25 Random Things

Once you've been tagged you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to "notes" under the tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app). Then click publish.)

Clay tagged me. Twice. Dammit Clay. Scott F. did too, but I might forgive him. Well, here goes.

1. I've never written a list of things about me, although I have a friend who puts one on her blog pretty frequently. I think she even has a list of 100 things.

2. I can hear my phone ringing in the other room right now. But I know it will stop by the time I get to it, so what's the point??

3. When I tell people I went to Westlake, they look at me like I'm a snot (yes, still, I get this, even 20+ years later. It's that whole Waller Creek thing). When I tell people I went to Trinity, they comment about my intelligence. Does this make me smart snot??

4. Whoever called has left a message. I should go see what they want. But I still don't care too much.

5. My daughter is the most amazing person I have ever known. I'm in awe that someone that incredible came out of my uterus. Maybe she will be smart snot too.

6. My husband is not smart snot. He's smart and cool. And he's one of those people who is good to know because he knows lots of things about lots of stuff. That comes in really handy sometimes. His friends love him. I love him more than I love anyone else, and more than anyone else will love him.

7. My husband is a great dad. Sometimes I get jealous because he makes our daughter laugh more than I can - I mean, serious belly laughs come out of her room when they play. I love that sound. It's because he is smart and cool.

8. I'm a damn good social worker, but sometimes I don't want to do it anymore. Sometimes I want to be a chef or go to beauty school. Or get paid to read all the time.

9. Last night, my daughter had a dream that an alligator was in our garage. She says the alligator was trying to bite because it was hungry, and that she and her dad had to go into a dark door to get away from it. I don't want to psychoanalyze my kid, but what the f*** does that alligator symbolize??? Maybe it's just because we were looking at a picture of an alligator in her baby animal magazine.

10. I'm not sure what is more amazing about #9: that she dreamt about an alligator or that, at 2, she had the verbal skills to tell me about it. Maybe she already is smart snot.

11. My dad moved into an assisted living earlier this month. At first, I thought that this was the end of the road for him, that he would just get depressed and give up. But it seems like it's going to be a good thing.

12. That comment in #6 sounds kind of stalker-ish, like "If I can't love him then no one can." I'm nuts, but I'm not psycho. Lots of people love him, and that's ok with me.

13. I am hopelessly addicted to cinnamon graham goldfish crackers. There - I've admitted it. That's the first step, and the other eleven steps can go buy me some more crackers.

14. I friended my oldest friend on FB not to long ago. She knows who she is. We were two or three years old when our UT-teaching parents met. She lived down the street from us for awhile, in this cool octagon-shaped house. My mother found some old pictures of us playing in the baby pool, and if I had a scanner I would so tag her. In one of the pics, I look really mad because my friend will not move out of my way so I can go down the slide. My daughter really likes that picture. I think it's funny because I have seen that same little mad expression on my daughter's face a thousand times. Because she is my mini-me.

15. My favorite smell in the whole world is the combination of rain, the dirt of Silver Plume, CO, and highway fumes. I can usually only smell it when I am there, but on the rare occasional that it blows in my nose other places, I am completely intoxicated by it.

16. "Nissa" isn't short for anything. Lots of people ask, so now you know. In "Anja," the "j" is pronounced like a "y." Most people don't ask about that, they just go ahead and f*** it up.

17. My husband's name is Aaron. Last summer, we had a lifeguard at our neighborhood pool who recently graduated from UTSA. Anja asked the lifeguard her name, and the lifeguard said her name was Erin. Poor Anja was really confused by that one.

18. I have played piano since I was 5. I used to be really good: played at the capitol building, around the state, in Europe, stuff like that. Now I play chopsticks and nursery rhymes. Someday I'll teach Anja how to play.

19. Poodle - that was you who called in #2. That day you called the house to see if I was home I was out picking up Anja, and, well, now you know what I was doing that next time. Love you, Poodle, Ooo -birthday soon!!

20. The crack house apartment next door to where I work was destroyed in a fire two nights ago. One of my friends banged on the doors of the residents to get them out. Everyone survived, and she was on the news. Everyone at work yesterday called her a hero!

21. I have a severely neglected blog. Some people at the reunion told me they had read it, and that's very flattering. Here it is: http://mydearintheheadlights.blogspot.com/ Maybe I'll put these 25 things in it.

22. I left Austin over 20 years ago in my Chevy Nova to move to San Antonio and I have never wanted for even a second to return there to live. Anyone who wonders why can come spend a few days with me, meet my friends and visit my haunts. San Antonio is home to the most friendly people I have ever seen anywhere; even at 1.3 million people it still feels like a small town. Plus, the traffic is way better.

23. Two examples of cinematic genius, in my opinion, are "Dude, Where's My Car?" and "Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle". My friend and I were so fascinated by Harold and Kumar that we immediately went online to find the nearest White Castle. We were sorely disappointed, but later found them in the frozen section at HEB.

24. My parents were both band geeks. In fact, my dad was such a band geek that he was Assistant Director of the UT Longhorn Band in the 1960s. That's how my parents met. My husband was also a band geek: he played the flute. Not only was he the only guy in the flute section of his high school band, I think he was also first chair. I think he did it to meet girls. I, on the other hand, was an orchestra geek.

25. I was 36 years old when I gave birth to my one and only child. I'm really glad I waited so long.