Who am I..? 51 Things about Me (Updated!)
1. I live with my creative genius/vampire husband, teen son, and a very shaggy dog. (Well, our son is shaggy too.)
2. Time elapsed from beginning of the first draft of my first novel to actual publication release date = two and a half years. (Light speed in publishing time.)
3. I love the smell of Starbucks coffee but not their coffee.
4. Searching for the bright spot, sometimes with both hands, but still consider myself an optimist.
5. The first song played at my wedding: Unforgettable by Nat King Cole followed by Love Shack by the B-52s. Yes, the DJ actually played You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC. (We rocked those old Episcopalians.)
6. I will stop procrastinating tomorrow.
7. I like to write stories about my dog, but he doesn’t seem to “get” me. (Everyone’s a critic.)
8. If I had a magic fairy wand, I’d give all court reporters a raise. (Except for the sucky ones.)
9. I am a court reporter. (See above note.)
10. Still think that the Beatles are the answer.
11. And that Dav Pilkey and Jeff Kinney are flippin’ geniuses!
12. Could listen to Elvis Costello sing the phone book. (At least a page or two.)
13. Believe the Beatles are the greatest band ever, for many reasons. (Yes, I will fight over this. And have.)
14. Have a back yard squirrel with a bad attitude.
15. My neighbors, for the most part, don’t suck.
16. Without chocolate and coffee, life would be much less sparkly.
17. I love Cake – the band and the food.
18. Favorite new-ish show: Downton Abbey.
19. Think Don Draper, while super handsome, is kind of a jerk.
20. Enjoy reading magical realism.
21. Langston Hughes, Shirley Jackson, and Truman Capote are among my favorite short story authors.
22. Can’t even imagine myself in stiletto heels.
23. Live in a suburban area of Los Angeles where one city blends into the next.
24. My parents met in radio school during the golden age of Los Angeles.
25. Grew up in a small, noisy household with many pets, mostly cats.
26. Have been Rickrolled on occasion.
27. Live in a household where the men sometimes speak in a strange code.
28. Will watch the 1955 version of Guys And Dolls any time. Or Grease. Especially the ending sequence where Sandy and Danny switch roles and John Travolta is looking at Olivia Newton John wearing her black neoprene outfit and salivating like a hungry dog.
29. Think that the Easter Bunny may actually be a cryptid.
30. Still reading? Give yourself 20 points!
31. My work in progress may involve a werewolf. (Or something like a werewolf.)
32. My two essentials before embarking on a monk-like pilgrimage – lip balm and sunscreen.
33. Come from pioneer stock (but don’t really feel like a pioneer).
34. Think tacos are magic.
35. Am trying to get over this annoying money allergy.
36. Spend too much time on Absolute Write.
37. Two-time breast cancer survivor. (Is there an award for that?)
38.My name spelled backward is Teragram. (Sounds like a sci-fi character name, doesn’t it?)
39. I’m kind.
40. I’m lazy.
41.Wish people would be a little bit kinder to each other and less hung up on their differences.
42. Have been known to poke my finger into the underside, looking for the “good” chocolate.
43. If you’ve made it this far, you are to be admired for your fortitude and good looks.
44. Make my own soup. (Well, I share.)
45. Always seem to have an abundance of lemons.
46. Am a coconut lover.
47. Collected 45 records when I was a youngster. (Record stores. Remember those?)
48. Have three sisters and miss my brother.
49. My mother kicks all kinds of @ss.
50. My mother-in-law still loves me.
51. And, if I had my way, no one would ever go to bed hungry.
…and here's the list from 2008…
1. In my husband's eyes, I'm always 10 years younger.
2. I adore my husband and our son.
3. I like to write about my dog.
4. I believe coffee is a necessity.
5. I believe life's too short to drink bad coffee.
6. Think the Beatles are the answer.
7. Passed my driver's license on my 16th birthday, then got my first job the same day (mall clothes store).
8. Received a ticket for making an illegal left turn on my 21st birthday (while sick with a cold).
9. My favorite solo artist is Elvis Costello.
10. I'm a court reporter (depositions).
11. I'm still a (very part-time) student.
12. I don't mind change except when it involves technology.
13. I still haven't mastered our universal remote control.
14. I don't take myself too seriously.
15. Am married to a creative genius.
16. I read 30 books while I was pregnant.
17. When I was young, historical figures I most wanted to meet: J.R.R. Tolkien and Walt Disney.
18. Am fascinated with Martha Stewart.
19. Am fascinated with the word "defenestration."
20. Have never had a manicure.
21. Older women love the men in my life (Husband and Charlie).
22. I don't care for Starbucks coffee.
23. I believe in volunteering.
24. Am a font of useless pop culture trivia.
25. Talk politics in the home a lot.
26. Have a husband who automatically takes the opposite side in an argument just for fun.
27. Spring and fall are my favorite seasons.
28. Spend too much time on the internet.
29. I waited tables in a Kosher-style deli/restaurant where I learned to love matzo ball soup.
30. I'm a cancer survivor.
31. My mother-in-law loves me.
32. I watch too much TV.
33. I'm completely befuddled by social media.
34. I once did a T.V. show taping for a court show - as the court reporter. (Didn't get it.)
35. Am a native Californian.
36. Have an activist mother.
37. Have three great sisters and a sometimes sweet brother who's the oldest (who has a very large CD collection).
38. My parents met in radio school.
39. Am a news junkie.
40. Won a city-wide essay contest in the 5th grade: “How I see our town in the year 2000.” (Let's see, moving sidewalks; reduced school days; food in pill form. No, no, and no.)
41. Would be lost without my lip balm.
42. Am anxiously awaiting the new season of "Lost."
43. Favorite music era: '60s - British Invasion and Motown.
43. Grew up listening to Gilbert & Sullivan and the Singing Nun.
44. Believe that love is the most complex of all human emotions.
45. Have learned to love ABBA.
46. Love the Kids in the Hall (favorite Kids' song "These are the Daves I know, I know).
47. Still watch Seinfeld (and it's still funny).
48. Listened to AC/DC, Pat Benatar, and The Pretenders in high school.
49. Believe that Mounds is the king of the candy bar.
50. Believe that good will always win/am an optimist.
51. I have double-jointed thumbs.