Blame Facebook.

I check my Facebook page obsessively. There, I said it. What do you want from me? I don't smoke. I don't do drugs. I drink so infrequently that when my friends see me with an alcoholic beverage in my hand, they start searching behind the bar for alien pods. What I'm trying to say is - I need at least one effing vice, here!



I digress.



In the last several weeks, I've noticed a number of my "facebook" friends being "tagged" in a note of some kind or another. One that caught my eye was "25 Random Things About Me". Hmmm. I normally shrug those things off. They're usually mindless surveys, and while I'm reading them (oops!, caught me), I can hear Deborah Kerr-cough Marni Nixon!- singing "Getting to Know You" in the back of my head. This one was different, though. No twenty questions. No single-word answers. Twenty-five random pieces of personal information. No rules. No parameters. Hmmm, I say. I did just make a promise to myself that I was going to be more open...

I caved. This is what came out after the canary died:

1. I am competely ambidextrous. I can write, draw, throw, eat and slap people around with both hands.

2. I'm the oldest of 7 children, but I don't speak to anyone from my family, so I have no idea where or how any of them are. This seems to go against the "be more open" thing, but it's all about the baby steps. Also, I was the first born in my generation on both sides of my family. No pressure there, I assure you.

3. I was born on April Fool's Day. People who know me even a little, know that this is the PERFECT birthday for me. My life is rarely as it seems AND I love to make people laugh. At least the universe got SOMETHING about me right.

4. There isn't a single person in my life who knew me before the age of 20. It's very liberating.

5. I want to be a writer when I grow up. Actually, anything artistic or creative will do. I was a performer when I was younger (acting, singing, dancing), and an artist/painter as well, but writing has the strongest pull, and it gets more intense as I get older. Oh, the stories I have to tell...

6. I don't subscribe to any particular religion. They all seem like bastardisations of the same basic mythology to me. I don't get the whole "us" over 'them" mentality. Spirituality and balance are inherent human impulses. I'll never understand why people can't just go with what works for them and leave others to their own paths.

7. On that same basic note, I think "Holy War" is by far the stupidest pairing of words ever created. "President Bush" is a very close second.

8. I've lived in 7 different states: Kentucky, Indiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Nevada, California, and Florida. Gypsy much?

9. I hATEd school. I could read and write before I started 1st grade, so I spent 12 years being BORED OUT OF MY FREAKIN' MIND. College wasn't any better. I left after a year, but I've always read voraciously, have an amazing memory, and I will kick your ass at Jeopardy!, so bring it, bitches!

10. Speaking of reading, I absolutely love the Twilight series. Harry Potter is up there, too. I know they're "kid's books", but I read so much serious material, it's like a jacuzzi for my brain to disappear into a world that is so imaginative and engaging. Plus, I heart Edward Cullen.

11. Farts make me laugh like a 4-year-old being tickled. What do you want from me? I grew up with 5 brothers. Don't judge me! LOL

12. I love flowers. My absolute favourites are white Calla lillies and purple irises, especially together, but any will do. They just make me happy.

13. I don't eat animals. I don't have pets, either. Animals belong in the wild, not in our houses or bellies. Leave them be.

14. I've loved five men in my life. #1 died a long time ago. I haven't seen #2 in about 17 years. #'s 3 and 4 are like brothers to me now, and they both have exceptionally beautiful, cool wives. I love them all. The jury is still out on #5. I'm hoping to get to that "brother" place with him. Wish me luck.

15. Music is immeasurably important to me. The 30's and 40's are my favourite decades (music, movies, fashion - except the underwear- furniture, cars). Big band music cures what ails me every single time. That being said, I was a teenager in the 80's, so I get a little charge when something from back in the day comes on the radio. Go-Go's anyone?

16. I love watching sports. I know it's not very "girly", but really, it's 2009, for crap's sake. Get over it. P.S. Baseball and Australian rules football are my top 2. Hockey is right behind them, trying to start a fight and move up the list.

17. So many of my friends leave me speechless with wonder and awe. My life is crazy and complicated, and they just roll with it. It really is an embarrassment of riches. They're funny, talented, brilliant, compassionate, and loyal, and if I don't say it enough, "I love you all." P.S. - they're a damn good-looking crowd, too.

18. I have no idea if I'm a good kisser. It's not that no one has ever told me, it's that I've been single/celibate for about 25 years (and no, that isn't a typo, I refer you back to #17...crazy, complicated life), and no one has ever had the chance to find out. This isn't a "poor me" thing. I've been alone for a very long time, but I don't ever remember feeling lonely. Don't try to figure it out. It'll only give you a headache.

19. I love the smells of mint, basil, baby powder, green tea, the ocean, horses, baking madeleines, and pavement just after it starts to rain. Each of these scents has a very strong, happy association from my past, and they always cause a strong emotional shift when I smell them. If you ever want to calm me down, throw me out of a cab when a storm hits.

20. The song "Sand and Water" is on the short list of non-movie things that make me cry.

21. The only thing I've ever been afraid of is losing my memory. The loss of the coping mechanisms alone would finish me. It's taken me a long time to put those mechanisms in place, and without them, it would be like someone else trying to live my life, and I don't know anyone who could do that but me.

22. I long for the day when this body doesn't feel borrowed anymore. I'm working as hard as I can to get there. Just stay out of my way, and nobody gets hurt. ;-P

23. I'm unusually susceptible to other peoples' moods. An unfortunate result of this is that moods are often attributed to me that aren't actually mine. It's also the reason I don't do crowds - WAAAY too much stimulus, and not in a good way. Theatres are the only real exception to the "no crowds" thing. Movies, Broadway, concerts... people tend to be really happy in those places. I always get kind of a contact buzz at Broadway shows. Good times.

24. My Mother's family is Mediterranean (Lebanese, Egyptian), and my Father's family is of British descent (English, Irish AND Scottish). Some of my fondest childhood memories are food-related, admittedly more so from the Mediterranean faction, but I have a soft spot for English pub food (I miss my Nan's banoffee pie). It's harder to veganise, though.

25. Facebook has changed my life. I've reconnected with so many people from my past and found them happy and well. That alone makes it worth every obsessive moment I've spent hunting for people and having to explain who I am. It's also the reason I regularly fall asleep with my Blackberry clutched in my hand. Sad, but true.