20 Random Facts about Me...as if people don't already think I'm odd

1) I have thought about becoming a vegetarian on more than one occasion. I love fruits and vegetables way more than I like steak or most meats. My reason against becoming one every time? McDonalds chicken nuggets. Seriously.

2) I can't stand for my bathroom to be in the least bit dirty. Even when I was way more disorganized, my bathroom was always crazy clean. Other people's bathrooms totally gross me out if they are messy at all, but I don't say anything about it. I don't know why a clean bathroom is such a big deal to me--I'm not overly weird about germs--but it's always been my thing. Maybe it's because my parents used to send me to the bathroom when I mouthed off (really, it's brilliant if you think about it--what the hell are you going to do in the bathroom as opposed to your bedroom where all of your favorite things are?) and I spent a lot of time in there since I couldn't ever keep my mouth shut.

3) I am a complete and utter klutz. Not a day goes by that I don't run into something I should be totally aware is in my way. I often wake up to find oddly shaped bruises that I have no clue as to where they came from. This was particularly bad in college, where large quantities of alcohol led to concerned questions the next day. For a while, I really think some of my coworkers thought I was in an abusive relationship, when really...I'm just a moron.

4) Fireplaces are a big love of mine. The first thing I noticed, and fell in love with, in my new place was the fireplace. Almost every night after work, the first thing I do is turn on the fireplace and it stays on until the moment I decide to go to bed. I'm always afraid I've unknowingly left it on, but even my worry doesn't diminish my love of it.

5) Sweets are almost never my go to snack, but when I'm in the mood for them I want every kind possible right then. If I eat chocolate, I have to have something fruity like skittles or lemonheads to offset it. Typically, I crave salty foods (especially chips), but occasionally the sweet tooth rears its ugly head.

6) I'm a complete and total movie junkie, and my collection is both big (and always being added to) and random. For instance, my front row of movies at the moment includes the clique, ted bundy, hook, raising helen, pi, whip it, the runaways, terms of endearment, and speed--among others. I have a hard time going into Wal-Mart for groceries without buying at least one movie, but I almost never buy a movie when it first comes out (hello--why spend almost $30 when that can buy me 5 movies from the $5 bin?). Harry Potter is one of the only movies I buy as soon as the new one is released--and I plan to also get Black Swan ASAP once it's out. Chances are, I'll watch any movie once, and if anybody ever needs a movie date, I'm your girl.

7) Books are my other major obsession, which should be no surprise considering I work at a bookstore. When I was younger, my parents go to thing to take away from me when I seriously misbehaved was non-school reading. I was almost never grounded from TV or video games, because those were not nearly as earth shattering to me as not being able to read. My taste in books is not really limited to any genre, and in fact, I prefer to switch genres after each book (or maybe 2). Rarely will I read the same author consecutively, and I usually read something funny (like Janet Evanovich) followed immediately by something dark, depressing, or generally off the wall (like Ann Rule, Wasted, or The Giver). Occasionally, I will get on a biography kick and read 3 or 4 in a row, but it happens pretty rarely. I don't like giving new genres or authors a shot, but generally I give up on them pretty quickly if I'm not drawn in. To the best of my knowledge, I've only read one Christian Fiction book, and that was Left Behind--it's the one genre that never seems to really spark my interest.

8) I love my cats, Copper and Karma, like they are my actual flesh-and-blood children. They have more treats than any animals could ever need, and they know all of my deepest, darkest secrets. If I make spur of the moment plans, I always worry that they will feel abandoned. I would love to get more kittens, but I fear that people are already beginning to regard me as a crazy cat lady. Also, they are my most photographed subjects--though Copper is a picture whore and Karma seems to hate having her picture taken. She's so vain--what a typical girl. Both are rescues, and they both seem to totally understand that they were pulled from the precipice of death. They annoy the hell out of me every single day, but I couldn't imagine my life without them.

9) If I could buy anything I wanted without having to think about money, I would buy 2 Jet Skis in a heartbeat, even though I've only been on one a handful of times. There is just something about them that I'm totally obsessed with, and of course I'd have to get 2 so I could race people.

10) My car is always a total mess, with at least 7 empty bottles of some varation of diet soda, 3 half read books, a couple of random movies, kitchen appliances, clothes and hangers (though the clothes are rarely actually on the hangers), receipts, broken down boxes, drawers, and the like crammed into a tiny Honda Civic. Though I've become somewhat of a neat freak in my house and at work, my car never stays tidy for long--if indeed the mood ever strikes me to clean it out in the first place. I'm aware that the added weight is a killer on my gas mileage, and people always get frustrated if they have to ride with me, but then again there's rarely a time when I'm not without a change of clothes, a snack, something to read or watch, and a mixer for the liquor. It drives my parents insane--and actually that may add to the appeal.

11) I get paranoid about the most random things at the most ridiculous times, like if I left the water running in the sink when I left for work or if my cats found a way to open my kitchen cabinets and broke all of my shot glasses. I annoy the hell out of my friends because I always, always think I forgot to lock the door to my house, left the garage door open, and left my lights on in my car. Many times I've had to text my roommate and have them check to see if all is well at home. Though this trait annoys the hell out of me, it's been my habit for as long as I can remember.

12) I am fascinated by serial killers, the Holocaust, and other strange things. In no way am I impressed by them, nor do I want to emulate them in any way. It all stems from the fact that I am intrigued by the most severe depravity of the human spirit and believe society as a whole can learn alot by delving deeper into the causes of such tragedies. Many people are freaked out by the fact that I have a favorite serial killer--Ted Bundy--and they fail to ask me why. To me, he represents a true sociopath--so charming that he had a girlfriend who never suspected a thing for the majority of his killing years. I think we can become our best person only if we understand the worst of people. Also, sometimes I like to read books with strange themes in them--like incest in the Flowers in the Attic series. It grosses me out, but by the end of the series, I found myself rooting for the brother and sister to be together (I'm not the only one who thought that way when reading the series either). I love psychology (and it is what I have my degree in), so I think I just like to know about how completely nuts people can be.

13) Maybe because of my eye problems (I'm blind in the left one), I am very in touch with my other senses--but only sometimes. When I'm especially tired, it sometimes seems as though my other senses disappear; otherwise, they are unusually heightened. I notice is most in my sense of smell, and particular scents can completely, almost instantly, change my mood. I can smell a boy from a mile away, and I can usually tell what somebody is cooking long before anybody else. My hearing only seems to be heightened when it can annoy me, and I hate the sound of people chewing so much that I can only sit and each with them if we are at a restaurant with a lot of outside noises.

14) I hate snow and pretty much always have. I would much rather go to school or work than even have an inch of snow on the ground. For the past 2 years, every single time it snowed, I somehow got stuck because of it. Last year, I had to walk with my friend over half the length of the ridge due to snow, and this year I got stuck in my house for 2 days and out of it for 3 because of one snow storm. My only pleasant snow memories are from the blizzard of '93, but that was because I was 7 and was expected to like the snow and because I wasn't as sensitive to being cold back then.

15) I have very vivid dreams, almost always in color, and they are usually about the last person I talked to or thought about for any reason. I never just have the falling dream and wake up right before hit, but instead I always hit the ground and then proceed to dream about my funeral--and typically wake up very sore the next day. My dreams are so realistic that I have woken up sweating, screaming, bleeding, you name it...on more than one occasion. I'm always afraid of what I might say out loud when I'm asleep because I have such weird dreams.

16) I hate olives, especially black ones, and think they taste like gasoline smells. Sometimes, if they are particularly pungent, I have to leave the room.

17) I used to resent the fact that I was made to get a job when I was only 15 years old, but I have since learned to love it. Now, I love to work like most people my age love to party, and if I have more than a day off work without specifically asking off for it, I genuinely miss it. That being said, when I need a break, I become a total bitch out of nowhere and want to be done with work right then and there. By the next day, however, I'm ready to be working again. Despite my messed up back, I really don't ever want a desk job. When I do one day realize my dream of being a therapist, I believe I'll spend most of every session on my feet.

18) I hate wearing clothes to bed, even though I detest being cold and fear one day I'll sleep walk naked down the street and totally freak everybody out. Generally speaking, I don't like to be naked--but I hate the feeling of waking up twisted in clothes more. My robe is always close by when I sleep, just in case there is a sudden fire or other occurence that causes me to have to quickly exit the house.

19) Coffee and soft drinks are two of my favorite things, but it takes me a very long time to drink them. I've been known to carry around the same 20 oz. bottle of Diet Coke for three days. Also, I don't mind (and almost like) warm soft drinks but don't like for my coffee to get cold--but for some reason can only bring myself to reheat my coffee at home and never in public.

20) You would be hard pressed to find me without stationary, books, pens, Sharpies, something to study, and my makeup at any given time. Though Id rarely find occasion to use any of them, it freaks me out not to have these things with me. I also almost rarely chew gum but hate when I don't have any with me.