Almost Grown Up

So since I’m trapped inside, because of what may be an ice age, I decided to do one of those “100 things about me” posts that were seemingly a fad in blogger land before my arrival.

1. I was born and raised in New England. Prior to my current move, I had never lived south of Boston.

2. I went straight from college to law school, mostly because I was afraid that if I took a break I would never go back.

3. I don’t like mushrooms; I think it’s the texture.

4. At 6’4”, I’m fairly tall.

5. I’m also incredibly clumsy.

6. Because of #4, people often assume that I’m good at basketball. I’m not, mostly because of #5.

7. I’m also not good at skiing or golfing, though they are two things I enjoy trying to do. In the case of skiing, it often ends with a lot of bruises.

8. I love music.

9. I tend to listen to music that fits my mood. I feel like it has a real effect on me, so I’d rather have my mood influence my choice of music rather than having my choice of music influence my mood.

10. My favorite color is blue.

11. I love dogs, absolutely love them. I can’t wait until my living situation allows me to get one, or nine.

12. I’m 25.

13. I’m a lawyer, and very proud of this, because it wasn’t easy.

14. I want to travel to Italy, Ireland, and Greece, as soon as time (and money) allows.

15. I love to run.

16. I’ve run one marathon, and am looking forward to a few more, hopefully this year.

17. I’m very interested in politics, and read a lot of political news.

18. Despite this, it took me until I was almost in the voting booth to decide who to vote for this year.

19. My favorite movie ever is The Shawshank Redemption.

20. I’m seriously thinking about getting a tattoo.

21. My college and law school were less than a mile apart.

22. I love reading, and you can usually find me reading about four books at the same time.

23. I spend far, far too much money on books.

24. I adopted a British soccer (football?) team that I cheer for.

25. I’ve rooted for Boston sports teams my entire life; it’s almost genetic.

26. I dated a lot in college, and I feel very badly about how poorly I treated a lot of my exes.

27. I like kids, during summers in college I used to lifeguard at a camp. It was a great job.

28. I don’t like sad movies, they depress me.

29. I enjoy playing poker, but generally only with friends.

30. I have one sibling, a brother who is 2 ½ years younger than me.

31. I love to write.

32. My favorite cities are Boston, Chicago, and Las Vegas.

33. I’m a bad singer.

34. I’m afraid I dance almost as poorly as I sing, though somehow two drinks has a way of convincing me otherwise.

35. In the past three years, I’ve become a good cook.

36. If you knew me more than three years ago, you’d realize just how surprising this really is.

37. I sometimes think I watch too much TV. I like it though.

38. Despite a few conservative leanings, I am a lifelong democrat and have never voted for a republican.

39. I like being in relationships, but I don’t like dating.

40. I like to make lists of tasks I need to do, and then cross things off of them.

41. I have recurring battles with insomnia, usually lasting a few months, and annoying the hell out of me.

42. I have a bit of a caffeine addiction; it’s an integral part of my morning.

43. A hot shower may be one of my favorite things in the world.

44. 95% of the women I’ve ever dated have been under 5’4” and brunette. I think it’s safe to say I have a type.

45. I have two ipods. One is a small shuffle I use when I run, the other is a larger video ipod I use when I’m at the gym or driving (I have one of those little things that makes it play through the radio).

46. I mostly listen to CD’s and to mp3s, so I count on my friends to introduce me to new music. It has worked out well so far.

47. Since my college didn’t have a football team, I cheer for other teams that I’ve adopted at various points of my life. I like USC (because Pete Carroll is the coach), Notre Dame (because my Mom’s family is Irish, and they gave me a little Notre Dame hat when I was a baby), and Navy (I’m currently a reserve officer).

48. I like Christmas time. The lights, the music, it makes me happy.

49. However, Christmas shopping crowds stress me out, which is why I do more and more shopping online every year.

50. I also like Halloween, and my birthday. I’m sad that in 2006 I couldn’t really celebrate Halloween (I was traveling) and in 2007 I couldn’t really celebrate my birthday (I was studying for the bar).

51. I like to take pictures.

52. I used to work at a District Attorney’s office, and I liked helping put bad people in jail.

53. I like accents of all sorts.

54. When hanging out around people with accents, I tend to pick them up far too quickly. However, I am comically incapable of impersonating an accent.

55. I like to go to museums, and I prefer to go at weird times when they’re almost empty. I feel like it’s more of a personal experience.

56. Patience is a virtue I don’t have a lot of.

57. When I was a young child I wanted to be what I called an “animal tracker.” I imagined it being kind of like Steve Irwin only before there was a Steve Irwin.

58. I briefly considered being an archaeologist in college, before I realized that I enjoyed the history aspect far more than I enjoyed the digging around in the dirt aspect. I majored in history instead.

59. I also majored in Political Science.

60. I find driving over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge really fun.

61. I have very poor handwriting.

62. I’d like to settle down and start a family, though with recent events this has been postponed a bit.

63. I liked roller coasters.

64. Despite being very bad at golf, I’m really good at mini golf.

65. I can be very shy around people I’m attracted to.

66. I subscribe to The New Republic and Runner’s World.

67. My Mom’s family is very large and Irish and loud and slightly dysfunctional.

68. I love them.

69. My Dad’s family is not as large, a Greek/English mix, and are a little estranged as of late.

70. This makes me sad.

71. I hate needles (scared to death of them), but I try to donate blood as often as I can.

72. I lost my virginity when I was 18, the summer before I went to college.

73. A dog food commercial once made me so sad that I felt moved to donate money to the ASPCA, I still give as often as I can.

74. I really miss my grandfather.

75. My Dad is Orthodox and my Mom is Catholic. My brother and I were both raised Catholic but I’m the only one who really goes to church much anymore.

76. There are, however, things about the Catholic Church that can really bug me.

77. I like Calvin and Hobbes, and a newer comic strip called “Get Fuzzy.”

78. I love watching sports with my Dad.

79. I’m allergic to dust, and two types of tree pollen.

80. At 25, I am still barely able to operate an iron.

81. Though I’ve been able to tie a tie since I was pretty young.

82. I’ve never lost a jury trial.

83. I’ve only ever tried one jury trial, so we’re looking at a pretty small sample size.

84. I love the ocean; and really most bodies of water in general.

85. I rarely have sex dreams, and feel a little cheated about it.

86. I’m the only member of my immediate family who doesn’t drive an import.

87. I like inviting people over and cooking for them.

88. I hate spiders.

89. I want to learn a second language.

90. I like board games.

91. I hate renting an apartment, and can’t wait until I can buy a place.

92. I really love blood oranges. I like a lot of fruit, but they are my favorite.

93. I like being outdoors.

94. I think the show “Meerkat Manor” is adorable.

95. I’m considering starting to train for an ultramarathon, which is a long term goal of mine.

96. I ran (track, cross country, winter track) and played tennis in high school.

97. I played soccer and broomball (intramural) in college.

98. I don’t know if I’ve ever liked a movie version of a book I already read, but I still go to see them because of how much I loved the book.

99. I won a spelling bee once in elementary school.

100. I recently found that writing a list of 100 things about myself is not as easy as I thought it would be.