I've been trying to write this post for about a week now, but for various reasons (work, sickliness, general blahs, etc.) I haven't been able to focus. Random.
How often has this word been used to describe something I've done or said? I often do things that can best be described as random, but I've never before thought of random things about myself (or shall I say I've never thought about myself as being random).
Upon further reflection (as if I need that) I find that there are elements of randomness about me. (I type that in a "voice" that's so reminiscent of Sally Field's "You like me, you really like me" schpiel it's embarrassing.)
I think it also needs to be said that I don't feel this makes me "special" in the Mister Rogers kinda way; if anything, this post along with this entire lj collection (I really do hate the word "blog" and am going to make a concerted effort to use it as little as possible) sometimes deludes me into thinking far too much about what I have to say.
Nevertheless …
1. With all the recent attention paid to the issue of race in America (e.g., is Barack black enough or too black?), I found myself chuckling at the white-to-black ratio of friends on my Facebook and Myspace pages. Go ahead. Take a look and count how many black people you find. Sometimes, when I think about just packing up and moving to Africa for a spell, I wonder how I'd actually feel to be completely surrounded by black people at all times. The curiosity is really starting to get to me.
2. Eventually, I hope to learn to speak French, Spanish, German, Italian and Swahili.
3. I've no poker face. If I'm happy and I know it, I'll refrain from hand-clapping since smiling and clapping in sharply syncopated 1-2 beats at the age of 28 might make me appear more "special" than I already am.
4. Even when I'm actively listening, I cannot tell the following bands apart: Fall Out Boy, Good Charlotte, Relient K, Sum41 and several others I've just lumped into the "Why you screamin'?! Because all I hear are constipated boys yellin' soundin' not so much like punk rock but more like ... um, punks" group. It's just not the sort of music I can get into.
5. Right now, in this post, I'm struggling to note that there is a difference between "random" and "things you might not know about me." I keep thinking of things and deleting them because "everyone already knows this," but that's not the point of this post is it?
6. I know we should "never say never," but, I feel pretty certain when I say that nasal sprays and/or other "items" that can be snorted shall never be for me. Lately, it seems that I'm always suffering from some sinus issues. My doctor recommends a nasal spray and my nose twitches and bleeds in response. Stellar.
7. I, too, love being places I’ve never been, and I’d really like to go just about everywhere. I wish there were more time and enough money to do it.
8. I don't know how or when, but I have developed performance anxiety, which is why it's quite unlikely that I'll ever sing (or play an instrument) in public ... sober.
9. I know way too much information about royal families of Europe. Mags thinks I should become a royal correspondent for one of those entertainment programs, but I feel my wealth of knowledge and powers of perception would be ill-suited for such exploits.
10. I own a pretty sharp-lookin' guitar that I am unable to play. This is bad and makes me feel like a poser.
11. It's true. I am not sure whether I'll ever have children, but I sure do love researching baby names. I have created a list of possibilities.
12. Like Emily Dickinson, I, too, "dwell in possibility." Too much I'm afraid ...
13. I really should've taken copy editing in college.
14. 6:24 or 6:44 a.m. These are the times I choose for waking up in the morning. Average time I rise? 7:16. I don't know why I even bother really.
15. I have been called, for the very first time, to serve the City of Philadelphia. Jury Duty. And what I have to say next might prove that I'm a naive little dork, but I'm excited. Not Pointer Sisters excited, but Curious George excited. What kind of people am I going to meet? I hope none of them smell badly. I'm certain that the actual process of getting to the courthouse will come with a lot of braking and cussing, but I'm interested to see what happens. Who did what? Remember when you were a kid and you lined up waiting to be chosen for kickball? I have that "will they pick me?" anxious feeling. It's probably not good that a primary reason I'd like to be chosen is so I won't have to go to work, but I do love a diversion!
16. I am happiest when I'm in the thick of creating something -- a sketch, a story, a post, a poem, a meal. The moment when I forget about time and just look at what I'm doing -- it's as free as I felt riding down Red River Road, no-hands on my bike in the summer sun.
17. I love driving. I despise people who brake in the left lane repeatedly. If you're not sure you can handle the speed at which you're driving then get the hell over. But a road trip, an open lane, a windy country road, these are things that I love. Windows down, stereo loud, the day or the nighttime sky ...