Things I've learned about myself

The brilliant and funny Carmen over at Mom to the Screaming Masses* posted today about things she's learned about herself. An interesting post, and one that I've decided to steal for my own purposes thankyouverymuch.

So here you go.

Clara

• I am a dog person. Growing up I always preferred cats, but now I am definitely a dog person. I adore Clara (our chihuahua-peke mix), and am looking forward to the opportunity to add another sweet furbaby to our family in the next few years. I never thought I would be a dog person, but now I can't imagine getting a cat (and not only because Bo is allergic).
• I am much more confident in who I am than I once was, but I am still very self-conscious about many things.
• I want to make quilts. I've been wanting to get into sewing and quilting for quite some time, and every once in a while I want to do it badly enough that I research how much it would cost to get a sewing machine that I would like that would suit my needs. That happened again this week.
• The coffee house book has become part of who I am as a writer, even though it isn't finished yet. I've devoted my entire (fiction) writing career to the collection since graduating college, and I don't regret it one bit. The collection--beginning with the coffee house book--is what I'm supposed to be writing.
• I watch too much TV. I usually have something on as background noise while I'm working (my traditional job could be loud, so I got used to working in noise). If it's too quiet, I get distracted.
• If I don't journal semi-regularly, I start to feel very tense. My journal is where I brainstorm and vent and work things out and let things go. If I don't have the opportunity to do that, I definitely feel it.
• I don't make enough time to read. There are a lot of books on my reading list that I haven't gotten to because things have been busy. Now that things are settling down, I'm looking forward to making more time to read for pleasure.
• I can't imagine living anywhere except Florida. There are times I miss living in the Midwest (when the leaves are falling or when it's getting close to Christmas), but I truly feel at home here in Florida.**
• I don't like not knowing what time it is. I lost my watch in the move to the new apartment and haven't replaced it yet. I find myself checking my phone or the time on my computer incredibly frequently.
• I need to replace that watch.

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*Just to put things in perspective, Carmen's blog has its own tag on my blog. Because I think she's awesome. Just sayin'.
**That being said, I am looking forward to buying a house and having a bit more space to spread out and garden and have a real office with a door that closes.

Movies, Research, and a Bit of Navel-Gazing

I watched the movie Possession yesterday, and it made me want to do literary research. In fact, I started to look into what Master's programs would give me the education to work in a library, researching the authors I admire, and/or acquiring manuscripts and letters and scribblings of those authors for a library or museum's collection.

I love books and literature and history, and I would love to spend my career making information about literature and authors known to everyone instead of just scholars.

I admit I am an English nerd, and I enjoyed writing research papers in school. I enjoyed learning new things, and I loved going to the library to find out what I could about those new things.

I think that's why it's so easy for me to research things for writing. When I research a topic (specialty coffee, rental agreements, found art), I enjoy learning about it for whatever I'm scribbling. It's not an aspect of writing I dread or put off until the last possible moment.

I could see myself as a research assistant somewhere.

If I had a nickel for every post, I'd have $5!

In celebration of my 100th post as The Coffee-Stained Writer, I'd like to share 100 things about myself (in no particular order). Enjoy (or skim, if you want)!

1. My zodiac sign is Taurus.
2. I use letter-size legal pads to take writing notes.
3. I have two moles on my right palm (one on the pad of my pinky finger, the other on the side of my index finger).
4. I have shamrock and NaNoWriMo stickers on my laptop.
5. I write more productively when I'm watching Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, or Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
6. I have to write things down to keep track of them, so instead of throwing away a piece of paper, I cut it into quarters and use the back as scrap paper (I have a stack of scrap paper on my desk).
7. I’m left-handed.
8. When I was in high school, I planned to be a high school band director after college.
9. My favorite meal is corned beef and cabbage cooked in the slow cooker all day.
10. I have Irish heritage.
11. I was in class in 2001 when the planes hit the towers and the Pentagon.
12. I talk to my cats about my writing.
13. When I make my bed, I have to do it the way my mother taught me. I’ve tried to be sloppy with it, but I just can’t.
14. I love wrapping gifts.
15. I’m afraid of heights.
16. I've had chicken pox twice.
17. My favorite dessert is cheesecake.
18. I once played Mrs. Pearce in my high school's production of My Fair Lady. I wore a fat suit.
19. When someone wakes me, even if they’re quiet and extremely gentle about it, I get startled awake.
20. My favorite movie is Stranger Than Fiction.
21. I prefer black ink over blue.
22. I lived in Germany for three years when my father was stationed there.
23. My skin reacts badly to yellow gold, but I can wear white gold.
24. My husband and I got married a few yards from where we originally met.
25. The first story I ever wrote was about the adventures had by a red kite, which included being stuck in a tree.
26. I buy purses only if they’re big enough to hold a book and a pad of paper.
27. My favorite coffee mug has the faces of literary women on it.
28. I have a girl crush on Mariska Hargitay.
29. I’ve always wanted to learn to quilt.
30. I have pens hidden all over the apartment.
31. I was on my high school’s speech team.
32. My favorite author is Jasper Fforde.
33. I’m a bit of a packrat.
34. I play a night elf druid on the Sargeras server of World of Warcraft.
35. I keep fortune cookie fortunes.
36. I took a directed study in college that allowed me to listen to an epic poem written and recorded by my professor.
37. If I could, I'd live on a cruise ship (as a guest, of course).
    
38. My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving.
39. I never make edits in red ink.
40. The only soda I really drink is Dr. Pepper.
41. When I find a penny, I put it in my left shoe for luck.
42. When I was about thirteen, I wanted to be a psychologist.
43. The style of my wedding dress was discontinued a week before I purchased my dress (thankfully, I was able to get one that was altered to fit!).
44. When I have trouble with a character, I do some cleaning, and usually I come up with what I need.
45. My favorite visual artist is Vincent Van Gogh.
46. When I was a kid and my siblings went to the toy department while Mom shopped, I went to the home office aisles to gaze longingly at pens and paper.
47. I paid for college on my own.
48. I love sweet iced tea.
49. I don’t buy ground coffee.
50. I have a green, plastic piggy bank to hold my pocket change. When it’s full, I cash it in and my husband and I do something fun with it (last time it held $57).
51. I love to have pictures of my friends and family around me.
52. I love having plants around me, but they usually die in my care.
53. I hate not knowing what time it is.
54. I like to watch people, then write character sketches about who I think they are based on what I saw of them in observation.
55. I’m supposed to wear my eyeglasses more often than I do.
56. I like to scrapbook in my free time.
57. My coffee house book started as an idea for NaNoWriMo.
58. When I want to learn about something, I research it almost obsessively until I'm satisfied with my level of knowledge.
59. I do my best to not regret the decisions I make.
60. I hate doing dishes, but love doing laundry.
61. I married my college sweetheart.
62. I played B-flat clarinet in school, and my junior and senior years, I was the drum major for the school's marching and pep bands.
63. I love Boho style clothing.
64. I'm very particular about how my books, office space, and writing are organized, but am pretty laid back about the rest of my organization skills.
65. My favorite mixed drink is a margarita over ice (with salt, thanks).
66. I love to watch reality television shows when I have nothing else to do.
67. I would go barefoot everywhere if I could.
68. After graduating college, I spent some time traveling all over central and southern Illinois recruiting students for my alma mater.
69. I’ve never been totally happy with a hair style I’ve had.
70. I feel terrible when I have to discipline my kitties, so a while after that, I give them cookies (cat treats) to show them I'm not mad anymore.
71. I’m a first-generation college graduate in my family.
72. My favorite Christmas carol is O Come, All Ye Faithful.
73. I’ve moved 19 times in my life.
74. My cats are named after characters from World of Warcraft.
75. My coffee house book might include a short story that’s all dialogue.
76. I have a 100% organic cotton t-shirt.
77. I’m a huge advocate of domestic violence awareness.
78. My favorite hot tea is Earl Grey.
79. I sang a duet at my high school graduation ceremony.
80. My favorite photo of my husband and I was one of the first taken of us together.
81. I like reading stories about people that play with reality vs. imagination (“The Yellow Wall Paper,” The Bell Jar, The Catcher in the Rye, Finding Alice, etc.).
82. On my desk chair I have a sit-upon my mom made me when I was a Brownie Girl Scout out of a rag rug and some old towels (she also stitched my name on it in pink yarn).
83. My favorite pair of jeans are so worn that the label on the back is completely gone.
84. I had surgery in 2005 to have a few cysts removed.
    
85. My favorite color is green.
86. I've never seen Animal House.
87. I make a task list every week, then create to-do lists each day based on that list.
88. My favorite summer smell is a fresh lilac bush.
89. When my husband and I get our big house, I get a library.
90. And a huge wrap-around porch.
91. I load my dishwasher the way my mother taught me.
92. I take notes with ball point pens, but "important" writing is always done with roller ball pens.
93. I created a drink recipe at the coffee house I worked at in college (now closed...the coffee house, not the college).
94. I went dumpster-diving to rescue books from being trashed and, as a result, got a few books that were published in the early 1900s. (Yeah, I know. I'm awesome!)
95. If I ever win the lottery, I'm going to become a rare book collector.
96. When I get frustrated, my head gets itchy.
97. I still have my tonsils and appendix.
98. I would be content to be a day sleeper and night writer.
99. When I decided to pursue a career in writing, I thought I'd have to "settle" for journalism until I finished my novel.
100. If I could visit anywhere in the world I would choose to visit India.

The end.