Here it is folks, my one hundredth post. I wish it hadn’t fallen during NaBloPoMo cause really, at this point, writing here is becoming unfun. It’s not that I don’t love to write…obviously I do or this whole blog thing would be totally pointless…it’s the feeling of being forced to write (although who am I kidding? No one is standing over me with a loaded gun forcing me to blog. It was a personal commitment, a test of my writer’s fortitude, if you will. Remind me to pass on this next year). But anyway, it is my 100th post and the part of me that hasn’t become a withered husk of empty brains, bleeding fingertips and severe carpal tunnel is still pretty jazzed at seeing 100 posts. So, in commemoration, like I promised, here is my totally self-centered, self aggrandizing, ubervain list of 100 things about me:

1. My first car was a green Pontiac Sunfire

2. I hit a bear with it on the way to open a bank account the summer before I went to college.

3. The bear I hit survived, but the deer that ran into my car two years later did not.

4. Internationally I have been to Canada, Belize, Guatemala, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Belgium (duh on that one)

5. Domestically I have been to New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Nevada and California

6. My favorite colors are green and purple.

7. I own way too many items of grey clothing.

8. My favorite brand of gum is 5. I actually go out of my way to go to Giant Eagle every few days for a new pack because I’ve yet to see it sold elsewhere.

9. November 19^th will mark my fourth month of not smoking.

10. I think I prefer working with 2 year olds over 3 year olds.

11. The last thing I ever wanted to do with my life was be a teacher/work with children.

12. For most of my childhood I wanted to be a marine biologist.

13. Until I was 12 my idol was Eugenie Clark.

14. When I was 7 or 8 we took a summer vacation to Sea World and we were allowed to pet the dolphins. I cried when I touched one for the first time. I guess that counts as my first euphoric moment.

15. I started writing stories when I was in second grade. My teacher, Mrs. Valentine, gave me my own notebook to write in. All my characters were based on me, my brother, our next door neighbor and two Israeli kids that were in my kindergarten class. I used everyone’s Hebrew names, you know, for anonymity.

16. I built a suspension bridge out of toothpicks and marshmallows (or maybe it was gumdrops) during my first year in the gifted program in elementary school.

17. I was the best speller in my third grade class.

18. My academic career took a definite plunge when we moved to Plum.

19. My first day in my new school, they made the new kids stand up and say where they lived. At the time my housing development was brand new and no one knew the name of it or the names of the streets in it. When I told them the name of the plan and my street name, not even the teacher knew where I was talking about. Somehow this incident was remembered as me forgetting where I lived in 4^th grade.

20. I really don’t like Plum that much.

21. That’s not totally true, it’s not Plum itself, just a lot of the people in it.

22. I am a member of Theta Phi Alpha Sorority.

23. I held the offices of Pledge Educator (two consecutive semesters), Recording and Corresponding Secretary, Parliamentarian, Rituals, and Risk Management. This was in 3 semesters of active sisterhood

24. My sorority is, in fact, a fraternity because one of the original founders/sponsors was a man (Father Edward Kelly).

25. Yeah, you read that right; I joined a Catholic sorority (Catholic origins, secular now).

26. I was raised Jewish and now consider myself an odd amalgamation of Atheistic Buddhist.

27. I stopped believing in God when my aunt died of breast cancer in 1995, before I turned fourteen.

28. Speaking of boobs, just got mine re-measured after a few years; triple D, I shit you not. Anyone know any notable reconstructive surgeons in Belgium, cause at this rate, something’s gotta give.

29. In my sorority house I lived in a converted kitchen. I still had cabinetry in my room and a working sink.

30. My first real pet was a ferret named Scylla.

31. I drove across the state to get her from a breeder near Lancaster.

32. The next year I got a boy ferret named Brutus.

33. I had both of them for another year before I moved to a new apartment and due to a well intentioned lie by the woman who does the contract signing, I was forced to give them back to the breeder when the building super saw them in my apartment.

34. This was about the time I went and found Rex.

35. I loved my ferrets, but I’m much more contented with my cat.

36. My favorite book as a child was Where the Red Fern Grows

37. My favorite foods are black olives, smoked salmon, and most kind of soup (excluding cheese based soups…bleh).

38. My favorite dessert (yes this is a different category) if I haven’t mentioned it, is crème brulee.

39. I have a bleeding disorder called Von Willebrand’s Syndrome.

40. Due to said disorder I had to take pills to make my blood clot after I got all 4 of my wisdom teeth removed. I had to take 8 pills 4 times a day.That’s 32 pills day. Not an easy task when your jaw is swollen shut for almost a week.

41. I don’t like matzah balls (gasp! I know, I should be ousted from the Jewish community).

42. Clowns creep me out. I’m not scared of them so much as they just give me an uneasy feeling.

43. This got worse after my brother and I saw Killer Klowns From Outer Space when we were little.

44. My first boyfriend was almost 3 years younger than me.

45. Every guy I’ve dated was raised Catholic. Only one of them stuck with it though, and he was an enormous asshat

46. One of my favorite pieces of jewelry was a gold claddagh ring given to me for my birthday. The heart was my birthstone (emerald). I don’t wear it anymore, but I still have it, along with my high school class ring.

47. I didn’t know I had an allergy to cherries and nectarines until after I quit smoking. I used to smoke so much that sometimes my food tasted odd or my mouth would tingle. When my tongue and throat began to get itchy and feel swollen, I figured it was because smoking had damaged my taste buds. A month after I quit I ate some cherries and my throat and tongue swelled up and got very itchy.

48. Actors I think are hot: Toby Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, Gary Sinise, Kiefer Sutherland (circa 1986)

49. Someone once asked me, if I were to have sex with an actress, who would I pick. This was a tough one. I’m heterosexual, 100% and the thought of being with another woman does absolutely nothing for me. In fact, it does opposite things for me. But after several years of thought, I have an answer. Katherine Zeta Jones.

50. I failed my driving test the first two times.

51. My first job was at Long John Silver’s Sea Food Shoppe

52. My normal resting body temperature is 97.6 degrees Fahrenheit (36.4 in Celsius)

53. My hair didn’t get curly until I hit puberty.

54. My curly hair was the bane of my high school existence.

55. I’ve had recurring nightmares about going to school and realizing I am missing an article of clothing (i.e. panties, shirt) and I have to go search the school to find it.

56. I’ve had recurring nightmares about being chased by Nazis.

57. I played soccer for 9 years and a half season of rugby in college.

58. The rugby team hazed me worse than my sorority, which is why I only hung around for half the season.

59. I tried out for an improve comedy group in college and was offered a spot in the troupe, but I turned it down because I was busy with rugby.

60. Two of my favorite movies are Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal.

61. These have been favorite movies since I was 5 years old, along with NIMH and The Neverending Story.

62. I used to date a guy who played drums with a guitar player at my favorite bar in Indiana, PA. If I hung around till the end of the set and broke stuff down I got free Guinness and whiskey all night. I also got to feel kinda cool.

63. As a graduation gift to the guy I secretly arranged for my one sorority sister to record the two of them playing for a “classroom assignment.” The recording took a month or so and everyone knew what was going on except for the guy (hi M. If you’re reading this). He said it was the coolest thing a girl had ever done for him. So again, I got to feel kinda cool.

64. Favorite drinks: Margaritas, Yuengling Lager, Crown Royal and ginger ale, Guinness (but only in Ireland), and recently I tried a few Belgian beers that I can see becoming favorites but I’m blanking on names right now.

65. I love sweatshirts!

66. A lot of the time I avoid sleeping because I feel like I’ll miss out on something.

67. I’ve lived in Pittsburgh (or within an hour of Pittsburgh) my whole life.

68. I’m named after my late grandpa Ken and my great great grandmother Mildred.

69. My middle name is Michelle.

70. I’ve always considered using Michelle as a pen name because it sounded more mature and feminine (in my opinion).

71. When I told CB my middle name he made it very clear he liked my first name and not my middle name. I don’t think I’ve heard that from anyone but my parents (well, they like my middle name, obviously, but I think those are the only 3 people that have ever said the liked my name)

72. I have a teddy bear collection that has been accumulating since I hit the bear in my car. I either receive or buy for myself, a bear every year, usually in the summer, commemorating my ursine incident.

73. I have a strong interest in Arthurian legend and literature.

74. I also have a strong interest in Irish history and mythology.

75. I love burning incense and candles, but I haven’t in a long time cause I’m afraid Rex will set himself on fire.

76. I played the flute in 5^th grade, but quit when I found out they wouldn’t let me switch to saxophone in 6th grade.

77. I sang in several school choirs after I quit the flute.

78. While I loved singing, I often regret not learning to play an instrument.

79. My choir director was probably one of the most influential people in my life.

80. Another one is my dad.

81. I just don’t find Borat to be funny.

82. I tried teaching myself to play the feadog after I went to Ireland.

83. I got pretty good at playing Molly Malone before life got in the way (as usual) and I quit trying.

84. CB has been looking into djembe lessons for me, but it’s a more advanced skill level than I can do, especially in another language.

85. I really do want to learn to play a djembe eventually.

86. I’d also like to learn to play a bit on the guitar, but I think we’re entering wishful thinking at this point.

87. I got contacts because I hate my glasses.

88. I’m usually too lazy to put my contacts in, unless I plan on wearing makeup.

89. I have never seen The Sound of Music all the way through.

90. I have never seen The Usual Suspects because my dad told me who Keyser Soze was, not realizing I hadn’t seen it yet.

91. I cried almost every day of the two weeks I spent in Belize.

92. I also found out that, in general, Belizean Mennonites are some of the rudest people I’ve ever met.

93. I have been to more funerals in my lifetime than weddings

94. I have yet to meet anyone famous, unless you count Jerry Olsavsky from the Pittsburgh Steelers, and I don’t.

95. I fall asleep at Phantom of the Opera, it bores the everloving crap out of me.

96. I was listening to Breaking Benjamin, Ben Folds Five, Fuel and The Cranberries before they were cool.

97. I, unfortunately, have never been, nor will I ever be cool.

98. So it’s a good thing I find certain geeky Belgians to be incredibly attractive.

99. I have found out tonight that it is incredibly difficult to think of 100 things about one ’s self.

100. Also lately, I find that I’m overusing the words “incredibly” and “ridiculous.”