Tuesday, August 23, 2011

100 Things About Me (4.25.2009)

1. I am the oldest of 5 children but am often told that I am not a ‘typical’ oldest child
  2. I am second generation Greek-American on my father’s side.  My (maiden) name is on Ellis Island.
  3. I hate potatoes in every form
  4. Marriage is the hardest (and longest) job I’ve ever had
  5. My marriage is my greatest accomplishment
  6. If I had the money, I would go skydiving, bungee jumping, hang gliding – any thrilling, potentially dangerous recreational activity
  7. I love bridges
  8. In 6th grade, I was in a beauty pageant.  My memory is very confused about the whole affair.
  9. I find it easy to forgive.  I do not hold grudges.
10. I thrive on change (and often instigate it)
11. I have a strong sense of self and am not easily swayed by peer pressure or outside opinions/expectations
12. “Passionate” is the adjective most consistently used, throughout my life, by others, to describe me
13. I am not afraid to fail
14. I do not like being in the car (or any mode of transportation) for longer than 10 minutes.  I would prefer to teleport from one location to the next. 
15. I am crazy fast at completing just about anything – tests, books, projects, tasks.
16. I am not good at crafty activities that involve working with my hands or attention to detail, e.g., scrap booking, knitting, beading
17. I have a nearly photographic memory
18. I love to read non-fiction, especially auto/biographies
19. Everything I wear was given to me; therefore, I have no consistent (arguably, no existent) sense of style
20. I do not like being in or taking photographs
21. I rarely laughed before I met my husband (now I spend a lot of time laughing with him)
22. In 1st grade, I decided that I did not believe in God
23. I cry at the National Anthem
24. I am a snob about good spelling and proper grammar
25. I am lazy about keeping my house clean
26. When I travel, I prefer to meet the local people and experience their customs rather than visit ‘points of interest’ (e.g., historic buildings, museums, geographic sites)
27. I love hearing people’s stories
28. I love the water, especially the ocean
29. I dream in motion – I am a dancer and experience life as movement
30. My favorite class in high school was Advanced Biology.  I knew I didn’t have the fine motor skills (see #16) and possibly not the brains to become a surgeon, but I really loved opening up the body and learning about how it worked.
31. I am really bad at any sport involving a ball
32. I enjoy eating well-prepared (i.e. not processed or fast-) foods
33. I think I have an intuitive sense of languages
34. I can’t stand the smell of coffee (and hence, have never tasted it)
35. Before I was married, I had never said “I’m sorry”
36. I deplore television and have never owned one.  However, I do watch The Office online.
37. I am a total SISSY when it comes to cold weather – anything less than 75 degrees is too cold for my comfort
38. I have flown first class on an international flight
39. As far as I know, I’m not scared of anything
40. As an actor, I really enjoy the rehearsal process of discovery and experimentation
41. As a dancer, I prefer to learn the piece and move on to performance
42. When I do have to be in the car, I prefer to drive in silence
43. I spent 3 years teaching a class that helped people better understand themselves – what made them tick, their natural strengths and personality temperaments, and their purpose in life.  
44. Even though I’m a talkative, futuristic vision-caster, I find it necessary to observe the discipline of silent reflection
45. I was one of the “last persons” anyone would ever have expected to follow Jesus
46. While I am highly aware of my body in space, I am not so aware of my body in a car in space and often collide with stationary objects.
47. I have two moles on my body: one behind my left ear and one below my belly button
48. In 8th grade, I danced the lead role of Clara in The Nutcracker in a professional ballet company
49. I love forming and working with teams of people with complementary strengths
50. I am addicted to knowing myself and others extremely well; I love any type of personal assessment (e.g., Myers-Briggs, DISC, Strengths Finder)
51. I love warm autumn colors
52. I emote in the extreme – I either LOVE or HATE most things
53. Most people react to me in the extreme – they either LOVE or HATE me :-)
54. I tend to be oblivious to physical appearances
55. My father’s death (6.5 years ago) was the first death in my entire family in the 23 years I had been alive
56. I am a city girl because (a) I love walking to everything I need, and (b) I love that my neighbors are nothing like me
57. I have learned to listen twice as much as I speak (I’m still practicing)
58. My husband and I started a church in South Minneapolis in Sept 2006, the same time I started acting professionally
59. I wish I could afford to see the opera
60. I am really bad at giving gifts to people
61. I love to handwrite letters and cards to tell people how much I value them
62. I have extremely ugly feet – even my husband says so
63. It takes A LOT to offend me or to hurt my feelings
64. I gave birth to my daughter in water in my home.  It was the most empowering, affirming, and pleasurable experience possible.
65. If I had total freedom, I would be an actor only and forever. :-)
66. I have no regrets
67. I am an incredibly light sleeper – it can take me hours to fall asleep, and once I wake up, I’m awake.
68. I have never had to set an alarm for myself – I just tell myself when I want to wake up, and I do. 
69. I have never been hospitalized
70. I have a very high stress tolerance
71. I always think I want junk food but the moment I start to eat it, my stomach turns.
72. After serious investigation, challenging debates, and honest conversations, I put my trust in Jesus the week after I turned 20.  It was totally an intellectual and logical, not an emotional, decision.
73. I hate running
74. I have seen and experienced many miracles
75. I never ever imagined that I could love being a mother so much
76. I hate shopping, of any kind
77. I am a realistic optimist
78. I have no allergies
79. I am in the top 8.33% richest people in the world (www.globalrichlist.com).  
80. One thing I value from my childhood is having dinner together every night as a family
81. I was voted “Biggest Ego” in my high school class.
82. I still have the confidence of that 17 year old but, by God’s grace, hopefully more humility
83. I have tried 3 times to get a nose ring but it never works out
84. I expect to get a tattoo before I die but I just can’t decide what it will be
85. I played the organ as a kid
86. I have only vomited twice in my life and have a STRONG gag reflex if I hear others vomiting
87. I’m not competitive, to the point that even when a team I am rooting for wins, I feel bad for the losing team
88. I have noticed that I am inconsistent with my use of periods at the end of my statements in this list, yet I do not feel compelled to alter what I’ve done.
89. I do not like sarcasm.  If I am sarcastic, it is because I am uncomfortable; I therefore come across as unnaturally cruel or strangely flirtatious.
90. Although I wasn’t close to my father, I have thought about him every day since his death.
91. I honestly don’t think I’m that talented but I appreciate all the people who have given me chances to perform
92. I spend a lot of time thinking about suffering and death
93. Romantic comedies are my guilty pleasure.  There’s something about watching a poorly acted, totally predictable, cheesy script that lets me escape reality much better than the intelligent artistic films that I also love.
94. I love my 130 lb dumb-as-nails-scared-of-everything-gentl
e-to-a-fault bullmastiff dog
95. I would be happy living in a tent as long as I could take a hot shower every other day
96. I am embarrassingly ignorant about geography. 
97. Once I met Jesus, I never ever doubted his love for me.  I passionately wish that everyone I know could feel as loved as I do.
98. I have always felt destined to do something great.  I suspect it will take a lifetime of faithfulness in the ‘small’ things before I have a fleeting moment to do that one great thing.
99. I know my flaws way too well, and I am grateful for every person who puts up with me.
100. Even though I have many dreams that I know I could accomplish but probably will never have the chance to, I know that at the end of my life, I will be glad that I did not sacrifice a strong, healthy family for the sake of those dreams.

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