100 bits of stuff about me

All you really need to know...and then some


1. I don't have a middle name.

2. When I was young, I wanted to be an actress...or a singer.

3. I can't really sing.

4. I rarely balance my checkbook.

5. I'm probably not as smart as I think I am (see #4).

6. If I won the lottery, I'd hire someone to make all of my clothes - -even my shoes!

7. I've never been pregnant and will probably never be.

8. And that's okay.

9. I can't slow dance.

10. Summer is my absolute favorite time of year.

11. I love love LOVE being near water.

12. I can't really swim.

13. My "first time" was with a musician....figures!

14. When it comes to gift-giving, I rock!

15. I own entirely too many clothes.

16. I know at least a few words in French, Spanish, German, Chinese, Italian and Croatian.

17. But I'm not in fluent in any of those languages.

18. I'm a great flirt, but get terribly shy when a cute guy actually pays attention to me.

19. I have eight siblings, but I can't say I'm especially close to any of them.

20. The first song I ever learned all the words to was "Mandy" by Barry Manilow.

21. I still like some Barry Manilow songs. Sue me.

22. I once stoled money out of my mom's purse. Okay, the grand larceny totaled about $1.50, but when you're an 8-year-old aching for penny candy, that's the motherlode!

23. I've always wanted to learn to play either the guitar or the piano.

24. Being asked to hold an infant strikes terror into me.

25. I love tomato sauce, ketchup and salsa but hate tomatoes. It's the consistency. They're still in the embryonic stage.

26. I don't really have a favorite color.

27. I prefer the toilet paper in my bathroom to come over the top of the roll.

28. If it's raining, I'm sleeping. Seriously! If it rained for 12 hours straight, I'd be in a coma!

29. Countries I've been to include: Belgium, Amsterdam, China, Mexico, Jamaica, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Germany, Italy, England, Uruguay, New Zealand, Spain and Croatia - - not in that order.

30. M*A*S*H used to be my favorite show. In fact, I can recite from memory Radar O'Reilly's speech announcing the death of Lt. Col. Henry Blake.

31. Yes, I am a veritable font of useless information.

32. When I was, oh, about 7 or 8 years old, I trimmed my eyelashes...with scissors.

33. I have a tattoo. What it is and where it is are strictly need-to-know information.

34. I'm a Scorpio. (Big f'ing surprise there, huh?)

35. I swear way too much!

36. I've moved eight times in my life...so far.

37. When I was a kid, my family had a dog named Corky (same as the nickname of drugstore magnate Charles R. Walgreen - - no coincidence.)

38. I've never broken a bone, sprained anything or had stitches of any kind. Figure when I turn 50, I'll get hit by a bus!

39. Favorite dinner: NY strip steak, cooked medium, sauteed mushrooms on the side, with twice-baked potato and creamed spinach plus a big, fat cabernet. Yes, the arteries are clogging as I write this.

40. I like dogs. It's not that I don't like cats, but I don't trust them. They're sneaky.

41. I was mistaken for a prostitute once. Okay, twice.

42. I always wished my eyes were blue or green. Brown seems boring.

43. I'm a big fan of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies.

44. While in high school, I worked as a waitress...for exactly one week.

1. 45. For a woman my size, I have a frighteningly high tolerance for alcohol.

46. I know more about baseball than most men I know.

47. I used to have a MAJOR crush on Andy Gibb...and then he had to go and pull a Romeo and Juliet thing over Victoria Principal. Such a shame!

48. The older I get, the less I enjoy change. (Maybe that's not just me?)

49. I'd love to know how to do the following automotive things: change the oil, do a tune-up, do a brake job. Tried to take a class in basic automotives, but it got cancelled.

50. I'm a good cook, but a better baker.

51. I attended the Atlanta Olympics (and was in the park not long before the explosion.)

52. I drive a red convertible (usually too fast!)

53. When I was a child, my hair was so long I usually sat on it when I sat at my school desk.

54."Pulling an MJ" defined as having a date so wonderful that you're finishing each other's sentences by the evening's end...and then he never calls you again.

55. I don't date smokers.

56. I've been to Australia five times and New York twice. And I like Australia better...even with the 19-hour flight.

57. Most people have childhood illnesses when they are children. Not me! I contracted chicken pox when I was 21.

58. I own not one, but two baseball gloves (one is autographed by Ron Santo, so of course, I can't use it.)

59. Unlike most women, I really don't like shopping...even if it's for ME!

60. I used to work as a bartender and I used to work as a sportswriter--total guy-meeting occupations- -yet I really don't date much. What's with THAT?!?!

61. One of my favorite places on the island of Maui is a hidden-away nude beach.

62. My default setting (as far as drinks goes) is Jack Daniels and Coke.

63. When I was a kid, I played hide-and-seek in the basement with one of my brothers (a year older than me). He hid in the dryer and I turned it on. Okay, he only went around once! And I bandaged him up!

64. I once confused a can of kitchen cleanser for parmasean cheese and sprinkled it on my family's dinner. (Gimme a break, I was about 7 years old at the time!)

65. Body part I dislike the most: feet! That goes for mine or anyone else's. Ick!

66. It used to happen more often, but at least once a month, someone thinks they know me from somewhere. I'm going to get a shirt that says "I am no one you know."

67. I own at least two nice chess sets, but do not know how to play chess...yet.

68. I absolutely hate to be late.

69. I have a crush on CNN's Anderson Cooper.

70. I'm better than anyone when it comes to holding a grudge. (No, I'm not proud of that.)

71. My left earlobe is double-pierced, just the left one. (Took the idea from one of my sisters.)

72. My favorite Chicago places in the summer: Buckingham Fountain and Wrigley Field (not necessarily in that order). In the winter? Australia and Mexico. (Okay, they're not in Chicago, but have you BEEN to Chicago in the winter?)

73. I get migraines (discovered that tonic water with quinine helps). My migraines begin in an interesting fashion with partial blindness. It's pretty strange.

74. I was married for five years to.the.day. Yep, we filed on our anniversary. Pretty bent, huh?

75. I have expensive taste. Don't know where that came from. It's not like we were rich when I was growing up. Or now, for that matter.

76. Although I've tried to hide it, apparently people have found out: I love chocolate, particularly the wonderful European brands Milka and Lindt.

77. I have several favorite sayings: "If you're not tired on Monday, you didn't have a good weekend." (When traveling) "Don't do anything you can't make bail for!" And, of course, "Ice cream makes everything better."

78. Although I own a nice set of golf clubs and have taken a few lessons, I have NEVER set foot on a golf course...yet.

79. I can play pool right-handed and also left-handed.

80. The smell of marijuana makes me wretch.

81. As scary as this sounds, I'm probably the most open-minded person in my family.

82. Dentists scare the living hell outta me!

83. As far as art goes, I'm a fan of the French Impressionists...seriously! Modern art doesn't really do it for me. I just don't get it.

84. I'm a total attention-whore (and I blame my huge family for that!)

85. I think the best root beer makers are Dad's, Barrelhead and A&W, in case you wanted to know.

86. I prefer nuts in my peanut butter, but not in my chocolate chip cookies. Weird, huh?

87. My ears were just not designed for ear "buds."

88. As much as I love snorkeling, I don't think I can learn to scuba. What can I say, I like to breathe wherever I am. Can you say "scare.D.cat"??

89. If I allow my hair to dry naturally, it does this really strange banana curl thing underneath and arrow-straight on top. It's really a great look, trust me!

90. I'm a cynic. (Okay, that's probably downplaying it, but there it is.)

91. When I get nervous or stressed, my shoulders go up into "I dunno?" posture. And they stay there.

92. If there was only room for two words to describe me on my tombstone, I think they'd be "loyal" and "generous." At least, I hope that's what they would be.

93. To most people that know me, I'm really an open book. And for that, I'd like to lay out a blanket apology.

94. I'm one of those people that never wins anything...okay I used to be. Last summer, I won a replica Brooklyn Dodgers Jackie Robinson jersey (worth $300) and this past December, I won 2 roundtrip airline tickets! Yay me!

95. About once a year, I get laryngitis. It's actually pretty funny. It's still me...just with a mute button.

96. One of my favorite things in my house is my 600-thread-count sheet set. Seriously! Now, what to do with those sheets, well that's a bit too much about me.

97. Weather-wise, I'll take snow over rain any day. Snow falls silently and covers everything with a fluffy white blanket (at least until the street salt dirties it).

98. Couples always say that they can't live without each other. I'd prefer to meet someone where I can honestly say that I don't remember what my life was like before I met them. I want THAT kind of impact! Is that asking too much?

99. I never went to summer camp. Did I miss anything?

100. I'm glad I'm a blonde. Don't think I have the personality for anything else.