25 random things

I hate being a follower. But the trend on Facebook right now is to post a list of 25 random things about you, and I’m sucked in! It’s a list! It’s about me! It’s an easy blog post! So, I’m going to follow the lemmings and post my list of 25 random things here, too. …

1. I hate being a follower and like to think of myself as courageous and innovative, but more often than not, I’m following right along with the crowd.

2. I once ate Korean barbeque in a basement restaurant in Tokyo.

3. I make New Year’s resolutions every year. Now, they have themes!

4. I considered myself a “cat person” until I got my little, black miniature schnauzer, whom I adore! Maybe even more than the cat I loved for almost 18 years.

5. I was once a daily newspaper reporter and one of the best stories I covered was the National Hot Air Balloon Championship in Middletown, Ohio (but I liked murder trials, too!).

6. My best friend was my maid/matron of honor twice. And my only sister was OK with that!

7. I’m great with children, but I have never had any desire to bear any of my own. The most appealing thing about motherhood, to me, would be the right to say, “I was pregnant for nine months, spent 19 hours in labor and gave birth to a healthy baby! All without drugs!”

8. I ran a marathon in 2006 in 6 hours, 22 seconds. I don’t care how long it took because I finished! (And I passed 150 people in the last 5 miles!).

9. I used to be a lot bitchier before my brother died 10 years ago. When the headline on his hometown obituary said, “He was kind,” I realized he had accomplished a lot more in his life than I had by working like a demon to that point, and I changed my perspective.

10. I detest working with incompetent people. I am much more willing to work with grumpy weirdos who know their stuff than friendly idiots.

11. I’m a fabulous translator, but not of languages, of meaning. For example, I once wrote a truly interesting, informative page-long news story about Middletown’s sewer systems which explained why they cost so much and why they malfunctioned during a 100-year flood.

12. I like red-headed men. My first crush (who was actually a little weird) was a redhead. And my stepson is a redhead. The jury is still out on whether he’s weird.

13. I wear a size 8-1/2 shoe. Which is actually pretty small considering I’m 5-10.

14. My all-time favorite movie is “Star Trek IV,” the one with the whales. And I already have the opening of the next “Star Trek” movie in my calendar.

15. I get tired, not crazy, when I drink too much.

16. I believe sleep is a gift from God, and I partake in it 9 hours a night whenever I can.

17. I love working at home because I don’t have to make small talk before getting to work and I can let my dog sleep under my feet.

18. I want to be a writer. Of books. But sometimes I spend more time on Facebook and writing my blog than I do advancing the goal of writing books.

19. I adore Major League Baseball, and I eschew NFL football because I think it’s awfully violent. But I do like the commercials during the Superbowl.

20. I am a magazine recipe junkie. I have two inches of recipes I’ve cut from magazines and newspapers in my kitchen cupboard.

21. I still have five years of diaries from when I was in eighth grade to 12th grade.

22. I once wanted to be a fashion designer, and my mom bought me a subscription to “Women’s Wear Daily.” Today, I watch “Project Runway.”

23. I still secretly think Barbie dolls and Legos are the coolest toys around.

24. I think my first marriage taught me a lot, but I should have gotten a divorce five years sooner.

25. I once collected stamps. Now I look forward to the mail coming every day.