hmmm...interesting facts? i realize my idea of "interesting" is different when it comes to me personally, but here goes nothing.
jill & i at a ramen place on oahu
1) i. love. my. job. as crazy as the kids can make me sometimes, i love trying to help them understand school and homework. more often than not i confuse the hell out of them, but every once in a while i can see the lightbulb go off & their faces get that "aha! i get it!" look...plus i'm an uber-nerd and like going to classes to take notes! it's like being in school all over again without having to do any of the homework...i'm re-learning chemistry this year, which is great because i loved it in high school but hated it in college because of a crappy prof, but i'm back to loving it again.
2) i'm allergic to the pool(something in the water, or the water itself), but i've been swimming my entire life and don't really plan on ever giving it up completely. yeah it sucks to be congested after laps, but i know that if i were to actually swim consistently my tolerance would build up again & i'd be ok. i hated swimming the last 2 yrs of college because of bad teammates, but now that i'm back on deck as a coach for the local team and occasionally hop in the water to help swimmers perfect their technique, i'm thinking about getting back into training again...who knows, maybe i'll be the first "adult squad" member the kkw has! it'd be fun to swim under my old "alma mater" and for my old coach, since i always loved practice but didn't like the competition part...
3) nature is my sanctuary. some people go to church, some people use illegal substances, i like to trek the nature trails around the island. yeah sometimes it's a little lonely & creepy to be out there by myself, but i figure i have less a chance of dying in the wild than i do during the drive to get to the trailhead. and once i'm out there in the forest, with just the birds & wind & trees & wide open sky, it feels like i'm the last person left in the world...i often come back from my little "hikes" feeling wiped, but clear-headed.
4) i'm...spiritual. i think. i don't even pretend to subscribe to any particular religion; parts of all of them sound enticing but i feel like i've been disappointed by the actions of supposed christians too many times to take any religion at face value. i fully appreciate and value the "do unto others as you would have done to you" principle and that we are all equal beings in this world, but i still feel rather uncomfortable with the term "god" even though i'm fairly open to the idea of some sort of higher power. i'm currently (slowly) reading the bible from cover to cover to fully expose myself to what it preaches, rather than trusting some "expert" behind a pulpit whose message seems to change a little too frequently. i appreciate people's beliefs, but i don't say that any one is more right than another, so please stop judging me for my assumed lack of religion. often, i deem mother nature to be the entity we need to turn to, but then there's the whole pagan argument...
4) i'm addicted to dutch. my old roommate, during our sophomore year of college, took me to a dutch bros. coffee stand, and i've never looked at caffeinated beverages the same way since. my absolute favorite thing ever is a large kahlua kicker freeze, a blended creamy icey concoction with just the right amount of sugar & caffeine to fill me up & keep me going. i can (very poorly) simulate hot kickers at home with regular brewed coffee, vanilla coffeemate & irish cream syrup, but nothing compares to the amazingness in a cup that is dutch. i'm salivating just thinking about the deliciousness...
5) i'm swiss...like the chocolate. NOT swedish!! there's a difference...switzerland is close to germany & france & italy, we make delicious chocolate & reliable watches. the swedes make cheap, hip furniture & yummy pancakes.
6) i'm a music whore. sounds awful, but i love just about any music. i collect it even if my harddrive won't hold any more or even if i barely listen to it. my favs as of late tend to be the singer/songwriter genre, pop/rock stuff, but i also love choral pieces & christmas tunes. i've literally got tens of thousands of songs & don't plan on slowing down any time soon, as i have yet to completely fill my ipod! strangely enough, i'm not addicted to the point where my earbuds are in my ears 24/7 like some of my students...
7) myspace surveys. back when i had a myspace account, i really only used it to fill out those stupid bulletin surveys...and i kind of miss it. is that bad?!?! a major reason i stopped, besides the fact that i was really the only person i knew still using that particular social network site, is because those surveys helped lead to the demise of a "relationship" i sort of had several years ago. but shoot, i can't help it if i can bare my soul in print to the general internet public easier than i can in-person with a close friend!
8) my "thing" is almond roca. every year for christmas, i've made a dozen or so batches of homemade almond roca, using the recipe that my life skills teacher gave us back in 8th grade. it uses chocolate chips, butter, brown sugar, saltine crackers & almonds--easy peasy! plus it tastes waaaaay better than that crap they sell in metal tins, and it's homemade...i've never had as many compliments baking anything else. so it's a holiday staple; if i like you enough, you get added to the list of people who gets a bowl every year!
9) k1, p2, k5. i knit. yes, i know i'm in my 20's & young, but so what??! i like making things...yarn & needles are easy to carry around, the rhythm is soothing & relaxing after a long day/week at work, and the end results keep me warm & cozy. my favs are cowls, but i've also done bags, coasters, pillow cases & a twin-size blanket...i always have a project in the works (often multiple projects), and one currently in the works will be a short sleeve, cowl-necked sweater in a burnt orange yarn.
10) brace face. like many adolescents, i had braces while i was in high school. i only had them about 9 months or so before permanent retainers were placed behind my teeth, so i don't know if that short timespan has anything to do with it, but i actually liked my braces overall! i missed them after they were taken off; my mouth felt funny. the "dork" stereotype that comes along with braces actually fit me, since i've always been a dorky, nerdy type of person (see #1: i love going to classes to learn). plus, the colored rubber bands were always fun to style each month!
11) i'm a chocoholic. except for cake. i love anything chocolate-flavored (milk, not white or dark), but more often than not i'm disappointed by chocolate cake & how dry it tends to be, so i've never been a big fan. same with chocolate ice cream, but that i'm MUCH more forgiving with!
12) my biggest fears... are alzheimer's disease & breast cancer. my paternal grandmother had dementia/alzheimer's, and several women in my life have/had breast cancer. they are no laughing matters, and scare the bejeezus out of me.
13) beam me up, scotty! i really really really really really wish that we can invent teleportation soon, so i can travel whenever & wherever i want. oregon, hawaii, france...anywhere and everywhere, with no plane flights & travel plans needed.
14) i hate heat. i'm definitely a cold-blooded person, but i hate hot places. i'd much rather bundle up in wool & fleece than live life in a place that's consitently above 65*. that's one reason why i love ketch; it's temperate so temperatures are relatively consistent thoughout the year.
15) home is where the heart is...and home for me is this rural, isolate, rain-soaked little island in southeast alaska!
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