Just 25 random things about me.

1. I am painfully shy when you first meet me. It generally takes me a while to become comfortable with people. I do not at all like large groups of people, no matter how well I know everyone.

2. I went to my first Angel game when I was 4 weeks old, and have been a huge fan ever since.

3. I got married in June of 2005, and my divorce was final in February of 2009. He and I are still friends. I learned a lot from being married and more from getting divorced. I am not ashamed of it.

4. I did not want to go to college immediately after high school, but wasn’t given a choice by the parental units. Therefore, I was “academically disqualified” from San Diego State in 1998. Which is the fancy way of saying I failed out. I went back to a community college in 2001, and finally graduated from Cal Poly Pomona in 2007 with a B.A. in B.S. Seriously.

5. I have great and amazing friends. I feel very lucky to have all of them.

6. I love to read. I’d rather read than watch TV or go out. I have books with me wherever I go, just in case, and I’m always in the middle of at least 3. I will read pretty much anything, though I have a shameful love for Nora Roberts romance novels.

7. I have a completely irrational fear of E.T. I saw it when I had just turned 3, and it scared me to my core. To this day, I have panic attacks when I see it, and have been known to run from the room crying if a commercial comes on. I have tried relentlessly to get past it, knowing it’s completely irrational, but so far I’ve not overcome it. It’s not something I’m proud of, and not something I can joke about.

8. I am a tomboy. I don’t like wearing skirts or dresses or doing stereotypical “girl” things.

9. My sister Jen is one of my closest friends. We didn’t get along so well growing up, and it wasn’t until I moved out that we actually started to like each other.

10. I always hated writing in school, but since I’ve started a blog, I really enjoy it. It’s almost therapeutic for me, much like letter writing is for other people. Because of the blog, I’ve also become interested in a bit of web and graphic design. Just as a hobby.

11. I was born and raised in Buena Park, and moved out to Corona in 2003. I am still not very familiar with the Riverside/Corona area, and often prefer to drive into Orange County to shop, since I know where everything is.

12. My dad taught me to bowl when I was pretty young, but I didn’t really get into it until I turned 18. I used it as anger management therapy (you get to throw things! On purpose! And get points if you hit stuff!) for a while until I started getting better at it. At one point, I was bowling 6 nights a week, and was the highest woman average in 4 of the 6 leagues. I cut back to 1 night a week a few years ago, and took this season off altogether.

13. When I was younger, I wanted to be an architect. At least until I found out how much freaking math was involved  After that I decided to design houses as a hobby, using various design software that did the math for me. I have about 175 “dream houses” saved to an old hard drive, in case I get the opportunity to build my own house someday.

14. I am my own worst critic. I am harder on myself than anyone else, and constantly put myself down before other people can. This is something I am trying to change.

15. I want to go to Ireland before I die. I have always been fascinated with the country, and hope to visit in the next few years.

16. I love water. I can sit by the ocean or the river all day and feel totally relaxed. I could swim before I could walk, and if not for an unfortunate allergy to chlorine, I would have continued competitive swimming after graduating high school and leaving the swim team. Now I can only swim in chlorine free water, otherwise I will sneeze constantly for days on end.

17. I was hit by a car in 8th grade. It was a hit and run, and I had to have knee surgery because of it years later.

18. I have a 6 year old pug named Mia, who I adore. She snores loudly, and isn’t comfortable unless she’s laying down up against my leg. She’s very fat and cuddly, and loves people.

19. I have worked for the same company for the last 6 years, and I was with the company that my boss bought out for a year prior to that. I love my job (most of the time) and truly like and respect the people I work for and with.

20. I donated a kidney in March of 2008 to my friend Kelly. It was a stressful experience, but I am so glad that I was able to do it. I have 5 scars from the surgery: 4 on my stomach (that look like stab wounds) and a 4.5″ c-section-ish scar below my bikini line. When people ask me if I feel any different, I often tell them that I feel a little lopsided.

21. I am not sarcastic. At all. No, really.

22.I want to have at least two children someday. If I had the choice, I’d choose boys, but I know that I will be extremely happy with whatever I get.

23. I have never had a dream in which I have children who can hear. They are always deaf in my dreams, for reasons I cannot explain.

24. Last year I fell in love with a man who loves, respects, and challenges me. He is, pardon the cliche, the greatest thing that ever happened to me.

25. I want to be a better person when I grow up.