fuels. Unless the bio is some byproduct (e.g., corn husks & cobs) that could not be used for human or animal consumption.

22. The Corn Refiners Council is doing a good job with those high fructose corn syrup (hfcs) ads. The ads claim that there is no problem with it, when used in "moderation". However, I don't believe most products that contain hfcs use it in moderation. So we should still watch out for it.

23. I like the sound of ocean waves crashing against the shore. I like the smell of the Pacific, and am a bit unnerved by the lack of smell of the Atlantic.

24. I think I'm at my best, work-wise, from 10am to ~3pm. With about an hour and a half lunch. I can stay up late if I'm doing something meaningful, and I get up early to go to work (I'd rather get in early and get our early). But I am neither a morning person nor a night owl.

25. I don't think filling your house w/energy efficient light bulbs will negate the energy drain from your humongous flat screen tv. Sorry Charlie.

(I know, I know. One of these days, I'm going to have to do one that is not about me, but are truly random facts.)