PENN-sieve

Here's my list for the 25 Things About Me craze that everyone is posting on Facebook.

1. When I was 7 or 8, I won a coloring contest at Alamo Market and the prize was a 5 lb Hershey chocolate bar. I don't like chocolate and I haven't colored since because I am fearful that they will punish me again with chocolate. (Just kidding - about not coloring. I have colored. I don't like chocolate).

2. I want to be crafty. I have lots of craft project ideas and supplies and half started items but it is hard to stay motivated when your mom could be Martha Stewart. How do you compete with that?!

3. When I was younger, I would do whatever I could to stay up all night. Now, I rarely get a good night's sleep.

4. I get very upset when I watch American Idol not because the singing is horrible or because Simon can be mean; I cringe and yell at the TV when the judges compliment a female singer by FIRST complimenting her looks. "You have a cute face and a good voice".

5. My sleep number is 60.

6. I am a military brat whose father was stationed in the same place for 17 years.

7. I broke my right wrist rollerblading in 2003 and have only put my rollerblades on a handful of times since then. I miss rollerblading but prefer unbroken bones.

8. I hated being an RA but make a living supervising RAs. I enjoy what I do now.

9. I think The Bachelor is the cruelest show on TV because it always results in someone’s heart being broken.

10. My reoccurring dream involves me missing a flight to a foreign country and trying to trick people into letting me on the next flight. I have had this dream once a month for the past year. Before this dream, my reoccurring dream was that my fish tank was always very, very dirty.

11. I have way too many books. Just ask anyone who has ever helped me move. My favorite books are Gone with the Wind, Roots, and What Dreams May Come.

12. I have one tattoo that I got because of parental pressure when I was 29.

13. I used to have my tongue pierced. Some days I wish it was still pierced.

14. I miss my last roommate.

15. I ran away once - to the empty house next door. Someone saw a person in the yard and called the police. They walked me home.

16. I have only been in one fight my entire life. In 2nd or 3rd grade, a girl cut in front of me in the line for the slide. It was an all out, girl scratching, hair pulling rumble. I know who the girl was but I refrain from mentioning her name in case she is still upset.

17. My least favorite household chore is washing dishes.

18. I very rarely make the same dish/baked good twice. There are so many recipes out there so why have the same thing over and over.

19. As a child, I thought my great-grandmother left Russia because she was really Anastasia, the missing Russian Grand Duchess, and that some day they would come give me a real princess crown. The Princess Diaries – I so could have written that.

20. I had a great childhood. It makes me sad that not all children get even the basic things they need. I don’t know if it is because I am part of the Cabbage Patch generation but I can’t wait to adopt. I am going to adopt older children (like 7 and older).

21. No one else in my family remembers my favorite childhood memory.

22. Three days before my 18th birthday, my closest high school friend’s sister was murdered. We shared our birth date and had plans to celebrate together. I can’t listen to “Who’d You Be Today” by Kenny Chesney without thinking of Mandy and tearing up. They wrote a book about the murder. It largely misrepresents what happened.

23. I have cravings for Del Taco. All the time. I punish people when I visit in Cali by making them eat there frequently. I then steal packets of Del Scorcho sauce to use in Pennsylvania so I can get my Del Taco fix until the next time I go to Cali.

24. I think it is funny that studies about Millennials slam them for being too open and giving full disclosure about their lives. I am a Gen X’er and all of my friends are Facebook junkies, have BLOGS, and share just as much, all the time. In fact, most of the 25 Things about me notes I saw were from my generation. We wanted to share too but we just needed the technology to do so.

25. In Back to the Future, MJF would get in a fight if someone called him a chicken. My word is stupid. Call me stupid or insinuate that you think I am stupid and I will bring it. (Okay, I will probably feel really sad and cry).

On Mondays, I work 6pm - 9pm. I left Penn State for what should be a seven minute drive at 5:40pm but I hit all the traffic from people leaving campus and pulled into the Denny's parking lot at 6pm. This manager, Marvin, was the one that hired me and he told me that his pet peeve is late employees. Ugh, way to make an impression.

In my haste, I pulled into a parking spot that was next to to snow bank left by the plows. Dummy! I didn't notice that the spot was covered in ice!

I spent a few minutes trying to reverse my car but there was no traction and no way to pull forward unless I wanted to hug the tree in front of me. I went in and worked my shift. Uneventful except that the manager and one of the waiters smokes right next to the kitchen. The restaurant is absolutely disgusting. Do not eat there. I don't and I get a 50% discount!

At 9pm, I clocked out and borrowed the store's shovel. Everyone laughed and Marvin asked if I would be cussing the entire time I was trying to get my car out. I explained to him that I didn't cuss but he just looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language (I should mention he cusses - A LOT!). I was able to use the shovel and a cardboard box to get out of my spot after about 5 minutes or so. I thought it would be a greater challenge but I guess I was just made for living in a climate with winter.