The Rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their 8 things) and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Disclaimer: Thinking about this assignment made me realize I am not a woman of mystery. Most of these facts won’t come as a surprise to anyone.

1. In case you haven’t noticed, I am extremely paranoid. Last night we went to the movies and there were some noisy people sitting behind me. I got all freaked out thinking about how if they got really peeved at me, they could probably take a belt or a strong scarf and strangle me before anyone in the loud, dark, theater noticed. Needless to say, I did not turn around and shush them. (It didn’t help that we were watching Live Free or Die Hard, which was full of innovative killing techniques.) Speaking of movie theater paranoia, I also try never to lean back against the seat, out of fear of contracting lice. And I always worry that I’m going to sit on a needle that has been infected with HIV.

2. I hate birds. I do not find their chirping to be melodious or pleasant; Cinderella is totally misleading about nature.

3. One time my friend Abbey told me that the last drink out of a can or bottle is backwash. So I never drink anything down to the bottom. Usually I leave about four drinks, just to be sure.

4. I love to wear bangs because they help to minimize my large head. However, I have trouble keeping them looking nice because I have a cowlick at either corner of my forehead along the hairline. Usually a straightening iron does the trick; if you see my bangs pinned back with bobby pins, you can be sure it’s a bad cowlick day.

5. I am fascinated with celebrities. I love to read People and trashy celeb gossip blogs. My favorite famous people are all the Friends, Colin Firth, and Hugh Grant. I love the Friends because their show is so funny. I love Colin because he is Mr. Darcy. I love Hugh for his booty.

6. I realized in our most recent move how important I am to myself. It is hard for me to get rid of anything that represents a significant amount of my time and/or effort, even if the end product is ugly and/or non-functioning. I forced myself to overcome this attachment by throwing away old school projects, ugly hand-painted pottery, and worksheets made for classes I will never teach again. There’s a fine line between sentimentality and narcissism.

7. Highlights of my year include: Start of school, end of school, Christmas, and the day I buy a calendar for the new year.

8. I read compulsively. I love books, magazines, mail, blogs, and articles of all kinds. Even cereal boxes and nutritional information on wrappers will suffice in a pinch. I have a very low tolerance for nonfiction, though. Unless it’s a really entertaining narrative, I usually can’t get past a few chapters in a story that I know is true. (This is how I can still enjoy magazines and blogs, even though most of those are true. They don’t require too long of an attention span. It’s also why I can read a million articles on Jennifer Aniston but would never read a biography of her. It would be too long, and it would be lame.)

If you have not done this yet, I tag you.