50 things for "About the Author" link

Sam inspired me to do an "About the Author" link on my blog. I had fun coming up with 50 random facts about myself, so here they are, in no particular order:

1. I can be too trusting. My mom affectionately refers to me as a golden retriever puppy – always wanting to believe that everyone is good, and that nobody would ever intentionally hurt me. I’m getting better at judging character as I get older, but I still have the tendency to trust people unless they prove to me that they can’t be trusted.
2. I call my grandpa “Bobby” because that’s what my sister called him when she couldn’t say “grandpa.”
3. When I was in grade 2, I tripped over my sister as we were both running up the stairs. I hit the corner of the wall, and got 7 stitches down the middle of my face. My grandparents were visiting at the time, and we sent Bobby (see #2) to the hospital with me. He’s an artist. We left my grandma, Connie, the nurse, at home. Go figure.
4. I always sign my name with an 8^th note at the end.
5. I have that same 8^th note tattooed on my left foot. It took me 6 years to actually decide to do it.
6. I have played every drinking straw that I’ve ever had in the past 8 ½ years like a slide whistle. If you’ve ever gone out for a drink with me, you’ve probably seen this.
7. My toenails are always painted.
8. I was not a naturally talented singer. I had to work very hard for my voice. As such, it is one of my pet peeves when someone says, “You’re so lucky that you have such a natural talent.” No, I have determination and a strong work ethic.
9. I also have asthma. It is easily controlled.
10. For 2 years, I played a saxophone in sax choir that was almost as tall as I was. My back and shoulders ultimately made me give it up, but it was fun while it lasted (for the record, the saxophone in question was the bass sax).
11. I am a physical clone of my dad, and an emotional clone of my mom.
12. I have an older sister whom I love dearly, despite all of her attempts to fool me as a child. She once told me that a “family reunion” was a type of domestic pet, closely related to the dog.
13. I love to write poetry, but I don’t do enough of it anymore.
14. I’m a better baker than a cook.
15. I want to have children. One of my greatest fears is that somehow I will be unable to have my own biological children. There is no reason for this fear, yet it’s still there way in the back of my mind.
16. I used to speed skate. My skin suit had the World Industries devil on the back. Perhaps then it is no coincidence that my best race was the 666m.
17. I love ghost stories, even if they make me crawl into bed with my parents at age 16.
18. I take pictures of everything. I wish I knew more about photography.
19. One of my fondest childhood memories is watching Saturday morning cartoons while my dad made Mickey Mouse pancakes.
20. Age is just a number to me. Every stage of life can be beautiful in its own way, if you choose to see the beauty in it instead of focusing on your age.
21. I rip my fabric softener sheets in half when I put my laundry in the dryer. Half a Bounce sheet does the trick, and it saves money (see #46).
22. I’m allergic to animals, kiwi fruit, pollen, sulfa, and maybe plastic band-aids (I have a weird little scar where I put a plastic band-aid on once).
23. I wish I could compose music in the style of Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, Jason Mraz, etc.
24. I have a very girly taste in alcohol. Kahlua is my drink of choice, either in the form of Paralyzers or Brown Cows.
25. For many years, my family would go on a ski trip to the mountains during February break, usually to Alberta, BC, or Montana. My dad would always make his world-famous pizza the night before, then my parents would pick my sister and me up from school at noon so that we could get on the road early. We’d be all excited, and then year after year, without fail, we’d have van trouble and we’d have to devise some ridiculous scheme to get the required car part. The most memorable one for me was the time mom and dad had an alternator or something like that shipped on a Greyhound bus that was going to be passing through Cereal, Alberta at like 3am, so they made arrangements to be waiting on the side of the highway in the van, and they flashed their brights when they saw the bus approaching so that the bus would stop and they’d get the alternator. Despite the travel delays and the excess spending of money to fix these problems, we always laughed about it.
26. If I can help it, I will never go to bed angry at someone. Sometimes this means staying up until 4am.
27. I have a low tolerance for pain, yet I have a tattoo (see #5) and 5 piercings, not including my earlobes.
28. I can play multiple instruments, but somehow I’ve never been good at the piano.
29. Traveling amazes me. No matter how far removed you become from your home in terms of geography, culture, or language, you still find people who are exactly like you. I’ve found that music seems to be the common denominator, probably because most of my travel experience has been with choir.
30. I keep a pair of slippers in my locker at school, and I’ve worn them to class so often in the past 4 years that very few of my profs comment on their outrageously shocking neon yellow/green colour anymore.
31. It’s my ultimate goal in life to pull my debit card out of the ATM before it beeps. I’ve been trying for years, with no success so far.
32. I view glasses as a fashion statement. So far I’ve owned pairs in black, deep red, semi-rimless, and now purple and orange with rhinestones.
33. I was a very persistent and determined child, which was tiring for my parents at times. Fortunately, they didn’t stifle my determination, because now when I want something I will work my butt off to get it (see #8).
34. I got 99% in Jazz History in my 3^rd year of university, and I cried because I thought I was going to get 100%. I didn’t realize the absurdity of this reaction until much later.
35. I love to sing along with Ella Fitzgerald’s recording of “Blue Skies” while I’m driving. I’ve done it often enough that I have almost aurally transcribed her entire scat solo.
36. When I need time to be alone with my thoughts, I love to go for long walks with an Ipod full of good tunes. Walking at night is better than during the day.
37. Marshmallows taste better frozen.
38. Inside jokes make my world go around.
39. I hate spiders with a passion. This stemmed from an incident when I was 16 in which I was on a canoe trip on the Churchill River, and I discovered a big, fat, hairy black spider crawling inside my bra, between my boobs. I’ve never screamed so loud in my entire life.
40. My mom and I are very intuitively connected. Often I’ll come home after a long day at school, and as soon as I sit down at the computer she’ll e-mail me. Sometimes I’ll call her at work, and she’ll answer, saying, “I just had my hand on the phone, about to pick it up and call you.”
41. They say procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday. I’ve almost mastered this art.
42. I get great satisfaction from hitting the snooze button on my alarm.
43. I have been known to sleepwalk when I am extremely overtired. This has only happened a handful of times in my life.
44. Despite #42, I am a natural morning person.
45. Astronomy fascinates me, but I know very little about the topic. I find the expansiveness of the universe entirely mind-boggling.
46. I’m not an impulsive spender of money, nor do I buy brand name products when I don’t need to. I’d rather save my money so that I can spend it on travel or good times with friends.
47. I tend to be typecast. In choir, I almost always get the jazzy or gospel solos. In musicals, I tend to play the loud, bossy, or irritating characters. I hope that this is not a reflection of the directors’ opinions of me.
48. When I fall in love, I love with my whole heart. Sometimes this leaves me vulnerable and capable of being easily hurt.
49. When I get the giggles, it can be hard for me to stop. This is especially funny in situations in which it’s completely inappropriate to laugh.
50. I view life as an ever-changing adventure with unlimited opportunities for new friends, new experiences, and meaningful self-discovery along the way. The profundity of human experience and emotion will always keep life interesting for me.