101 Random Facts About Me.
1. People tend to either love me or hate me. There’s no in between.
2. An ancestor of mine (on dad’s side) was Elizabeth Woodville, Henry VIII’s maternal grandmother. She was quite a bit like Anne Boleyn in personality.
3. My ethnic heritage is mainly German, Irish, English, Welsh, Dutch, Prussian, French, and Spanish. With some Scottish, Danish, Austrian, Luxembourgeois, and Mohawk Iroquois Indian thrown in. My ancestors slept with a bunch of people.
4. I cant swim, and I’ve never met another Navy brat who could. Army sure, Air Force most definitely, but just about all the Navy kids I’ve known don’t know how to swim.
5. I’m fascinated with Victorian America. Mainly the 1870s until the early 1900s.
6. I dip my French fries in either tartar sauce, ranch dressing, or mayonnaise. Never ketchup or mustard.
7. Women think I’m going to steal their boyfriend, husband (or girlfriend). But I’ve never done such a thing and never would. I think I give off some sort of intimidating presence.
8. When I was around 10 years old, I made breakfast in bed for my parents for their anniversary. It consisted of cinnamon toast with cinnamon powder instead of cinnamon sugar, and coffee made with lukewarm water mixed in with a half cup of coffee grounds. Bravely they ate the cinnamon toast. I never found out about the coffee.
9. One of my biggest fears is drowning. I hate deep water, especially if it’s dark. I even get all panicky if I'm watching a movie or TV show where someone's trapped under water and it's showing it from their point of view.
10. The only states I haven’t been to are : Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, North and South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, Maine, and Oklahoma. We visited New Hampshire for 2 minutes, because it looked a lot like Vermont so we payed the 25 cent toll to get across the bridge (if you wanna call it that, as it was across a stream), and then turned around and went back to Vermont.
11. When I was 13, me and my friend Pam went trick-or-treating. We lived in NJ at the time, and in Lakehurst on Halloween, you could go to the 7-11 and get a free slurpy, and go to DiMaio’s Pizza to get a free slice of Pizza. Well, we did those things. Only when we went to DiMaio’s, we got our free pizza, and also saw some unsavory activity going on in the back room behind the counter where a bunch of Italian-y guys were yelling and throwing dice and cards and stuff. We got a free slice of pizza every time we went there. We figured they were in the mob.
12. People who say video games don’t affect people are full of crap. Since playing Grand Theft Auto Vice City, I have the urge to carjack a cop car. Of course I’ll never do it. But still...think if I were some impressionable teenager with no impulse control.
13. My astrology : Leo Sun with Leo Moon and Scorpio Rising; Horse with Horse Rising and Monkey Month (Chinese), Salmon / Trout (Native American)
14. I have taken a picture of an Old Order Amish person (without them knowing it), and as far as I know I don’t possess his soul.
15. My skin is so pale, that on a clear dark night with a full moon shining, my skin glows a weird whitish color the same color as the moon. Maybe I’m part rabbit? (You know...rabbit in the moon? lol).
16. I have 2 dream jobs : photojournalist in a war-torn Eastern European country struggling for freedom, and a caretaker of an old cemetery.
17. My totem animals are : Vulture, Horse, Caribou, Lion, Scorpion, Raccoon, and Fer-de-lance (a type of pit viper snake, I believe).
18. When I was a kid, my hair was blond. Then it was strawberry blond and red. Then it got darker as I got older and now my natural color is dark auburn reddish brown.
19. I’ve broken both wrists, both arms, a leg, some toes and fingers. I’ve torn both Achilles tendons, tore some tendons in my right ring finger (now it’s crooked), and ligaments in both ankles. I tore my knee open while standing on my rocking horse when I was 5 years old. I tore my leg open on some metal, and should have gotten stitches but didn’t. I’ve died once due to a childhood asthma attack.
20. I have met the Dalai Lama twice. First time was at the mall in Bloomington IN, and he grabbed my arm and said something to me in Tibetan. The monk with him bowed. The second time I was invited to the local Tibetan Buddhist monastery and I met him. I had no camera with me, and because of that I carry my camera everywhere I go. Because you never know who you’re gonna see.
21. I love the Queen Anne, Rococo, Gingerbread, and Italianate style of architecture and design.
22. In college, my friends, my brother and sister and I were all in the same 20th Century Japanese Culture class. It was me, Kelly, Matt, Elly, Courtney, Seizo, and Jason. We were all inseparable. Everyone in the class hated us because we were all into anime and manga and Japanese culture as a whole. Until...the section on anime and manga came along and then everyone wanted to be in our group. So we became all cliquey and kept them out of our group. Anyway, we decided that our professor, Alvis-sensei, was stupid and we hated her. Plus, there was this guy in class named Robert, who was a know-it-all. And we hated him. We decided to make “The Good Book,” which consisted of doodles (of Alvis-sensei and Robert), notes (to each other), and comics done in Culture class. Then it was lost. We still don’t know what happened to it. Then Jason ended up committing suicide, and we decided The Good Book was better off lost, because we realized Alvis-sensei wasn’t so bad after all. The Good Book 2 was “The Adventures of the Butt-Oh Squad” (a take on the team anime genre). Which was a comic where each of us did a chapter. Elly still has it as far as I know.
23. Quite a few of my ancestors in the US were involved in the Underground Railroad. The Ryker House was a major stop here in Southeastern Indiana. My ancestors housed runaway slaves on their way from Kentucky to Canada.
24. When I was a kid (grades 3 and 4) for some reason, we celebrated St Lucia Day in school. I was chosen both years because of my blond hair (when I was a little kid, my hair was blond) and because I happened to be the only one in both classes who had some Scandinavian origin (it’s celebrated in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Italy, Iceland, and Croatia). I got to wear a white dress and a wreath of (fake) candles on my head and hand out Lussekatt (St Lucia bread) and juice to everyone in my class. Then the class sang the St Lucia song and we all put our shoes outside the classroom to get the candy that Sinterklaas was delivering.
25. I’ve had only 1 teacher who ever influenced me in my life. My ninth grade World Cultures teacher, Mr Ferone, in NJ. He gave me a better understanding and appreciation of different cultures as a whole. Got me interested in Eastern Europe, as my ninth grade year was a couple years after the fall of the USSR and dissolution of Eastern Europe and the Bosnian War. Even if he did make me do a report on Portugal.
26. I have a weird fascination with death. I love wandering around old cemeteries. I love taking pictures of tombstones (is that tombstone rubbing for the 21st century?). I could spend hours in a cemetery just hanging out. I don’t mind going to funerals and seeing the dead person lying there. I love old Victorian horse-drawn funeral coaches. I’d seriously get myself a coffin (like 1 of those Halloween-style Dracula coffins) just because. I even have a Find-A-Grave account.
27. I can speak and understand German quite well if I’m very tired and have had no sleep for at least 2 or 3 days. Once, when I was very tired, and hadn’t slept at all in 3 days, I understood this German lady and responded in German. I had a conversation with her. The next day she came into where I worked and tried to speak German with me, and I had no idea what she was saying. She was not amused. Maybe it’s in my subconscious.
28. When I was a kid, I collected baseball cards and hockey cards. I have sheets and sheets of both. I’d trade them with my (guy) friends in eighth grade. We were in this weird pseudo-club where we’d get together and watch hockey games. Me and Dennis were NY Rangers fans; Ray, Bryan, and Marty were NJ Devils fans; and Ryan was a Boston Bruins fan, but we forgave him. Our street hockey team was the New Jersey Potholes, because god knows, NJ has to be the capital of potholes.
29. My ancestors sold Ryker’s Island to the state of New York. The “Ryker Homestead” in Bowry Bay, Queens, NYC is still standing (since the 1700s!!! of course it’s been restored and such) and is considered a historical landmark.
30. My dream home is Schloss Neuschwanstein in Germany.
31. In ninth grade Environmental Science class in NJ, we were outside working on our 6-foot deep hole for soil strata samples when we heard this blood-curdling scream coming from the bogs. We lived in the Pine Barrens, a super-creepy part of central-south NJ, with tons of spooky pine forests and peat bogs. Anyway, the trees were rustling and me and Mike Murphy were taking our turns taking samples, and we heard the scream coming closer. Someone said it was a raccoon, but it didn’t sound like it. Miss Ruddy (the teacher) told us all to get inside the school for safety. In the class, while we were dissecting broccoli (yes, we were actually dissecting broccoli that had been soaking in red food coloring for days to make it easier to study their innards), we all decided it was the Jersey Devil.
32. The best Philly Cheese Steak I had ever had was in the Subway restaurant in Brattleboro Vermont. And that includes the time I ate a Philly Cheese Steak in Philadelphia.
33. I hate the color orange. With a passion.
34. I’ve eaten a Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza in Chicago, a Philly Cheese Steak in Philadelphia, Vermont Cheddar Cheese (grossest cheese ever) in Vermont, and a New York Style Pizza in Brooklyn.
35. I’ve studied the following languages : Spanish (10 years), Russian (4 years), Japanese (3 years), French (1 year), Czech (1 year), Serbian (1 year), Korean (1 semester), Arabic (1 semester), and German (a few months).
36. I have a hard time sticking to others’ peoples rules. But if I make rules and someone breaks them, they better watch out. They will feel my wrath, lol.
37. I hate seafood. Well, I used to sort of like shrimp, until I took Marine Biology.
38. I own well over $10000 worth of manga (both in English and original Japanese), and over $10000 worth of anime toys.
39. When I was 11 years old til I was 13, I was a huge New Kids on the Block fan. It’s so sad. I still have 2 dolls, some pins, and a bunch of books and posters. I even have trading cards and stickers. Me and my friends would have heated debates on who was the hotter New Kid. My favorite was Jonathan. I thought Danny looked like a monkey, Jordan was weird-lookin’, Donnie was ugly, and Joe was just stupid.
40. My favorite historical figures (for various reasons) are : Amakusa Shiro Tokisada, Claus vonStauffenberg, George Boleyn, Elizabeth Woodville, False Dimitri, Louis XIV, Marie Antoinette, Anne Boleyn, Genghis Khan, Benedict Arnold, Josef Mengele, the Romanovs (Nicholas II’s family), Tokugawa Ieyasu, Anne of Cleves, concentration camp guards, Axel vonFersen, Mary Boleyn, Louis XVI, Henry VIII, and the Nazi doctors.
41. When I was 5 and 6 years old, I knew more Spanish than I did English because we lived in San Diego CA and I was in Bilingual School (which I highly recommend as it’s been so helpful to me even now). When we moved to Chicago when I was 6, the school wanted to hold me back a year because I knew more Spanish than I did English. So mom and dad tutored me in English and I had to have speech therapy to get rid of my Mexican accent, lol. I was never held back.
42. When I’m angry and yelling at someone, I have a Hispanic accent. Which is the result of #41 above.
43. I’m such a nerd. I love physics, chemistry, astronomy, and history. I even got an “A” in astrophysics and nuclear physics.
44. I think Alexander Hamilton (the guy on the $10 bill) is kinda hot. Shut up. I said I was a freakin’ nerd, OK?
45. I love the smell of freshly baking donuts in the morning.
46. I have never smoked pot or done any other kind of drugs in my life. I try new alcohols, but I don’t drink, as alcoholism runs in the family, and lord knows I have an addictive personality.
47. I collect the following things : manga (Japanese and English versions), cookbooks, lions, recipes, journals, cool notebooks and stationery, books about mythology, unicorns, pens, purses, anime toys and action figures.
48. I want to punch them in the face : Andy Warhol, Bono, Colin Farrell, Jimmy Carter, Brad Pitt, the Jonas Brothers, Lance Armstrong.
49. I am INTP. Just like Albert Einstein, Thomas Jefferson, Descartes, Charles Darwin, and Tiger Woods.
50. In a fifth grade Black History Month play, I played a slave trader. In ninth grade, I was
Romeo, and my friend, Rich, was Juliet.
51. I think if I lived in the Tudor era, I would most definitely have been executed. I’m not the demure little woman I’m guessing I’d have to be. I’m more in your face and “hey, I wanna wear purple, Queen Katherine, so you can shove it” type of Anne Boleyn-ish kinda girl.
52. I haven’t mowed the grass since I was 11 years old because I’m very allergic to freshly mowed grass, and it’s the only allergen that triggers an asthma attack.
53. Sometimes, I speak with an accent for no real reason. I’ll be talking with someone, and I’ll all of a sudden start saying words with an English accent. It’s kinda funny. I’ve known 1 Englishman in my life. I’ve never been to England, but I’ll do it unconsciously. And other times, I talk with an Australian accent just for the hell of it. No other reason than that.
54. I love Latvian punk music. Especially this band (sometimes they sing Blink 182 songs) by the name of Backyard. And they have really strong accents, which makes their music even better when they sing in English.
55. Movie and TV characters I most identify with are Marie Antoinette (Marie Antoinette), Axel vonFersen (also from Marie Antoinette), Louis (Interview with the Vampire), Anne Boleyn (Tudors), Kat (10 Things I Hate About You), Bruce Wayne (Batman Begins), Superman (Superman Returns), Chloe Sullivan and Clark Kent (Smallville), Jo March (Little Women), Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy (Harry Potter).
56. Book characters I most identify with are Louis (Interview with the Vampire), Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy (Harry Potter), Melinda Sordino (Speak), Jo March (Little Women).
57. I look like I’m at least 10 years younger than I actually am. And while you’d think it’s nice, it’s annoying because nobody takes me seriously.
58. My favorite constellations are Orion, Scorpio, Leo, Ursa Major, and Draco.
59. I’ve gotten strep throat every year since I was 13 years old. And I still have my tonsils. My doctor said if I were to have them removed, since I have weakened lungs (due to childhood asthma), instead of strep throat (as tonsils trap viruses/bacteria), I could end up with pneumonia every year.
60. The Scottish side of my family (ancestors) sided with the British. As did the Irish, lol. They weren’t very loyal to their own countrymen. The Irish and Scottish in my family got their titles from the British.
61. I absolutely refuse to ride on a rollercoaster, as I’ve had a rather realistic dream where I die on a rollercoaster. I just don’t want to take my chances.
62. I always say “bon nuit” quite often. For no reason. And I have to say it like the raven on The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. “Bon nuit to you…bon nuit to YOU…and bon nuit to YOOOUUUU…” Because I’m retarded.
63. My Spanish ancestors bought Africans from other Africans (in Western Africa) and transported them to the US for sale in the Americas.
64. I watched the movie Poltergeist when I was 5 or 6 years old, and ever since then I have not eaten steak, pork chops, or chicken on the bone. The scene where the guy sees the maggots on the steak on the counter and begins ripping his face off when he was eating the chicken leg scarred me for life when it came to steak, pork chops, and chicken on the bone.
65. The Deadly Sins I have most trouble with are Pride, Vanity, Wrath, and Gluttony. In that order. But with Pride and Vanity tied for first.
66. I don’t have a fear of heights as much as I have a fear of falling from high-up places. Therefore, I will never bungee jump, rock climb, be a high-rise window washer, or anything else like that. Skydiving, however, I’m willing to do.
67. When I was 12 years old, I stood out in the middle of a hurricane waiting for the school bus. Stupidly, I stood there for 15 minutes. I walked back home from the bus stop, my clothes, backpack, shoes, and everything else soaked all the way through. Mom called me into school that day. She had originally planned on doing it, but I said no because I had a math test that day that I couldn’t afford to miss.
68. I’m a Navy Brat, and dad was in the Navy until I was 16 when he retired with 21 years in the Navy. He was Senior Chief when he retired. I have lived all over the US, but sadly never overseas.
69. My family is a military family. My dad’s father was in the Navy (Pacific WW2), dad was in the Navy (21 years), mom was in the Navy (til 3 months before I was born because she was getting ready to be transferred to Spain), Uncle Mike was in the Navy, Uncle Lee in the Army (Vietnam), Uncle Butch was in the Army (Green Beret, Vietnam and Gulf War #1), Uncle Mark was in the Army (101st Airborne, Gulf War #1), and I have cousins in the service. I had relatives in every US war since the Revolutionary War. There’s even a couple Nazis in there, too.
70. I’ve seen ghosts before.
71. I can “sense” ghosts/spirits/whatever, and weird disturbances. I think it’s called “clairsentience.”
72. I cant stand Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural style.
73. I can honestly say that if Andy Warhol wasn’t dead, I think I’d kill him. Because his “art” sucks and isn’t art at all. It’s crap. I know it, you know it, and Mr Andrej Warholic probably knew it, too.
74. I love old photography. Tin types, and any photos from before 1960. I’d love to start a collection of old photos.
75. I wear glasses because I was a retard in college who sat in the back of a big lecture hall and squinted to see the chalkboard instead of moving to a closer seat. Now I have a slight astigmatism. My vision is a bit blurry at farther away distances.
76. If you dropped me off in the middle of the wilderness and told me to find my way back to civilization, I’d probably end up accidentally drinking contaminated water and getting a parasite, then eating poisonous berries. I’m completely lost in nature. But drop me off in the middle of a big city and tell me to find my way back, and I can do it no problem.
77. I am slightly allergic to the sun.
78. I get seasick.
79. I appear confident and self assured, but I’m a pretty insecure person when it comes to my appearance and my abilities.
80. One of my favorite things to do is going to cemeteries (modern or old, but I prefer old ones) and taking pictures of interesting tombstones. I especially like the Civil War tombstones. And my favorite cemetery is Bridgewater Cemetery in Scottsburg IN (I photographed a ghost there once) and Cave Hill Cemetery in The Highlands of Louisville KY. I love old decrepit cemeteries and large Victorian garden cemeteries.
81. I cant stand William Shakespeare and his works.
82. My eyes alternate between blue and green, depending on my mood and what I wear, but lately for the past year they’ve been more green than blue.
83. When I’m talking with people, if they have a strong accent (like say, Brooklyn, British, Southern, etc), if I’m around them for a long period of time and we’re talking, I start using that accent, and don’t know it til they call me out on it. Then I’m like “no way, you’re imagining things.”
84. When I was 13 years old, I babysat for these 2 little girls (their father was an officer) and I made $500 a month. All I did was play “Wedding” and watch the Little Mermaid all the time.
85. I look good in dark colors like purple, dark blues, greens, and black. If I wear red, yellow, or orange, my skin takes on a sort of reddish, yellowish or orangish tint to it. So I avoid those colors.
86. I don’t know how I do it, but I tend to intimidate both men and women.
87. I’m incapable of kissing ass. I cant lower myself to that position. If I try (I did once), I come off as a smart ass and sarcastic. And it just sounds insincere. And I felt like I had to scrub the dirtiness off of myself.
88. I hate when people kiss my ass. And if I know they’re trying to kiss my ass, I make them work harder than someone who isn’t trying to kiss my ass.
89. I collect Sanrio and Hello Kitty merchandise.
90. The only things I can cook well are lasagna, tacos, brownies, cookies, cheesecake, and Chinese food.
91. I’m not the partying type. I much prefer to stay home and watch tv or a movie.
92. I was “pulled over” for jaywalking by a bicycle cop while at IU, and then I asked him if he was going to confiscate my shoes if I did it again. He was not amused.
93. I’ve lived in the following places before my 16th birthday : Norfolk VA (2 times), Virginia Beach VA (5 times), Orlando FL, Des Moines IA, Charleston SC, Cairo GA (3 times), Newport RI, San Diego CA, Great Lakes Chicago IL, Leonardo NJ, Lakehurst NJ, Norwich CT, Groton New London CT, Madison IN.
94. I once watched Wayne’s World every day for a year with my brother and sister. Now I cant stand that movie.
95. I think that Ralph Fiennes as Amon Goeth is hot. I’m sorry, but the uniform just makes it happen.
96. I hate mint.
97. I’m so insightful that I’m often told I can read people’s minds. I’ve surprised people when I tell them what they’re thinking. I also tend to freak them out at the same time.
98. I love potatoes. Any kind of potatoes. Except Au Gratin. Seriously, Au Gratin potatoes are the spawn of Satan, and should never be consumed by anyone.
99. I can drink as much soda as I want to, and I’ve never gotten kidney stones.
100. When I was a little kid, every year for my birthday, I’d wish for a real live unicorn. I was always disappointed I never got one. I also asked Santa every year for a real live unicorn, too. I knew Santa wasn’t real when I had never gotten a real live unicorn.
101. I’ve never ridden a bike with training wheels. My very first bike was this ugly red banana-seat high-handlebar low-rider 2-wheeled bike. I got it for Christmas when I was 5 years old. I fell off of it so many times, but I learned how to ride it on my own.
2. An ancestor of mine (on dad’s side) was Elizabeth Woodville, Henry VIII’s maternal grandmother. She was quite a bit like Anne Boleyn in personality.
3. My ethnic heritage is mainly German, Irish, English, Welsh, Dutch, Prussian, French, and Spanish. With some Scottish, Danish, Austrian, Luxembourgeois, and Mohawk Iroquois Indian thrown in. My ancestors slept with a bunch of people.
4. I cant swim, and I’ve never met another Navy brat who could. Army sure, Air Force most definitely, but just about all the Navy kids I’ve known don’t know how to swim.
5. I’m fascinated with Victorian America. Mainly the 1870s until the early 1900s.
6. I dip my French fries in either tartar sauce, ranch dressing, or mayonnaise. Never ketchup or mustard.
7. Women think I’m going to steal their boyfriend, husband (or girlfriend). But I’ve never done such a thing and never would. I think I give off some sort of intimidating presence.
8. When I was around 10 years old, I made breakfast in bed for my parents for their anniversary. It consisted of cinnamon toast with cinnamon powder instead of cinnamon sugar, and coffee made with lukewarm water mixed in with a half cup of coffee grounds. Bravely they ate the cinnamon toast. I never found out about the coffee.
9. One of my biggest fears is drowning. I hate deep water, especially if it’s dark. I even get all panicky if I'm watching a movie or TV show where someone's trapped under water and it's showing it from their point of view.
10. The only states I haven’t been to are : Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, North and South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, Maine, and Oklahoma. We visited New Hampshire for 2 minutes, because it looked a lot like Vermont so we payed the 25 cent toll to get across the bridge (if you wanna call it that, as it was across a stream), and then turned around and went back to Vermont.
11. When I was 13, me and my friend Pam went trick-or-treating. We lived in NJ at the time, and in Lakehurst on Halloween, you could go to the 7-11 and get a free slurpy, and go to DiMaio’s Pizza to get a free slice of Pizza. Well, we did those things. Only when we went to DiMaio’s, we got our free pizza, and also saw some unsavory activity going on in the back room behind the counter where a bunch of Italian-y guys were yelling and throwing dice and cards and stuff. We got a free slice of pizza every time we went there. We figured they were in the mob.
12. People who say video games don’t affect people are full of crap. Since playing Grand Theft Auto Vice City, I have the urge to carjack a cop car. Of course I’ll never do it. But still...think if I were some impressionable teenager with no impulse control.
13. My astrology : Leo Sun with Leo Moon and Scorpio Rising; Horse with Horse Rising and Monkey Month (Chinese), Salmon / Trout (Native American)
14. I have taken a picture of an Old Order Amish person (without them knowing it), and as far as I know I don’t possess his soul.
15. My skin is so pale, that on a clear dark night with a full moon shining, my skin glows a weird whitish color the same color as the moon. Maybe I’m part rabbit? (You know...rabbit in the moon? lol).
16. I have 2 dream jobs : photojournalist in a war-torn Eastern European country struggling for freedom, and a caretaker of an old cemetery.
17. My totem animals are : Vulture, Horse, Caribou, Lion, Scorpion, Raccoon, and Fer-de-lance (a type of pit viper snake, I believe).
18. When I was a kid, my hair was blond. Then it was strawberry blond and red. Then it got darker as I got older and now my natural color is dark auburn reddish brown.
19. I’ve broken both wrists, both arms, a leg, some toes and fingers. I’ve torn both Achilles tendons, tore some tendons in my right ring finger (now it’s crooked), and ligaments in both ankles. I tore my knee open while standing on my rocking horse when I was 5 years old. I tore my leg open on some metal, and should have gotten stitches but didn’t. I’ve died once due to a childhood asthma attack.
20. I have met the Dalai Lama twice. First time was at the mall in Bloomington IN, and he grabbed my arm and said something to me in Tibetan. The monk with him bowed. The second time I was invited to the local Tibetan Buddhist monastery and I met him. I had no camera with me, and because of that I carry my camera everywhere I go. Because you never know who you’re gonna see.
21. I love the Queen Anne, Rococo, Gingerbread, and Italianate style of architecture and design.
22. In college, my friends, my brother and sister and I were all in the same 20th Century Japanese Culture class. It was me, Kelly, Matt, Elly, Courtney, Seizo, and Jason. We were all inseparable. Everyone in the class hated us because we were all into anime and manga and Japanese culture as a whole. Until...the section on anime and manga came along and then everyone wanted to be in our group. So we became all cliquey and kept them out of our group. Anyway, we decided that our professor, Alvis-sensei, was stupid and we hated her. Plus, there was this guy in class named Robert, who was a know-it-all. And we hated him. We decided to make “The Good Book,” which consisted of doodles (of Alvis-sensei and Robert), notes (to each other), and comics done in Culture class. Then it was lost. We still don’t know what happened to it. Then Jason ended up committing suicide, and we decided The Good Book was better off lost, because we realized Alvis-sensei wasn’t so bad after all. The Good Book 2 was “The Adventures of the Butt-Oh Squad” (a take on the team anime genre). Which was a comic where each of us did a chapter. Elly still has it as far as I know.
23. Quite a few of my ancestors in the US were involved in the Underground Railroad. The Ryker House was a major stop here in Southeastern Indiana. My ancestors housed runaway slaves on their way from Kentucky to Canada.
24. When I was a kid (grades 3 and 4) for some reason, we celebrated St Lucia Day in school. I was chosen both years because of my blond hair (when I was a little kid, my hair was blond) and because I happened to be the only one in both classes who had some Scandinavian origin (it’s celebrated in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Italy, Iceland, and Croatia). I got to wear a white dress and a wreath of (fake) candles on my head and hand out Lussekatt (St Lucia bread) and juice to everyone in my class. Then the class sang the St Lucia song and we all put our shoes outside the classroom to get the candy that Sinterklaas was delivering.
25. I’ve had only 1 teacher who ever influenced me in my life. My ninth grade World Cultures teacher, Mr Ferone, in NJ. He gave me a better understanding and appreciation of different cultures as a whole. Got me interested in Eastern Europe, as my ninth grade year was a couple years after the fall of the USSR and dissolution of Eastern Europe and the Bosnian War. Even if he did make me do a report on Portugal.
26. I have a weird fascination with death. I love wandering around old cemeteries. I love taking pictures of tombstones (is that tombstone rubbing for the 21st century?). I could spend hours in a cemetery just hanging out. I don’t mind going to funerals and seeing the dead person lying there. I love old Victorian horse-drawn funeral coaches. I’d seriously get myself a coffin (like 1 of those Halloween-style Dracula coffins) just because. I even have a Find-A-Grave account.
27. I can speak and understand German quite well if I’m very tired and have had no sleep for at least 2 or 3 days. Once, when I was very tired, and hadn’t slept at all in 3 days, I understood this German lady and responded in German. I had a conversation with her. The next day she came into where I worked and tried to speak German with me, and I had no idea what she was saying. She was not amused. Maybe it’s in my subconscious.
28. When I was a kid, I collected baseball cards and hockey cards. I have sheets and sheets of both. I’d trade them with my (guy) friends in eighth grade. We were in this weird pseudo-club where we’d get together and watch hockey games. Me and Dennis were NY Rangers fans; Ray, Bryan, and Marty were NJ Devils fans; and Ryan was a Boston Bruins fan, but we forgave him. Our street hockey team was the New Jersey Potholes, because god knows, NJ has to be the capital of potholes.
29. My ancestors sold Ryker’s Island to the state of New York. The “Ryker Homestead” in Bowry Bay, Queens, NYC is still standing (since the 1700s!!! of course it’s been restored and such) and is considered a historical landmark.
30. My dream home is Schloss Neuschwanstein in Germany.
31. In ninth grade Environmental Science class in NJ, we were outside working on our 6-foot deep hole for soil strata samples when we heard this blood-curdling scream coming from the bogs. We lived in the Pine Barrens, a super-creepy part of central-south NJ, with tons of spooky pine forests and peat bogs. Anyway, the trees were rustling and me and Mike Murphy were taking our turns taking samples, and we heard the scream coming closer. Someone said it was a raccoon, but it didn’t sound like it. Miss Ruddy (the teacher) told us all to get inside the school for safety. In the class, while we were dissecting broccoli (yes, we were actually dissecting broccoli that had been soaking in red food coloring for days to make it easier to study their innards), we all decided it was the Jersey Devil.
32. The best Philly Cheese Steak I had ever had was in the Subway restaurant in Brattleboro Vermont. And that includes the time I ate a Philly Cheese Steak in Philadelphia.
33. I hate the color orange. With a passion.
34. I’ve eaten a Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza in Chicago, a Philly Cheese Steak in Philadelphia, Vermont Cheddar Cheese (grossest cheese ever) in Vermont, and a New York Style Pizza in Brooklyn.
35. I’ve studied the following languages : Spanish (10 years), Russian (4 years), Japanese (3 years), French (1 year), Czech (1 year), Serbian (1 year), Korean (1 semester), Arabic (1 semester), and German (a few months).
36. I have a hard time sticking to others’ peoples rules. But if I make rules and someone breaks them, they better watch out. They will feel my wrath, lol.
37. I hate seafood. Well, I used to sort of like shrimp, until I took Marine Biology.
38. I own well over $10000 worth of manga (both in English and original Japanese), and over $10000 worth of anime toys.
39. When I was 11 years old til I was 13, I was a huge New Kids on the Block fan. It’s so sad. I still have 2 dolls, some pins, and a bunch of books and posters. I even have trading cards and stickers. Me and my friends would have heated debates on who was the hotter New Kid. My favorite was Jonathan. I thought Danny looked like a monkey, Jordan was weird-lookin’, Donnie was ugly, and Joe was just stupid.
40. My favorite historical figures (for various reasons) are : Amakusa Shiro Tokisada, Claus vonStauffenberg, George Boleyn, Elizabeth Woodville, False Dimitri, Louis XIV, Marie Antoinette, Anne Boleyn, Genghis Khan, Benedict Arnold, Josef Mengele, the Romanovs (Nicholas II’s family), Tokugawa Ieyasu, Anne of Cleves, concentration camp guards, Axel vonFersen, Mary Boleyn, Louis XVI, Henry VIII, and the Nazi doctors.
41. When I was 5 and 6 years old, I knew more Spanish than I did English because we lived in San Diego CA and I was in Bilingual School (which I highly recommend as it’s been so helpful to me even now). When we moved to Chicago when I was 6, the school wanted to hold me back a year because I knew more Spanish than I did English. So mom and dad tutored me in English and I had to have speech therapy to get rid of my Mexican accent, lol. I was never held back.
42. When I’m angry and yelling at someone, I have a Hispanic accent. Which is the result of #41 above.
43. I’m such a nerd. I love physics, chemistry, astronomy, and history. I even got an “A” in astrophysics and nuclear physics.
44. I think Alexander Hamilton (the guy on the $10 bill) is kinda hot. Shut up. I said I was a freakin’ nerd, OK?
45. I love the smell of freshly baking donuts in the morning.
46. I have never smoked pot or done any other kind of drugs in my life. I try new alcohols, but I don’t drink, as alcoholism runs in the family, and lord knows I have an addictive personality.
47. I collect the following things : manga (Japanese and English versions), cookbooks, lions, recipes, journals, cool notebooks and stationery, books about mythology, unicorns, pens, purses, anime toys and action figures.
48. I want to punch them in the face : Andy Warhol, Bono, Colin Farrell, Jimmy Carter, Brad Pitt, the Jonas Brothers, Lance Armstrong.
49. I am INTP. Just like Albert Einstein, Thomas Jefferson, Descartes, Charles Darwin, and Tiger Woods.
50. In a fifth grade Black History Month play, I played a slave trader. In ninth grade, I was
Romeo, and my friend, Rich, was Juliet.
51. I think if I lived in the Tudor era, I would most definitely have been executed. I’m not the demure little woman I’m guessing I’d have to be. I’m more in your face and “hey, I wanna wear purple, Queen Katherine, so you can shove it” type of Anne Boleyn-ish kinda girl.
52. I haven’t mowed the grass since I was 11 years old because I’m very allergic to freshly mowed grass, and it’s the only allergen that triggers an asthma attack.
53. Sometimes, I speak with an accent for no real reason. I’ll be talking with someone, and I’ll all of a sudden start saying words with an English accent. It’s kinda funny. I’ve known 1 Englishman in my life. I’ve never been to England, but I’ll do it unconsciously. And other times, I talk with an Australian accent just for the hell of it. No other reason than that.
54. I love Latvian punk music. Especially this band (sometimes they sing Blink 182 songs) by the name of Backyard. And they have really strong accents, which makes their music even better when they sing in English.
55. Movie and TV characters I most identify with are Marie Antoinette (Marie Antoinette), Axel vonFersen (also from Marie Antoinette), Louis (Interview with the Vampire), Anne Boleyn (Tudors), Kat (10 Things I Hate About You), Bruce Wayne (Batman Begins), Superman (Superman Returns), Chloe Sullivan and Clark Kent (Smallville), Jo March (Little Women), Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy (Harry Potter).
56. Book characters I most identify with are Louis (Interview with the Vampire), Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy (Harry Potter), Melinda Sordino (Speak), Jo March (Little Women).
57. I look like I’m at least 10 years younger than I actually am. And while you’d think it’s nice, it’s annoying because nobody takes me seriously.
58. My favorite constellations are Orion, Scorpio, Leo, Ursa Major, and Draco.
59. I’ve gotten strep throat every year since I was 13 years old. And I still have my tonsils. My doctor said if I were to have them removed, since I have weakened lungs (due to childhood asthma), instead of strep throat (as tonsils trap viruses/bacteria), I could end up with pneumonia every year.
60. The Scottish side of my family (ancestors) sided with the British. As did the Irish, lol. They weren’t very loyal to their own countrymen. The Irish and Scottish in my family got their titles from the British.
61. I absolutely refuse to ride on a rollercoaster, as I’ve had a rather realistic dream where I die on a rollercoaster. I just don’t want to take my chances.
62. I always say “bon nuit” quite often. For no reason. And I have to say it like the raven on The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. “Bon nuit to you…bon nuit to YOU…and bon nuit to YOOOUUUU…” Because I’m retarded.
63. My Spanish ancestors bought Africans from other Africans (in Western Africa) and transported them to the US for sale in the Americas.
64. I watched the movie Poltergeist when I was 5 or 6 years old, and ever since then I have not eaten steak, pork chops, or chicken on the bone. The scene where the guy sees the maggots on the steak on the counter and begins ripping his face off when he was eating the chicken leg scarred me for life when it came to steak, pork chops, and chicken on the bone.
65. The Deadly Sins I have most trouble with are Pride, Vanity, Wrath, and Gluttony. In that order. But with Pride and Vanity tied for first.
66. I don’t have a fear of heights as much as I have a fear of falling from high-up places. Therefore, I will never bungee jump, rock climb, be a high-rise window washer, or anything else like that. Skydiving, however, I’m willing to do.
67. When I was 12 years old, I stood out in the middle of a hurricane waiting for the school bus. Stupidly, I stood there for 15 minutes. I walked back home from the bus stop, my clothes, backpack, shoes, and everything else soaked all the way through. Mom called me into school that day. She had originally planned on doing it, but I said no because I had a math test that day that I couldn’t afford to miss.
68. I’m a Navy Brat, and dad was in the Navy until I was 16 when he retired with 21 years in the Navy. He was Senior Chief when he retired. I have lived all over the US, but sadly never overseas.
69. My family is a military family. My dad’s father was in the Navy (Pacific WW2), dad was in the Navy (21 years), mom was in the Navy (til 3 months before I was born because she was getting ready to be transferred to Spain), Uncle Mike was in the Navy, Uncle Lee in the Army (Vietnam), Uncle Butch was in the Army (Green Beret, Vietnam and Gulf War #1), Uncle Mark was in the Army (101st Airborne, Gulf War #1), and I have cousins in the service. I had relatives in every US war since the Revolutionary War. There’s even a couple Nazis in there, too.
70. I’ve seen ghosts before.
71. I can “sense” ghosts/spirits/whatever, and weird disturbances. I think it’s called “clairsentience.”
72. I cant stand Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural style.
73. I can honestly say that if Andy Warhol wasn’t dead, I think I’d kill him. Because his “art” sucks and isn’t art at all. It’s crap. I know it, you know it, and Mr Andrej Warholic probably knew it, too.
74. I love old photography. Tin types, and any photos from before 1960. I’d love to start a collection of old photos.
75. I wear glasses because I was a retard in college who sat in the back of a big lecture hall and squinted to see the chalkboard instead of moving to a closer seat. Now I have a slight astigmatism. My vision is a bit blurry at farther away distances.
76. If you dropped me off in the middle of the wilderness and told me to find my way back to civilization, I’d probably end up accidentally drinking contaminated water and getting a parasite, then eating poisonous berries. I’m completely lost in nature. But drop me off in the middle of a big city and tell me to find my way back, and I can do it no problem.
77. I am slightly allergic to the sun.
78. I get seasick.
79. I appear confident and self assured, but I’m a pretty insecure person when it comes to my appearance and my abilities.
80. One of my favorite things to do is going to cemeteries (modern or old, but I prefer old ones) and taking pictures of interesting tombstones. I especially like the Civil War tombstones. And my favorite cemetery is Bridgewater Cemetery in Scottsburg IN (I photographed a ghost there once) and Cave Hill Cemetery in The Highlands of Louisville KY. I love old decrepit cemeteries and large Victorian garden cemeteries.
81. I cant stand William Shakespeare and his works.
82. My eyes alternate between blue and green, depending on my mood and what I wear, but lately for the past year they’ve been more green than blue.
83. When I’m talking with people, if they have a strong accent (like say, Brooklyn, British, Southern, etc), if I’m around them for a long period of time and we’re talking, I start using that accent, and don’t know it til they call me out on it. Then I’m like “no way, you’re imagining things.”
84. When I was 13 years old, I babysat for these 2 little girls (their father was an officer) and I made $500 a month. All I did was play “Wedding” and watch the Little Mermaid all the time.
85. I look good in dark colors like purple, dark blues, greens, and black. If I wear red, yellow, or orange, my skin takes on a sort of reddish, yellowish or orangish tint to it. So I avoid those colors.
86. I don’t know how I do it, but I tend to intimidate both men and women.
87. I’m incapable of kissing ass. I cant lower myself to that position. If I try (I did once), I come off as a smart ass and sarcastic. And it just sounds insincere. And I felt like I had to scrub the dirtiness off of myself.
88. I hate when people kiss my ass. And if I know they’re trying to kiss my ass, I make them work harder than someone who isn’t trying to kiss my ass.
89. I collect Sanrio and Hello Kitty merchandise.
90. The only things I can cook well are lasagna, tacos, brownies, cookies, cheesecake, and Chinese food.
91. I’m not the partying type. I much prefer to stay home and watch tv or a movie.
92. I was “pulled over” for jaywalking by a bicycle cop while at IU, and then I asked him if he was going to confiscate my shoes if I did it again. He was not amused.
93. I’ve lived in the following places before my 16th birthday : Norfolk VA (2 times), Virginia Beach VA (5 times), Orlando FL, Des Moines IA, Charleston SC, Cairo GA (3 times), Newport RI, San Diego CA, Great Lakes Chicago IL, Leonardo NJ, Lakehurst NJ, Norwich CT, Groton New London CT, Madison IN.
94. I once watched Wayne’s World every day for a year with my brother and sister. Now I cant stand that movie.
95. I think that Ralph Fiennes as Amon Goeth is hot. I’m sorry, but the uniform just makes it happen.
96. I hate mint.
97. I’m so insightful that I’m often told I can read people’s minds. I’ve surprised people when I tell them what they’re thinking. I also tend to freak them out at the same time.
98. I love potatoes. Any kind of potatoes. Except Au Gratin. Seriously, Au Gratin potatoes are the spawn of Satan, and should never be consumed by anyone.
99. I can drink as much soda as I want to, and I’ve never gotten kidney stones.
100. When I was a little kid, every year for my birthday, I’d wish for a real live unicorn. I was always disappointed I never got one. I also asked Santa every year for a real live unicorn, too. I knew Santa wasn’t real when I had never gotten a real live unicorn.
101. I’ve never ridden a bike with training wheels. My very first bike was this ugly red banana-seat high-handlebar low-rider 2-wheeled bike. I got it for Christmas when I was 5 years old. I fell off of it so many times, but I learned how to ride it on my own.