25

Caleb tagged me (on facebook) to write 25 things about myself. I tagged a couple people, but you don't have to do it... I tagged you because I included you in my 25 statements or used an inside joke. So here goes!

1. I feel egotistical writing this.

2. I'm a nerd at times... I like learning things, especially when they're literary. For example, I'm reading a book entitled, "The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way." Can't get much nerdier than that! Well, unless you write programming code stuff. =)

3. Contrary to most people's impressions, I am actually an introvert. Perhaps an extroverted introvert, but an introvert nontheless. I just figured this out in the past 2 years or so.

4. I love to read. I usually have about 4 books going at a time.

5. Though I enjoy watching certain TV shows and some sports, I do not plan on having a TV when I move out. I think I could use my time more productively than staring at a screen for hours.

6. My family didn't have a TV until I was 15 or so. Perhaps that is why I do not feel compelled to have one.

7. In the 1930s (or so), my grandpa and his brother would ride the trolley to both the Rose Bowl and the Coluseum (sp??) to watch USC and UCLA football games. It finally got too expensive to go to both, so they had to pick one: they chose USC. My grandpa started getting season tickets in the '60s, and, with the exception of 1 or 2 years, we have been going ever since. My dad, my aunts, my cousins, and my sisters and I have all grown up going to USC football games. None of us have ever attended the school.

8. I played basketball in HS, and my nick name "Bulldog" and "Pit Bull." (I wonder where the expression "nick name" came from..?)

9. After my freshman year, I loved college. I wish I could do it over again. I was actually really kinda depressed and in shock on graduation day while everyone else was celebrating.

10. I was my mom's doctor's first baby born in 1987. I still have the cool little shirt that they gave me.

11. Though I am the oldest child, I am the shortest.

12. I am also the only one with red hair, though both sides of the family are rife with redheads.

13. My California-born grandmother and her younger sister rode the train by themselves all the way from N. Michigan/Canada to Southern California when their family tried to immigrate. The rest of their family got stuck at the border because they were Canadian and there was an issue with their visas. My grandma was 16 at the time, and had to live with relatives for about a year before her family caught up with them. [Ok, so this wasn't about me, but it's an interesting fact about my family.]

14. At first glance, my sisters and I look very different from our cousins. We are pale, blue-eyed people, while they are dark because they are half Mexican. Upon closer look, there are a lot of family resemblances. Unfortunately, dark skin isn't one of them, though distinctive noses is. =)

15. I would really like to be spontaneous, but I'm not. I'm working on it, though! Santa Barbara, anyone??

16. I have a pretty darn awesome best friend. Our current project is attempting to master "The Books" for our sister's basketball games. Oh, and just experiencing LIFE! I am SO thankful for her, and am glad she moved back, at least for awhile.

17. I would like to move to WA, and I am half-seriously contemplating it. There are three main factors involved in this move: (1) How my current job pans out, (2) if I can find a job/living situation in WA, (3) if I have enough monetary resources to, in fact, move.

18. My next "daring" activity is to go skydiving. Some of my friends have gone, and they said it was AMAZING. So I hope to go within the next 6 months.

19. I've been going to the gym with my friend Janessa for the last month or two. It's been super fun, and she's a great workout buddy! Though my legs are currently sore from the stairs machine she made me go on...

20. Though I have lived in Southern California for all my life (except 4 school years), I don't know how to surf. I do know how to wakeboard and almost know how to snowboard, despite the lack of (good) lakes and snow in this region.

21. I tend to hurt myself when trying things for the first time. I banged up my knee badly while attempting longboarding (it still bothers me, though it's been about 3 years). I also bruised my legs when jumping off a 40-50 foot bridge; they were black and blue for about 2 weeks. Some guy ran me down on the slopes during my first weekend snowboarding. Perhaps I shouldn't try skydiving...

22. My heritage is evident: Irish red hair, and the Scottish pairing of ginormous calves and small ankles and feet.

23. When I was in HS and my friend was in college, we wanted to streak our hair blue. Personally, I'm glad we didn't. =) Well, I guess I should say that I'm glad *I* didn't.

24. I love photos, and plan to have TONS when I get my own place.

25. My newest goal is to paint. I did it once in college, and it was SO great. I have recently been needing to release some stress, and I think that's a good way to do so.