100 Things About Me

I lifted this idea from Helen's blog but my husband tells me this is pretty common among blogs. I liked the concept because there are bound to be unusual things you wouldn't normally tell people and it gathers together all the bits of information scattered throughout a lot of varied posts. I'm guessing a lot of my friends who know me well probably won't know everything on the list (and probably will know some things quite well).

It's actually very difficult to compile this sort of list. Try it for yourself and you'll see.

100 Things About Me

1. I studied psychology in university.
2. I applied for graduate school in the social psychology program at Ohio State University and was accepted but couldn’t attend because of a lack of funds.
3. I worked as an assistant to one of my psychology professors in university.
4. I paid my way through school myself because my family was poor.
5. I worry a lot about money, live simply and try to save as much as possible.
   
6. I have no debts whatsoever.
   
7. I have long, strawberry-blonde hair which has gotten “blonder” as I’ve gotten older because of a steady infusion of white hair.
8. Everyone in my family has dark hair except me.
9. I was a serious KISS fan from the ages of 13 to 27 or so and used to sell KISS collectable items by mail order from Japan as a moderately profitable “hobby.”
10. I have only once dressed up for a Halloween party (as an adult) and I dressed as Gene Simmons.
11. I rarely listen to any music now.
12. My first job was at a half-way house for mentally ill people who were transitioning between being in a mental hospital to reintegrating with society.
13. Legally insane people have threatened to harm me twice.
14. I worked part-time at a home for children with Cerebral Palsy concurrent with my first job.
15. I lived in California for 10 months before coming to Japan.
16. I worked as a coordinator for those who wanted to rent out rooms to boarders in the high cost of living areas of the Bay Area of California.
17. I worked at Nova conversation school, possibly the worst school in Japan, for 2 years after arriving in Japan.
18. I worked at an English correspondence school in Tokyo for 12 years but quit for health reasons in 2005.
19. I fell off of my bike somewhat over a decade ago and have had serious back problems ever since.
20. I was born with a congenital defect in my spine which also causes back problems but I was unaware of that defect until I fell off my bike and was X-rayed.
21. One of my sinuses is underdeveloped and causes me to have headaches and problems with one of my eyes on occasion.
22. I had my gall bladder removed in Japan 14 years ago by arthroscopic surgery before it was commonly done in Japan. The doctor who did the surgery on me was an American teaching the Japanese doctors.
23. I love to write non-fiction, especially instructional or text materials.
24. I’m a big fan of Adobe software, especially Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator and am an Adobe Certified Expert in Photoshop.
25. While I’m super at Photoshop and image manipulation, I’m a poor photographer.
26. I have one sibling, an older sister, who I talk to nearly every day via GoogleTalk or other voice/chat software.
27. I love multiplayer gaming and spent about 4 years engrossed in Diablo 2.
28. I’m a dual-platform user but prefer Macs overall.
29. While most people assume my husband sets up and maintains our computers and LAN, I am the one who takes care of everything and I know a lot about both Macs and PCs.
30. I hate jewelry and the only piece I wear is my wedding ring.
31. I hate perfume of all types.
32. I dislike shopping, especially for clothes.
33. My philosophy on material possessions is ‘mending is better than ending’.
34. I only have 5 pairs of shoes and only wear 2 on a regular basis – tennis shoes and Birkenstocks.
35. I love scented candles, particularly those which mirror delicate natural scents like vanilla, cinnamon, pine, holly, etc.
36. I’m from Pennsylvania and lived there until I was 23.
37. My husband is from California.
38. My husband and I met as penpals in 1987 and met face-to-face for the first time in Tokyo while he was working here on a 1-year contract with a language school.
39. I got married at age 24 in 1989 and am still passionately in love with my husband.
40. I tease my husband mercilessly but he puts up with it with good humor.
41. My husband was the only boyfriend I ever had (and I’m grateful for that).
42. I prefer men with beards.
43. When I was 18, I had 17 penpals and was a prolific correspondent.
44. I dislike people who think they are smarter than others.
45. I strongly dislike people who think being rude is equivalent to being assertive and “tough” and being polite and considerate of others feelings is a sign of a neurotic need to be liked.
46. I dislike people who think they are superior to others for any reason.
47. I believe actions speak louder than words when it comes to a person’s morality.
48. I love spicy food, especially curry.
49. My favorite color is dark green.
50. My favorite author is Kurt Vonnegut.
51. My favorite book is “This Perfect Day” by Ira Levin.
52. My favorite genre for books is anti-utopian novels.
53. I don’t like T.V. shows where people get laughs by being cruel to one another or offering nasty put-downs.
54. I love old sitcoms that are goofy or good-natured in their humor such as the original Bob Newhart show.
55. I love British comedy, especially Black Adder and Monty Python.
56. My favorite animated series is Futurama.
57. I wore contact lenses for 16 years but had to go back to glasses because of a worsening astigmatism.
58. I hate wearing glasses.
59. I don’t wear make-up.
60. I never wear skirts or dresses.
61. I’ve never drunk any sort of alcoholic beverage in my life (and it’s not against my religion).
62. My cousins first introduced me to smoking when I was 10 and I never tried it again.
63. I’ve never sampled a recreational drug but believe in legalizing them.
64. I love hazelnut-chocolate sweets but only occasionally indulge in them.
65. Texture is more important to me in food than taste.
66. I love croutons, Triscuits and other dry, crunchy, salty food.
67. I love almost all types of cheese but Havarti is my favorite.
68. I don’t like most Japanese food and rarely eat it.
69. I love both tea and coffee as long as they have milk and artificial sweetener.
70. My favorite dessert is cheesecake.
71. When eating with others, I always give the best/biggest pieces/servings to others.
72. I like to cook but dislike cleaning up afterwards.
73. I dislike driving.
74. I had my first car wreck at 15 when I first attempted to learn to drive.
75. When I was a teenager, I painted murals on the walls of my bedroom.
76. I used to be a pretty good artist, especially when drawing people and objects, but haven’t kept up practicing since marrying. Now, I’m not very good.
77. I practiced calligraphy, drew with ink, pencil and charcoal, made montages, did batik, embroidery, and 3D artwork cut from layered cardboard when I was younger but no longer have the energy or time for crafts.
78. I like pirate movies and all things pirate-y.
79. I love to buy and look at furniture and rearrange it far too often given the small size of my apartment.
80. I hate hot weather and would rather be freezing cold than baking hot.
81. I am meticulous about recycling as much as possible.
82. I hate clutter and am very organized.
83. I love web comics and try to support the artists who do them by sending small donations.
84. I read several on-line advice columns but I’m more interested in the problems than the solutions the columnists offer.
85. I was raised a Christian in the Church of the Nazarene but do not believe in any Christian dogma now.
86. I believe in the basic notion of reincarnation though I don’t believe in the concept of time.
87. I don’t believe in the existence of true “evil” or the devil.
88. I know more about sumo wrestling than most Japanese people and have seen sumo in person at least 8 times.
89. I have trouble relaxing and doing nothing.
90. I love cats.
91. I’m a homebody and dislike going out.
92. I have a relatively large DVD collection of around 250 titles.
93. I like old, classic Sci-Fi.
94. I love old movies from the 30s and 40s, especially those with Bette Davis.
95. “Zeitgeist” is my favorite non-English word (because of its meaning and how it can be used to talk about history).
96. “Zuibun” is my favorite Japanese word because I like the way it sounds.
97. I dislike anime-style drawing and manga.
98. I am not the least bit maternal.
99. I’ve lived in the same apartment in Tokyo for 17 years.
100. The word “Carl” will always hold a special meaning to me for reasons that involve national security and therefore cannot be divulged.