1. I have abnormally wide, toe-like thumbs. Seriously, my thumbnails are about double the width and half the length of most people’s. I have only met two other people with thumbs like mine in my lifetime.
2. My younger brother has Asperger’s Syndrome, which is high-functioning autism. I still cringe a little bit when I find myself using the word “retarded” the way most people do in conversation. Part of the reason I chose to stay in Seattle for college was to be closer to him.
3. I believe in God, but I don’t believe in any one branch of Judaism or any organized religion for that matter. To me faith is an intensely personal experience, a lifeforce that no pastor or rabbi should be able to tell you how to feel. I don’t believe in a concrete heaven or hell, so the concepts of damnation and sin mean nothing to me. I believe you live the consequences of your actions in this life – heaven and hell are states of mind.
4. I am fascinated by cities and have been for as long as I can remember. I see them as living, organic manifestations of our culture and politics. I want to make a living out of making cities better, more sustainable and more livable. This is where my nerd side comes out. One of my life’s ambitions is to prove that you can do something meaningful with a Geography major: city planner, real estate developer, consultant, government…I’ve considered all of these paths and more.
5. If I weren’t going to school full-time, I would probably still be at my old job teaching swim lessons at Pro Sports Club in Bellevue. I know people who did that job full-time and went on to become successful personal trainers. $30 an hour for private lessons from rich housewives is hard to turn down. Man, I miss that job!
6. I have not been back to my high school since I graduated. I didn’t hate high school completely, but I did hate the lack of diversity, the social insularity, and the lack of freedom. When someone says to me that they “really miss high school” or that “those were the best days of our lives” this is a huge red flag for me.
7. Starting out at UW was socially speaking pretty much ground zero for me, but I haven’t looked back since.
8. One of my uncles bears an eerie resemblance to Derek Ferreal, the gay coke-dealer character from the movie Blow. He never dealt coke himself...I think.
9. I truly believe that despite our faults America is still the most racially and culturally progressive nation in the world. Since Obama's election I've had my optimism on this point restored...politics used to only depress me.
10. The Sonics leaving Seattle this year for Oklahoma is one of the worst tragedies in sports I can remember. I grew up listening to the Sonics on the KJR 950 AM, obsessing over the stats of Gary Payton or Shawn Kemp. It’s still not enough for me to boycott Starbuck’s.
11. People who have no awareness of music or politics (that is, people who have nothing to say about either) lose my interest quickly.
12. I never really got hooked on videogames the way most of my friends did growing up.This was until this past Christmas, when I discovered KINECT - believe the hype!
13. I think sex is a mistake if you don’t know the other person’s last name or are too uncomfortable to ask. You can be uninhibited and promiscuous and still have the decency to know something that basic about your partner. This does not follow for oral sex. Yes, I am a hypocrite I know.
14. I doubt I will ever get a tattoo, but if I do I know exactly what it would be: a native American design of an orca whale leaping out of the water with the quote “without words there are no thoughts”. I believe very strongly in the meaning of that quote.
15. I can be very quick to judge and I'm skeptical of people who think that class, race, and family background mean nothing. I have been told many times that I'm extremely blunt, but really I only act that way to filter out the two types of people I am not interested in meeting: hyper-sensitive, politically-correct (fake) people, and the passive-aggressive. Show me that you break your own cultural stereotype in some way, any kind of independence of mind, and I will love you forever.
16. I cried when I saw Milk. The only other movie I have ever cried during was My Own Private Idaho.
17. I like to fuck with people who are anti-gay and say aggressively gay comments in their general direction. This is fun because most bigots don’t have the balls to be bigoted to your face.
18. I rarely wear sweat pants because I don’t agree with the idea of “dressing for comfort”. If we dressed purely for comfort, then we should be walking around in full-body sleeping bags masturbating all day. No, you’re dressing for the people who have to look at your ass so you might as well look good.
19. I know that there are only a few cities that would be able to handle my ass after I graduate: Seattle, SF, NY, Chicago, Boston…The thought of picking up and moving to a new city after I graduate terrifies me, but I definitely want to experience living somewhere besides Seattle.
20. I have actually met people online. Whoa. Nuts…did I just say that out loud?
21. My parents were ten years apart when they were married. My mom was the older one.
22. I've traveled to 8 different countries and used to have a very strong outdoorsy streak. One of the reasons I fear leaving Seattle is that I would miss the easy access to nature that other cities really don't have.
23. I realize that drugs have a destructive power. I have lost several friends to them including a childhood friend who overdosed on heroin right after graduating high school. I have learned that drug outcomes are affected by your perspective in life: there’s no up side if you are using them as a means of escape.
24. I've developed an appreciation for all sorts of bizarro music over the past few years, but I resent being called a hipster. I am straight-up addicted to my iPod and love showing people songs they've never heard before but come to love.
25. I know that deep down I am bitter towards people who I feel are unaware of their privilege, people who stand for nothing, and people who have no empathy. I’m working on it.
